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Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens were asked to avoid social contact to prevent the spread of the virus. In two separate online studies, we used three hypothetical scenarios within a probability discounting task to investigate whether participants would risk a monetary fine to break “lockdown” conditions when urged to by different types of social contacts (friends, parents, partners) and social contacts of varying proximity to the participant (close to distant). In Study 1, 230 participants took greater risks for their parents and partners than for their friends when asked to allow a home visit, lend gardening equipment, or drive someone to a medical center. In Study 2, a different sample of 231 participants took greater risks for those they identified as socially close compared to those more socially distant when asked to attend a birthday party, lend gardening equipment, or drive someone to a medical center. Participants were more likely to take risks in the medical scenario than in the other two scenarios. There was no evidence of an effect of age on risk-taking, but men were more likely to report that they would take risks than women. Our results have implications for researchers and health promoters because understanding the effects of social influence on risk-taking behavior—particularly in the face of a viral pandemic—could lead to more effective interventions to minimize risk to society.

ABSTRACTResponding effectively to verbal stimuli requires auditory‐visual conditional discriminations (AVCDs), which some learners with severe language delays struggle to acquire. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of transferring control over object selection from a modeled action to a spoken word. The participants were two six‐year‐old twins who already had generalized object imitation skills but had not successfully acquired any listener discriminations. During the object imitation to AVCD transfer procedure, the instructor initially modeled a play‐based functional action with each object and reinforced object imitation. Correct object imitation was then followed by an AVCD trial. Effects on acquisition were evaluated in a two‐tier multiple baseline design across participants with replication across stimulus sets. Both the participants not only acquired the AVCD targets across 4 sets, but showed generalization and maintenance across other AVCD targets during and following the study.

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Abstract We conducted a series of studies on the effects of synchronous reinforcement. Study 1 presented 30 participants with their high‐preference (HP) music, identified via a conjugate assessment, for walking on a treadmill during three synchronous reinforcement (SYNC) components. The results indicated that HP music produced schedule control of walking speed for 20 participants (66.7%). In addition, 80% of the participants who displayed schedule control also displayed variable walking speeds when music was withheld. Study 2 extended Study 1 by providing 30 new participants with their low‐preference (LP) music, again using the same conjugate assessment, for walking on a treadmill during the same three SYNC components. The results indicated that LP music produced schedule control of walking to (a) avoid music for 13 participants (43.33%) and (b) access music for two participants (6.67%). Study 3 compared group results across components for HP and LP participants from Studies 1 and 2, respectively. The results indicated that that the HP group walked significantly faster than the LP group during three components; however, heart rates did not differ statistically between the two groups for any component. The results across the studies indicate that both positive and negative synchronous reinforcement with music increased the walking speeds and heart rates of participants.

Abstract We implemented tact matrix training to teach tacts of spatial locations to four children (male, 4–7 years of age) on the autism spectrum in China. The experimental design involved a multiple‐probe design across participants with pre‐ and postinstruction probes on untaught tacts and listener responses. Learning outcomes included taught tacts of object–preposition combinations, generalization of untaught tacts, and derived listener responses to all combinations in the matrix. All four participants acquired taught tacts after matrix training. Untaught tacts and listener responses were demonstrated with direct teaching, indicating the occurrence of recombinative generalization. Two participants maintained these skills with high accuracy for 4 or 8 weeks. The remaining two participants demonstrated high accuracy in untaught tacts and listener responses immediately after instruction; however, accuracy in taught and untaught tacts declined during the 4‐ or 8‐week maintenance probes, whereas listener responses remained stable.

Abstract Concepts can be taught by presenting examples and nonexamples and giving the learner feedback on whether they accurately identify the examples, but it is not clear how to select examples and nonexamples. Specifically, the degree to which examples and nonexamples should differ is unknown. Six experiments were conducted to compare conceptual learning for four stimulus sets (three sets of arbitrary stimuli and one set of biological stimuli) across up to three practice conditions: (a) nonexamples that were relatively similar to the examples, (b) nonexamples that were relatively dissimilar to the examples, and (c) examples only. Conceptual learning was measured before and after practice using tests with examples and nonexamples that were not used during practice. Including nonexamples in practice increased the likelihood of conceptual learning relative to including only examples. Using nonexamples that were more similar to the examples resulted in the most robust conceptual learning. Adding new but conceptually irrelevant features to the testing stimuli disrupted conceptual learning but less so when the practice included nonexamples that were more similar to the examples. The efficacy and efficiency of instruction for conceptual learning were affected by features of the stimuli used to practice and test conceptual learning.

Abstract Following the COVID‐19 pandemic, it is vital to understand how major global stressors influence substance use, including cannabis‐related outcomes. The Marijuana Purchase Task assesses hypothetical cannabis demand (i.e., relative reinforcing value) and can detect contextual alterations. This study paired prospective cannabis demand assessment with qualitative inquiry to explore how COVID‐19 impacted cannabis use behavior. Individuals previously enrolled in a laboratory cannabis administration study opted in to a remote follow‐up survey ( n = 41, 46% female). Participants were categorized as those who did or did not increase use based on self‐reported changes in cannabis flower use and provided contextual explanations regarding pandemic‐related influences on cannabis outcomes. General linear models with repeated measures examined mean differences in demand by occasion (i.e., before/during COVID‐19), group (i.e., those who did/did not increase use), and their interaction. Those who increased use exhibited significantly higher demand during the pandemic; those who did not increase use exhibited similar demand across time revealing a Group × Time interaction. Thematic analysis contextualized quantitative findings, explaining external influences that affect use and demand (e.g., changes in cost, access, environment). COVID‐19 differentially impacted cannabis use and demand, with prepandemic use affecting trajectories. Contextual influences (i.e., availability, free time, income) facilitate the escalation of use under conditions of extreme global stress.

Abstract Previous research supports behavioral interventions, such as contingency management, to increase physical activity. A common limitation of these interventions is a lack of maintenance effects or assessment of the target behavior following the withdrawal of the intervention. This study evaluated self‐tailored deposit contracts and reinforcement thinning to increase daily steps of sedentary adults using a nonconcurrent multiple‐baseline‐across‐participants design. Participants selected a step goal and a predetermined amount of money to deposit, which would be returned contingent on meeting their goal daily, every 3 days, and weekly. Results showed an increase in step count during the intervention for all three participants, extending previous findings that self‐tailored deposit contracts and reinforcement thinning can increase adults' physical activity. However, the combination of procedures did not result in increased daily steps when the intervention was withdrawn.