Shriver Center Publications and Presentations Copyright (c) 2013 University of Massachusetts Medical School All rights reserved. http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp Recent documents in Shriver Center Publications and Presentations en-us Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:05:42 PST 3600 Relational discrimination by pigeons in a go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli: a methodological note http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/48 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/48 Fri, 22 Jun 2012 06:06:52 PDT A go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli typically establishes emergent behavior that parallels in structure and typical outcome that of conventional tests for symmetric, transitive, and equivalence relations in normally capable adults. The present study employed a go/no-go compound stimulus procedure with pigeons. During training, pecks to two-component compounds A1B1, A2B2, B1C1, and B2C2 were followed by food. Pecks to compounds A1B2, A2B1, B1C2, and B2C1 re-started the 30-s stimulus presentation interval. The absence of pecking to those compounds for 30 s ended the trial. Subsequent tests presented these components in new spatial arrangements and/or in recombinative compounds that together corresponded to conventional tests of symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence: B1A1, B2A2, C1B1, C2B2, A1C1, A2C2, C1A1, C2A2 vs. B1A2, B2A1, C1B2, C2B1, A1C2, A2C1, C1A2, C2A1 (positive vs. negative instances of symmetric, transitive, and equivalence relations). On tests for symmetric relations, all pigeons behaved in a manner consistent with training on both positive instances (i.e., by responding) and on negative instances (i.e., by not responding). By contrast, the pigeons' behavior on tests for transitivity and equivalence was inconsistent with baseline training, thus failing to show the recombinative discrimination performance that is typical of normally capable humans when trained and tested using the go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli.

]]> Heloisa Cursi Campos et al. Animals Columbidae Conditioning, Operant *Discrimination (Psychology) Pattern Recognition, Visual Photic Stimulation Reinforcement (Psychology) Conditional Discriminations by Preverbal Children in an Identity Matching-to-Sample Task http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/47 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/47 Fri, 22 Jun 2012 06:06:51 PDT This study sought to develop methodology for assessing whether children aged 16-21 months could learn to match stimuli on the basis of physical identity in conditional discrimination procedures of the type routinely used in stimulus equivalence research with older participants. The study was conducted in a private room at a daycare center for children and toddlers. The child and the research sat together on the floor facing an apparatus with two windows. Stimuli to be discriminated were toys especially designed to attract the child's attention and maintain continued interest. On simple discrimination and discrimination reversal trials that were programmed in initial training, S+ and S- toys were displayed within the two windows. When the child touched the window containing the toy defined as S+ on a given trial, s/he was allowed to manipulate/play with that toy. Selections of the S- toy ended the trial without a play opportunity. On subsequent identity matching-to-sample trials, the child was first allowed to manipulate a sample toy. Then, S+ (matching) and S- (nonmatching) comparison toys were displayed within the windows, and the selection consequences were the same as on simple discrimination trials. The study provides evidence that preverbal children can master simple and conditional discrimination performances via such procedures, perhaps setting the stage for subsequent studies aimed at establishing procedural control of the discrimination baselines needed to assess the stimulus equivalence potential of children in this age range.

]]> Maria Stella de Alcantara Gil et al. Discrimination (Psychology) Infant Procedural Variables in Equivalence Classes Research: Contributions to the Study of Symbolic Behavior http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/46 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/46 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:19:50 PDT Procedures typically used in Experimental Analysis of Behavior for studying equivalence classes formation may constitute an experimental model for studying symbolic behavior. Equivalence classes formation and symbolic behavior are alike in the fact that dissimilar elements, once arbitrarily related, become equivalent, that is, they become substitutable concerning to the control of the repertoires related to them. Difficulties in obtaining equivalence classes with non-linguistic organisms have lead some theorists to speculate that equivalence class formation, and possibly symbolic behavior, is a phenomenon dependent on linguistic functioning. Some studies reported in the literature, however, suggest that difficulties to obtain equivalence classes with non-linguistic organisms may be due to procedural failure to effectively establish stimulus control relations planned by the experimenter. This paper presents a brief review of basic concepts on equivalence relations, discusses some of the possibilities for development of non-coherent stimulus control in equivalence studies, and briefly points to studies of alternative procedures to select stimulus control relations that cohere with the experimentally planned relations.

