A one-trial learning color discrimination task was extrapolated from Jarvik's (1953) teaching color discrimination to primates. A yellow-blue discrimination was selected to teach eleven autistic children. As in Jarvik's, SD and SA, reinforcer and punisher, were one and the same. Sugar-flavored water was the S D alum-flavored water, S . The instrumental response of reaching for a colored glass and drinking was established. Then one-trial learning occurred. The learning tests were a block of twenty-five trials for each individual subject on the following day. The second day another block of twenty-five trials was administered to each subject. It was hypothesized that the subjects would function at a ninety per cent criterion level. None of the subjects learned the task.

In two experiments, I arranged the environment to determine if a relation existed between the social setting, which was defined by the presence of a peer or multiple peers and measured by the participants’ verbal behavior, and the learning of new reinforcers for the participants and the confederate peers. The peers were used to establish an intervention setting that fostered interaction between individuals but did not require it. In both experiments, two pre- and post- intervention tests of the dependent variables were used to measure the learning of new reinforcers. In Experiment 1, two intervention conditions were counterbalanced across participants to identify if a neutral stimulus would attain reinforcing value by observation if it was simultaneously delivered to both participant and peer for responding to previously learned math equations (Condition 1) or if the conditioning phenomenon was only observed when the neutral item was delivered to the peer (while the participant was present but denied access to the stimulus) for responding to previously learned math equations (Condition 2). Participant behavior was measured for all variables across all phases of the experiment and peer behavior was measured during the pre- and post-intervention screening test. The results from Experiment 1 showed that the participants did not learn new reinforcers when the neutral stimulus (NS) was delivered simultaneously to both participant and peer as they completed math worksheets. However, the previously neutral stimulus did become a reinforcer when the participant did not receive the NS but observed the peer receive the NS as they completed the math worksheets. Peer behavior was also measured during the pre- and post-intervention screening test and was consistent with the participants’ results; peers acquired new reinforcers during Condition 2 but not Condition 1, even though they were never denied access to the stimulus. In Experiment 2, I tested whether reinforcers would be conditioned through observation regardless of the role that the participant was assigned during the intervention. Pre- and post-intervention tests for the dependent variables measured the behaviors of all nine participants regardless of the participant’s intervention role (e.g. peer, recipient). In Experiment 2, participants were randomly put in groups of three that included two participants (peers) who observed the third participant (recipient) receive the NS as a reinforcement operation as all three were completing math worksheets. The setting was arranged in this manner to test the effect of the reinforcement operation when two peers observed one recipient receive the stimulus. The results are discussed as an analysis of social contingencies, reinforcement operations including deprivation and other implications that can be drawn from the changes in the participants’ and confederates’ behavior during the pre-and post-intervention measures.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-72). Online version available on the World Wide Web. Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2005]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 109 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-109).

Young children with autism often engage in challenging behaviors. Such behaviors can lead to social isolation and decreased time spent in instruction. Previous research has demonstrated that antecedent based interventions can reduce challenging behavior in young children with autism. These interventions often alter reinforcement contingencies in order to decrease challenging behavior. However, research has shown that it is also possible to target an individual's motivation to engage in challenging behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a manipulation of the motivating operation on challenging behavior as well as academic engagement for young children with autism. A motivating operation (MO) alters the value of reinforcement as well as the frequency of behavior previously correlated with accessing reinforcement. When the value of reinforcement is decreased and the frequency of behavior correlated with that reinforcement is decreased, the abolishing operation is in effect. One method for reducing the value of reinforcement is to provide the individual with unrestricted access to reinforcement until the individual reaches a level of satiation. Through the use of the abolishing operation it is possible to alter the frequency of challenging behavior without altering reinforcement contingencies. In this study five young children with autism who engaged in challenging behavior were exposed to two conditions. One condition involved a manipulation of the abolishing operation in which participants were given unrestricted access to the consequence maintaining their challenging behavior prior to classroom sessions. In the second condition the participants entered into the classroom session without presession access to reinforcement. The influence of the abolishing operation was assessed with respect to levels of challenging behavior and levels of academic engagement in the classroom. Results demonstrated that presession access to the maintaining consequence of challenging behavior reduced challenging behavior and simultaneously increased academic engagement for all participants. / text

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