Perspective-taking is a new topic in the field of behavior analysis and has become of extreme interest. Previous research has looked at perspective-taking using a protocol that has been previously developed. Research in this field has looked at whether the lack of perspective-taking (mindblindness) is the cause for social deficits in children diagnosed with Autism. The present paper modified the previously used perspective-taking protocol and included story book examples to determine if typically developing children could change perspective from themselves to fictional characters in various children's books using a Relational Frame Theory approach. Previous research suggests that derived relational responding is responsible for perspective-taking deficits. The results of the current study suggest that after extensive training; typically developing children were able to complete the perspective-taking protocol.

Perspective-taking, the ability to understand and be aware of information states in oneself and others has recently become an important topic in examining complex behavior and cognition. Previous research has developed a behavioral protocol for assessing perspective-taking skills and has indicated that there are perspective-taking deficits in populations diagnosed with autism. This research has also indicated that the lack of perspective-taking could be the basis for social deficits observed in these populations. Populations that display similar social deficits (i.e. learning disabilities) have not been examined, nor has prior research examined perspective-taking in adolescent populations. The present paper reports the findings of examining the perspective-taking skills in adolescents diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome or a specific learning disability. Participants were tested using a perspective-taking protocol created using therapy cards designed for teaching social skills to adolescents with autism. The protocol included a number of questions testing both deictic frames (I-You, Here-There, Now-Then) and frames of relation (simple, reversed, double reversed). Results indicate that there are similarities in the perspective-taking abilities of adolescents diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, and those diagnosed with learning disabilities.

The purpose of the educational system is to provide an appropriate general education which serves to increase the cognitive and intellectual abilities of those enrolled. Over the past several decades, the number of individuals that receive an education from the public school system has increased significantly, along with an increase in equal access regardless of disability or socioeconomic status. Additionally, the amount of resources afforded to the public education system has increased as well. Despite the increased access and amount of resources afforded to the educational system, a corresponding increase in academic performance and cognitive or intellectual ability has not been observed. Therefore, an empirically validated method for increasing intellectual and cognitive performance is necessary. Relational Frame Theory (RFT), a contemporary behavior-analytic account to complex human language and cognition, offers a behavior-oriented interpretation of intelligence. Such an interpretation of intelligence may allow for the development of interventions designed to strengthen behaviors conventionally regarded as intelligent. This series of three studies aims to add to the understanding of human intelligence and cognition by examining the relationship between derived relational responding and intelligence, and evaluating the effect a set of interventions derived from RFT have on intelligence, academic performance and impulsivity. Study 1 examined the relationship between derived relational responding and intelligence. Experimenters administered the PEAK-Transformation Pre-assessment, which provides a measure of relational responding, and the WISC-V, which provides a measure of IQ, and conducted a Pearson correlation between the two measures. The results from this study showed a strong, positive correlation (r = .659, p < .05) between total scores for the PEAK-T Pre-assessment and the WISC-V, which suggest relationship between derived relational responding and intelligence. Additional correlations were conducted between each subtest of the PEAK-T Pre-assessment and the WISC-V. The results showed a moderate correlation between the PEAK-T Receptive subtest and the WISC-V (r = .568, p < .05) and a strong, positive correlation between the PEAK-T Expressive subtest and the WISC-V (r = .666, p < .05). Finally, correlations were conducted with each relational frame within the PEAK-T assessment and the WISC-V, which showed significant correlations between each relational frame and IQ scores. Study 2 sought to evaluate the effect relational training procedures had on intelligence, academic performance, and impulsivity using a Multiple Baseline research design. Experimenters adminsitered pre-training and post-training probes for each of the dependent measures to determine the extent to which relational training procedures influenced scores on each measure. The results showed that the intervention was effective in increasing score on the PEAK-T-PA and the WISC-V. The average increase in PEAK-T-PA scores was 32.4, and the average increase in WISC-V scores was 6.6. CBM scores also showed a improvement, however, the difference between pre-training and post-training was minimal. The average change score for CBM assessments was 8.27. Finally, MAI scores on the BART showed no change in the post-training phase compared to that of the pre-training phase. The average change score in MAI was -2.29, which indicates a decrease in impulsivity. Although a decrease was observed, there was overlap between scores in the post-training phase and pre-training phase, which suggests no effect from the intervention. Overall, the data show that relational training was effective in increasing derived relational responding behavior and intelligence, and had some effect on academic performance. Additionally, the data show the intervention had no effect on impulsivity. Taken together, the results add to a growing body of literature supporting the use of RFT-based interventions to strengthen intelligence and other relevant behaviors, however, further research is necessary to identify the specific variables underying these behaviors.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF BRITTNEY E. EBERHARDT, for the Master of Science degree in Behavior Analysis and Therapy, presented on August 2016, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: TEACHING IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS TO CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS USING THE PEAK RELATIONAL TRAINING SYSTEM MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Mark R. Dixon Idiomatic expressions are commonly used phrases, which require the listener to interpret the meaning figuratively rather than literally. The purpose of this study was to expand the research in the area of stimulus equivalence to determine whether untaught symmetrical and transitive responding in relation to idiomatic expressions would emerge for two participants with developmental delays. The first phase of the study involved directly training participants to respond with the statement (B stimuli; i.e.: “Go to bed.”) that corresponded with an intraverbal (A stimuli; i.e.: “What do you do at night after you put on your pajamas?”). After participants mastered these relationships, they were directly trained to respond with the idiomatic expression (C stimuli; i.e.: “Hit the hay”) when the experimenter verbally asked, “What is another way to say [A stimuli]?”. The results indicate that both participants achieved mastery criteria during the first phase of the study on A-B relations, however they were unable to demonstrate the derived equivalence A-C relation or C-B relation. After training on the B-C relationship, participants were again able to achieve criteria on the trained relationship and demonstrated some of the derived symmetrical relationships as well as derived transitive relationships. In addition, this study utilized the procedures from the PEAK-E relational training system to aid in replication in research and clinical practice.