]]> Romariz S. Barros et al. Learning Behavior Symbolism Rudimentary Reading Repertoires via Stimulus Equivalence and Recombination of Minimal Verbal Units http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/45 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/45 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:19:48 PDT We report a study with sixteen low-SES Brazilian children that sought to establish a repertoire of relations involving dictated words, printed words, and corresponding pictures. Children were taught: (1) in response to dictated words, to select corresponding pictures; (2) in response to syllables presented in both visual and auditory formats, to select words which contained a corresponding syllable in either the first or the last position; (3) in response to dictated-word samples, to “construct” corresponding printed words via arranging their constituent syllabic components; and (4) in response to printed word samples, to construct identical printed words by arranging their syllabic constituents. After training on the first two types of tasks, children were given tests for potentially emergent relations involving printed words and pictures. Almost all exhibited relations consistent with stimulus equivalence. They also displayed emergent naming performances––not only with training words but also with new words that were recombinations of their constituent syllables. The present work was inspired by Sidman's stimulus equivalence paradigm and by Skinner's functional analysis of verbal relations, particularly as applied to conceptions of minimal behavioral units and creativity (i.e., behavioral flexibility) in the analytical units applied to verbal relations.

]]> Maria Amelia Matos et al. Reading Developmental Disabilities Behavior Behavior-Analytic Experimental Strategies and Motivational Processes in Persons with Mental Retardation http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/44 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/44 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:19:46 PDT Citation: Dube, W. V., & McIlvane, W. J. (2006). Behavior-analytic experimental strategies and motivational processes in persons with mental retardation. In H. Switzk, L. Hickson & R. Schalock (Eds.), Mental Retardation, Personality, and Motivational Systems (International review of research in mental retardation, vol. 31), (pp. 261-288), Academic Press.

]]> William V. Dube et al. Mental Retardation Behavioral Research Motivation Learning Heterogeneity and hypothesis testing in neuropsychiatric illness http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/43 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/43 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:19:44 PDT The confounding effects of heterogeneity in biological psychiatry and psychiatric genetics have been widely discussed in the literature. We suggest an approach in which heterogeneity may be put to use in hypothesis testing, and may find application in evaluation of the Crespi & Badcock (C&B) imprinting hypothesis. Here we consider three potential sources of etiologic subtypes for analysis.

]]> Curtis K. Deutsch et al. Genetic Heterogeneity Neuropsychiatry Neuropsychological Tests Extent and Limits of the Matching Concept in Cebus Apella: A Matter of Experimental Control? http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/42 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/42 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:49:30 PDT The capacity to exhibit generalized sameness-difference judgments is a hallmark of cognition that is regularly exhibited by humans. As yet, that capacity has not been well documented in New World monkeys such as the capuchin (Cebus apella). This article presents data obtained with 6 capuchin monkeys with a variety of procedures that might lead to generalized identity matching-to-sample (MTS) in this species, reporting part of a research program conducted to evaluate methods for assessing the species' relational learning capacity. Our working hypothesis is that past failures to demonstrate relational learning have been caused by procedural insufficiency rather than a lack of capacity. Thus far, 6 capuchin monkeys have been tested for generalized identity MTS. The apparatus was a touchscreen-equipped microcomputer-controlled experimental chamber. Eleven sets of 3 visual stimuli (black shapes on gray backgrounds) were used. The general procedure was comprised of 4 phases: (a) simple discriminations, (b) repeated shifts of simple discriminations, (c) identity MTS training, and (d) generalized identity MTS tests. Every subject was exposed to each of the phases. Positive results on generalized identity MTS tests were obtained in all of the animals, although there have been substantial differences across individuals. The animal tested most recently has performed at levels comparable to typically developing preschool children.

]]> Olavo F. Galvao et al. Cognition Cebus Discrimination Learning A note on select- and reject-controlling relations in the simple discrimination of capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/41 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/41 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:49:29 PDT Controlling relations in the simple discrimination performances of capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were studied in two experiments using a blank-comparison procedure. The main goal was to determine whether monkeys would (a) select an S+ stimulus if another stimulus was substituted for the S- (indicating a select-controlling relation) and (b) reject an S- if another stimulus was substituted for S+ (indicating a reject-controlling relation). In experiment 1, two simple simultaneous discriminations were established, one of which was reversed repeatedly until rapid reversal learning was exhibited. During subsequent probe tests, some behavior was consistent with select- and reject-controlling relations, but there was also substantial variability. To control the variability, the procedures of experiment 2 were designed to establish select- and reject-control relations directly by training with the blank-comparison procedure. On subsequent probe trials, new stimuli were substituted for the blank comparison. Both animals exhibited consistent, reliable select- and reject-controlling relations. These experiments are the first to employ the blank-comparison procedure with non-human subjects. They also demonstrate a reliable method for generating select- and reject-controlling relations for experimental study.

