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ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of a high‐probability (high‐p) request sequence on visual orienting to the instructor and response accuracy during discrete trial teaching (DTT) for a 3.5‐year‐old child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). High‐p sequences involve presenting several simple, high‐likelihood responses prior to a task less likely to be completed (low‐probability; low‐p task). Although high‐p procedures have demonstrated effectiveness in increasing compliance, few studies have examined their effects on observing responses or instructional accuracy. Using an alternating treatments design, we compared visual orienting (defined as eyes open and gaze directed toward the instructor's face for at least 1 s within 5 s prior to S D delivery) and response accuracy across conditions with and without a high‐p sequence. The high‐p condition was associated with consistently higher levels of visual orienting ( M = 85%) compared to the low‐p condition ( M = 36%), with minimal data overlap. Response accuracy was higher in the high‐p condition ( M = 72%) relative to the low‐p condition ( M = 57%), although overlap and variability were observed. These findings provide preliminary evidence that high‐p sequences may increase observing responses that support instructional readiness. Limitations related to the identification and measurement of high‐p instructions are discussed.

Abstract Effort discounting refers to the decrease in the subjective value of a reward as the required effort to obtain it increases. This study examined the effects of effort sequence and consequence type on effort discounting in human participants. In Experiment 1, all participants completed an effort‐based task—pedaling a stationary bicycle—with potentially real consequences, under both increasing and decreasing effort sequences. Shallower effort discounting and more nonsystematic data were observed in the decreasing sequence condition. In Experiment 2, participants experienced increasing, decreasing, and random effort sequences as well as hypothetical and potentially real consequences. Participants exhibited steeper effort discounting under potentially real consequences, but there was no effect of the sequence of effort presentation. We discuss the importance of assessing nonsystematic data points for conclusions regarding the effects of other variables. Additionally, we discuss the results in relation to prior studies on delay and effort discounting, particularly concerning the role of consequence type.

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Abstract This study evaluated an experimental procedure for establishing an emergent reading repertoire of Japanese Hiragana (a nonalphabetic script) using the stimulus equivalence paradigm within a single-subject descriptive design. Three native Portuguese speakers were exposed to a matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure to establish conditional discriminations between dictated syllables (A), Hiragana characters (B), and their corresponding Romanized representations (C). The mastery criterion for all training phases was 100% accuracy in a single block of 10 trials. Following AB and AC training, participants were tested for the emergence of BC and CB relations. All participants reached over 97% accuracy in the emergent relations, indicating the formation of equivalence classes. Two participants successfully read between 85% and 100% of the Hiragana characters without direct reinforcement (emergent reading). These preliminary results support the potential of the “teaching economy” in relational models and suggest that auditory-visual equivalence protocols may be a viable strategy for promoting emergent reading of nonalphabetic scripts.

Abstract Alcohol use disorder, unemployment, and homelessness are interrelated problems that are concentrated among people living in poverty. A recent clinical trial evaluating an employment‐based contingency management intervention called abstinence‐contingent wage supplements (ACWS) found that ACWS promoted alcohol abstinence, increased employment, and reduced poverty among unemployed adults experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder. This secondary analysis evaluated employment and poverty outcomes during the intervention for the 62 participants randomized into the ACWS group using paystubs and self‐reported measures collected during the intervention. Paystub measures correlated positively with self‐reported outcomes. Most ACWS participants ( n = 41; 66%) obtained employment during the intervention. During the intervention, employed participants became employed in 6.0 weeks, worked at a job or training program for 15 weeks, worked 33.7 hr per week while employed or in training, and earned $1,054.31 per pay period, on average. Most employed participants earned enough income to qualify as living out of poverty for at least one pay period (80%). While employed, participants lived above the poverty level for most pay periods (79%) during the intervention. Understanding the effects of the ACWS intervention on employment and poverty may prove useful in providing targeted support to people at increased risk of poverty‐related health problems.

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Abstract The reinforcer pathology model proposed by Warren Bickel and colleagues focuses on within‐individual motivational processes involving overvaluation of smaller immediate rewards relative to larger delayed rewards (delay discounting) and high drug reinforcing value (drug demand) as determinants of unhealthy substance use. We propose an extension of this model to incorporate broader socioecological factors (e.g., community‐level economic environment) that may influence reward preference. Using a secondary data analysis of 1,726 individuals enrolled in a randomized clinical trial for alcohol use disorder conducted at 10 research units in the United States, this study examined alcohol‐free activity engagement in predicting heavy drinking outcomes 12 months following treatment and moderation of these associations by community‐level economic factors. Bayesian multilevel models indicated that engaging in more alcohol‐free activities 6 months after treatment predicted lower heavy drinking frequency 12 months after treatment. Moreover, the association between alcohol‐free activity engagement and lower heavy drinking frequency was stronger among participants living in more impoverished communities. These findings suggest that empirical work in the natural environment derived from the reinforcer pathology theory attend to broader environmental factors encompassed by socioecological models of health that may be critical to promote and sustain recovery from alcohol and other substance use disorders.

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