Indexador

AbstractThere is a growing body of research examining the efficacy of teaching a foreign language using procedures that would lead to generative learning. This study assessed the acquisition of foreign tacts and the emergence of bidirectional intraverbal responses (native‐foreign and foreign‐native) as a function of target stimulus preference. Three children learned to tact two sets of pictures (low‐ and high‐preferred targets) presented in an adapted alternating‐treatments design. Emergent intraverbal responses were evaluated across both directions before and after instruction. The results showed that all participants met the mastery and emergence criteria for the high‐preferred stimulus set in fewer trial blocks than for the low‐preferred stimulus set. The high‐preferred set also yielded greater emergence of all intraverbal relations. The results replicated previous findings in that tact instruction was effective in producing emergent intraverbal responding. Moreover, our data suggest that preference for targets is an important variable to ensuring optimal foreign language learning.

Resumo não informado pela fonte indexada.

Abstract The law of effect, originally proposed by E. L. Thorndike in a book that was published in 1911, had a major influence on the development of studies of instrumental or operant conditioning in the twentieth century. It remains a core concept in psychology and is invariably covered in undergraduate and graduate courses. Thorndike's law of effect also remains a topic of inquiry in contemporary efforts to understand the nature of habitual responses as contrasted with goal‐directed behavior. The mechanisms of the law of effect continue to be studied by behavioral and social psychologists as well as neuroscientists. However, many statements of the law of effect deviate in significant ways from Thorndike's original formulation. The present article reviews the history of Thorndike's law of effect and traces how the law has been, and continues to be, misrepresented. The hope is that familiarity with common misrepresentations of the law of effect will encourage greater consistency and clarity in discussions of the law and better appreciation of its role in contemporary research.

Abstract Children often learn the names of objects incidentally—that is without direct instruction or programmed reinforcement—simply by observing others label novel objects. A number of contextual cues have been deemed important in the development of naming such as orientation toward stimuli, pointing, linguistic prompts (e.g., “This is…”), and contiguous presentations of stimuli and sounds. Despite their significance, there has been almost no systematic investigation of these cues in behavior analysis. The current study preliminarily examines how contextual cues—such as an experimenter's eye gaze, pointing, and use of paralinguistic cues—affect naming responses. In Experiment 1, three typically developing children were administered naming tests with and without these cues using a reversal design. All participants showed improved performance with cues relative to without cues. Experiment 2 extended this by testing three autistic children with all cues, a partial set of cues, or no cues, using a reversal design. Results replicated Experiment 1, also demonstrating that partial cues were effective in facilitating naming. Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 1 with three additional autistic participants during which test trials remained consistent across conditions in a reversal design. Further research on the contextual cues presented during naming experiences is warranted.

Resumo não informado pela fonte indexada.

Resumo não informado pela fonte indexada.

AbstractThe testing effect is a well‐established phenomenon in cognitive psychology that refers to enhanced long‐term retention of information due to active recalling through testing. Following a cross‐disciplinary translation of the testing effect into behavioral principles, we systematically replicated the previous findings in a behavior‐analytic context while evaluating the effects of the number of quiz questions on college students' exam performance and other academic behaviors. Students in an upper‐level behavior analysis course participated. Using a within‐subject experimental design in which the participants served as their own control, we compared their exam performance and academic behaviors, such as class participation and out‐of‐class studying, across three conditions: (a) no quizzes, (b) 5‐question quizzes, and (c) 10‐question quizzes. Quizzes improved exam performance and some academic behaviors, successfully replicating the testing effect in a behavior‐analytic context. However, the number of quiz questions did not influence the improvements. Implications of the results and future research are discussed.

Resumo não informado pela fonte indexada.

Abstract Mass shootings affect both local and national communities and prompt extensive efforts to understand and prevent future events. Current approaches typically focus on profiling and typologizing mass shooters. Although these efforts are useful towards prediction of mass shootings, they do not tell us how to directly influence a shooter’s behavior. Thus, our understanding of mass shootings remains incomplete. Given that behavior analysis is a systematic natural science approach to understanding all behavior, we believe it is poised to address this issue. This article focuses on fame-seeking shooters, which are a subset of all mass shooters. We first describe important behavior patterns and contextual events that have been associated with this subset. We propose that these behaviors are members of a larger response class which includes a mass shooting. We then provide a conceptualization of the selection process involved in the emergence of mass shooting behavior and its precursors. We close by describing several interventions aimed at disrupting the contingencies identified by the conceptual analysis. The goal of this article is to illustrate how behavior analysis may utilize and extend the currently existing and predominantly non behavior-analytic research (e.g., profiling and typologizing based on the form of behavior) to better enable the prediction and influence of mass shootings.

Resumo não informado pela fonte indexada.