]]> Paulo R. K. Goulart et al. Animals Cebus Discrimination (Psychology) Male Photic Stimulation Psychomotor Performance Touch Stimulus control topography coherence theory: Foundations and extensions http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/40 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/40 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:59:25 PDT Stimulus control topography refers to qualitative differences among members of a functional stimulus class. Stimulus control topography coherence refers to the degree of concordance between the stimulus properties specified as relevant by the individual arranging a reinforcement contingency (behavior analyst, experimenter, teacher, etc.) and the stimulus properties that come to control the behavior of the organism (experimental subject, student, etc.) that experiences those contingencies. This paper summarizes the rationale for analyses of discrimination learning outcomes in terms of stimulus control topography coherence and briefly reviews some of the foundational studies that led to this perspective. We also suggest directions for future research, including pursuit of conceptual and methodological challenges to a complete stimulus control topography coherence analysis of processes involved in discriminated and generalized operants.

]]> William J. McIlvane et al. Discrimination Learning Rebirth of the Shriver Automated Teaching Laboratory http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/39 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/39 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:59:24 PDT This article describes an updated version of an automated teaching laboratory (ATL) at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

]]> Karen M. Lionello-DeNolf et al. Laboratories Learning Behavioral Research Academic Medical Centers Developmental Disabilities The Search for Relational Learning Capacity in Cebus apella: A Programmed "Educational" Approach http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/38 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/38 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:59:22 PDT Citation: Barros, R. S., Galvão, O. F., & McIlvane, W. J. (2003). The search for relational learning capacity in cebus apella: A programmed "educational" approach. In S. A. Soraci, & K. Murata-Soraci (Eds.), Visual information processing (pp. 223-245). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group.

Limited preview of chapter available via Google Books.

]]> Romariz S. Barros et al. Learning Cebus Generalized identity matching-to-sample in Cebus apella http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/37 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/37 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:02:36 PDT Explored whether or not conditions could be created under which capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) might display generalized identity matching-to-sample. The authors employed procedures designed to minimize the effects of several variables that past research suggested might interfere with such emergent matching. These included unwanted stimulus control by location, failure to discriminate defining stimulus features, and stimulus novelty. In Experiment 1, two monkeys displayed accurate simple simultaneous discrimination with three sets of three stimuli each, presented in any of nine locations on a touchscreen-equipped computer monitor. In Experiment 2, the same monkeys were exposed to a 0-delay identity matching training procedure involving one of the stimulus sets from Experiment 1. After the identity-matching baseline was established, identity-matching tests were presented with other three-stimulus sets. For certain sets, the critical initial identity-matching test was preceded by a history of simple discrimination reversals involving the stimuli that would appear on the test. Overall, identity-matching test scores were substantially higher than might be expected by 'chance'. In Experiment 3, two additional new stimulus sets were introduced.

]]> Romariz S. Barros et al. Learning Cebus Assessing Behavioral Momentum in Humans with Mental Retardation and Unstable Baselines http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/36 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/36 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:24:51 PDT Our laboratory is currently conducting studies of behavioral momentum in humans with mental retardation. A better understanding of momentum effects may contribute to more effective procedures for reducing or eliminating learning problems in this population (e.g., McIlvane & Dube, 2000). In our studies, we have occasionally encountered cases where even liberal baseline stability criteria were not met after a substantial number of sessions, and thus typical procedures for evaluating momentum were not appropriate. This brief report will describe an alternative testing procedure that we are examining for use in these situations.

]]> William V. Dube et al. Discrimination Learning Behavior Mental Retardation Measuring Brain Activity Correlates of Behavior: A Methodological Overview http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/35 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/35 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:24:49 PDT The present article was prepared as an introduction to current approaches to studying brain activity correlates of behavior. Our goals are to (1) acquaint readers with current methods for detecting brain activity correlates of behavior and (2) suggest examples of scientific opportunities for collaborative research with brain scientists.

]]> Curtis K. Deutsch et al. Cognitive Science Behavioral Research Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological Studies of Brain Activity Correlates of Behavior in Individuals with and without Developmental Disabilities http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/34 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/34 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:24:48 PDT There is a rich assortment of brain imaging methodologies that permits evaluation of the covert events that are necessary to complete a comprehensive account of behavior. Among the latter methodologies, our laboratories have begun to explore event-related potential (ERP) research to complement traditional behavior analysis.