Many children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suffer from anxiety, depression, and other disorders. These disorders make it difficult to leave healthy and productive lives and can be experienced across school and social life. The mechanisms underlying anxiety and other disorders can be explained through language and cognition and this is the rational underlying Relational Frame Theory (RFT). RFT suggests that human language and cognition are a direct cause of many human psychological problems as we are able to evaluate words. The cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance, and suppression described by RFT have been expanded to include treatment methods within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a psychotherapeutic approach that attempts to undermine emotional avoidance explained through RFT and promotes positive behavior change. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of ACT in increasing value-directed behavior in three adults with ASD. The results of this study revealed that brief ACT experiential exercises were effective in increasing value-directed behavior in all participants. Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), relational frame theory (RFT), Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

This was a single-case study which evaluated the effects of PEAK-T on two children with Autism. A total of 6 programs were trained between the two participants using a Multiple Baseline Design across skills. This evaluation was conducted using the subtest materials provided in the PEAK-T modules and through full assessments. The assessments were used to identify the appropriate skill level of each participant and they were used to evaluate whether the skills were maintained. The participants had no prior exposure to any of the PEAK-T programs as demonstrated by the participants baseline scores. The results of the study showed that programming of multiple exemplars resulted in acquisition of novel skills in both participants and that the skills were maintained. Both Participants demonstrated mastery of their programs and a total of 4 programs between two participants were added to the participants repertoire.

Research findings across a variety of samples (e.g., clinical, shelter, hospital) estimate that 31% to 84% of women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study sought to further investigate the abuse-trauma link by examining the relationship between lifetime trauma exposure, type of abuse (i.e., physical, psychological), and perspective-taking abilities (i.e., here-there, now-then). The role of experiential avoidance in the development of PTSD symptoms was also examined. Results indicated that lifetime trauma exposure (β = .31) and psychological abuse (β = .34) were significant predictors of PTSD symptomatology. Additionally, analyses revealed that experiential avoidance (β = .65) was a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms that partially mediated the relationship between IPV and PTSD symptomatology. Implications of findings are discussed as well as future suggestions for research examining type of IPV and PTSD.

The current study evaluated the effects of discrete trial training versus the effects of relational training on the acquisition and retention of skills in four children with autism. Using a multiple baseline design across subjects, participants were trained on the skills sequencing from longest to shortest, discriminating full versus empty versus half empty, tacting “you” versus “I,” and responding to reasons why people cry. One of the four participants acquired and retained the skill. Many factors effected the results for the other three participants. Participant 2 never met mastery criteria with relational training procedures. Participant 3 learned PEAK programming four times faster than DTT, however, when using PEAK with the original target, 10 days were required to score all points opposed to the four days DTT required. Participant 4 displayed similar performance results using DTT and PEAK. Implications and limitations will be discussed.

The present study evaluated the effects of utilizing derived relational responding protocols to teach non-arbitrary frames of opposition, comparison and distinction to two children with autism across tactile, auditory, and olfactory sensory modalities. Both participants were successful in demonstrating accurate responding across all skill programs, which included the demonstration of transfers of stimulus function. The results for both participants suggest that the programs were effective in fostering skill acquisition among individuals with ASD using the relational frames of opposition, distinction, and comparison by utilizing stimuli with sensory qualities of tactile, olfactory, and auditory modalities respectively.

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