]]> Amanda DiFiore et al. Behavior Evoked Potentials Developmental Disabilities Methods for Studying Symbolic Behavior and Category Formation: Contributions of Stimulus Equivalence Research http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/33 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/33 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:24:46 PDT How do humans categorize items and events in their world, and what role does language play in this process? Such questions have been at the center of long-standing debate among philosophers and scientists from many eras, cultures, and disciplines. Fundamental to this debate are difficult questions of what is meant by the concept of a linguistic symbol. For instance, philosophers and scientists alike have articulated a conceptual distinction between the relations involved in rich linguistic symbols (true words) as compared to restricted paired associates (rote-learned associations). Yet it remains difficult to specify behaviorally what actually makes these two types of relations different. In this article, we describe methodology that may offer an operationalized model that allows empirical analysis of paired associate versus symbolic learning. Like any methodology, our approach alone does not pretend to fully resolve age-old questions. However, we intend to illustrate distinct advantages offered within this approach to scholars interested in symbolic functioning and its development.

]]> Krista M. Wilkinson et al. Learning Symbolism Emergent word-object mapping by children: Further studies using the blank comparison technique http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/32 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/32 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:24:45 PDT Two experiments examined the emergent mapping phenomenon in Portuguese-speaking children aged 3-13. This phenomenon is relevant to developmental psychologists' interest in "fast mapping" of new word-referent relations and also to behavior analysts' interest in behavior that emerges without explicit conditioning. We studied 52 children, using the "blank comparison" matching-to-sample technique described by Wilkinson and Mclivane (1997). The technique allows direct measurement of the stimulus control bases of emergent mapping, for example, to determine whether new words and their referents are related directly or via rejection (i.e., exclusion) of previously defined referents. Children demonstrated both types of controlling relations. These studies systematically replicate prior emergent mapping research in a large cohort of non-English-speaking children. Also found were apparent developmental differences between older and younger children. Although all children tended to relate novel stimuli, the tendency appeared to decline as children aged. This study confirms the utility of the blank comparison technique in emergent mapping research and also provides the first data set from school-aged children.

]]> Aline Roberta A. Costa et al. Discrimination Learning Behavior Children Reinforcer rate and stimulus control in discrimination reversal learning http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/31 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/31 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:24:43 PDT The present experiment examined the potential applicability of behavioral momentum theory to discrete-trial discrimination performances. The experiment asked if the persistence of stimulus control could be related to the rate of reinforcement for the discriminated operant. If momentum-like effects occur, a better understanding of them could contribute to more effective procedures for producing stimulus control change and transfer in experimental and applied settings.

]]> William V. Dube et al. Discrimination Learning Reversal Learning As origens da exclusão (origins of exclusion) http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/30 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/30 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:04:38 PDT This paper reports on "exclusion," a phenomenon demonstrated when a participant views an array of comparison stimuli, all but one of which has been defined in relation to a spoken sample stimulus (most often a dictated name). When a new undefined sample is spoken, participants immediately select the undefined comparison item without explicit training to do so. Exclusion has attracted interest from behavior analysts interested in analyzing emergent behavior and/or exploiting the potential of the procedure for teaching new behavior to persons with severe mental retardation. The importance of the research area has grown in recent years, as the phenomenon has been recognized also by researchers interested in the development of child language and comparative cognition. Since the first studies of exclusion, in the mid-1970s, we have learned much about the populations in which it appears, the types of stimuli that can enter into exclusion, and the contexts that affect performances. Yet a fundamental question remains unanswered: What is the origin of exclusion performance? Why do virtually all individuals demonstrate exclusion on the very first opportunity? A research group from the Shriver Center for Mental Retardation (USA) have recently developed a series of methodologically intricate, sometimes interconnected single-subject designs to answer these questions. This paper will describe work that has been completed thus far with individuals with severe mental retardation and a comparison group of typically developing children.

]]> Krista M. Wilkinson et al. Discrimination Learning Symbolism Developmental Disabilities Mental Retardation Child Development Disorders, Pervasive Behavioral momentum and multiple stimulus control topographies http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/29 http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/shriver_pp/29 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:04:18 PDT We have analyzed many discrimination learning difficulties as reflecting multiple stimulus control topographies (SCTs). Nevin & Grace's analysis offers new variables to consider in the design of stimulus-control shaping procedures and cross-setting generalization of newly established behavior. A multiple-SCT perspective also suggests that fixed-trial discrimination procedures may offer advantages for reconciling momentum theory and partial reinforcement extinction effects.

]]> William J. McIlvane et al. Discrimination Learning