The present study was designed to investigate the effects of a stimulus change inserted in the large component of a mixed fixed-ratio 10 fixed-ratio 100 schedule. In mixed fixed-ratio schedules, a run of responses which approximates the response requirement of the smaller fixed ratio occurs at the beginning of the larger fixed ratio. This run of responses and the pause it precedes is called a prime. In Experiment I, priming acquisition was compared in a mixed schedule in which a change in key-color followed completion of the first 10 responses of the fixed-ratio 100 component and a mixed schedule with no stimulus change. Primes were acquired more rapidly in the mixed schedule with the stimulus change and the number of responses in a priming run was less variable than occurred without the stimulus change. In Experiment II, the effect of the stimulus change on primes was further investigated by removal of the smaller fixed-ratio component or by varying the location of the stimulus change. Primes occurred only when the smaller fixed-ratio component was present. Varying the location of the stimulus change resulted in the transfer of control from the external stimulus to response-produced stimuli. Future investigation of this point of transfer should prove useful in the study of the proprioceptive stimulus control of homogeneous behavior sequences. In Experiments Ill through VI, the variables controlling the length of the post-prime and the post-reinforcement pauses were investigated using the mixed FR x chained FR x FR y schedule. In this series of experiments, FR x was varied with FR y held constant at both high and low values. In addition, FR y was varied with FR x held constant at both high and low values. The results indicate that the post-prime pause is primarily a function of FR y, the number of responses required after the priming run. On the other hand, both post-reinforcement pauses were shown to be a function of FR x, the size of the small fixed ratio. An interaction between FR x and FR y and both the post-reinforcement and the post-prime pauses suggested that pausing in mixed schedules is a closed system. Taken as a whole, these results indicate the importance of mixed chained schedules in the investigation of the priming phenomenon.

In the autoshaping preparation subjects are exposed to magazine training (US-only trials) prior to the conditioning phase in which a stimulus (conditioned stimulus, CS) predicts the delivery of a response independent reinforcer (unconditioned stimulus, US). Two experiments examined the hypothesis that irrespective of the number of US-only trials administered the magazine training and autoshaping contexts interact to determine conditioning, as measured by contact responses to the CS. The contexts employed were houselight on (light, L) and houselight off (dark, D). In Experiment I pigeons were exposed to 1, 20, 100, or 900 US-only trials in a D, or L, context prior to autoshaping in the D, or L. The results indicated that first, autoshaping in the L was superior to autoshaping in the D. Second, irrespective of the autoshaping context performance was better following magazine training in the different context. Third, the function relating performance to the number of US-only trials was an inverted U if magazine training occurred in the D and biphasic if it occurred in the L, irrespective of the autoshaping context. In Experiment II pigeons were exposed to 900 US-only trials in a D, or L, context. Prior to autoshaping in the D, or L, they were exposed to either the magazine training, or a novel, context; this constituted extinction of the US-only context. The results demonstrated that when magazine training and autoshaping occur in the D extinction in the magazine training context results in superior performance relative to extinction in a novel context. However, extinction in a novel context results in better performance, relative to extinction of the magazine training context, if magazine training and autoshaping proceed in the L. In summary, conditioning in the autoshaping paradigm is determined by the magazine training and autoshaping contexts and their interaction. The development of conditioning is therefore dependent on both the associative value of the CS and the background stimuli.

Individuals with disabilities often have a limited tact repertoire. This study compared the acquisition and generalization of tacts taught using different stimulus modes within discrete trial training (DTT) with children who have a limited tacting repertoire. The three stimulus modes that were compared were videos, pictures, and 3D objects. This research replicated Gómez’s (2015) methodology with a participant pool with lower tacting skills. In addition, this study assessed for generalization of the acquired tacts to a novel exemplar. In this study, tact training required fewer sessions when the picture and 3D object were used as stimulus modes. These results were then replicated across stimulus sets with Abraham and Alex. Finally, in this study greater generalization was observed for the tacts trained with a 3D object.

This study evaluated the speed of acquisition and level of generalization of tacts across three different stimulus modes: picture-flashcard, video clip, and 3D object. Three young children diagnosed with autism participated in this study. The acquisition of tacts was evaluated during Discrete Trial Training sessions (DTT). Two of the three participants learned the tacts more rapidly in the video clip condition in contrast with the picture condition. All three participants generalized the three tacts learned through a specific stimulus mode to the remaining stimulus modes. One week after the generalization test, all participants generalized to all novel 3D objects.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Labels are one source of our judgments. By assigning labels to objects, we not only create references but we also group prior and current experiences together. The goal of this research is to investigate how labels influence our judgments. Previous research on inductive generalization shows that labels can be more important than physical characteristics (the labeling effect), but the mechanism for this effect remains unclear. There are two differing views regarding the role of labels. One view proposes that labels are not essentially different from physical features: shared labels increase overall similarity between two items in the same way as shared physical features. The other view suggests that people have a naïve theory that shared labels are more special than shared physical features. The goal of this dissertation is to provide evidence that complements these conflicting views. I suggest that the role of labels varies depending on the background knowledge: types of categories (living things vs. man-made objects), amount of knowledge (number of exemplars people could list for the category), and types of labels (categorical vs. indexical). The results from four experiments showed that, for living things, the labeling effect is strong and depends less on the amount of knowledge; for man-made objects, the labeling effect is weak and depends on the amount of knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to research the relationship between people submitting themselves to their parents¡¦ authoritarian parenting and their managers¡¦ authoritarian leading, and research the reason of family experience extending to company organizations. Conclusions of this research show that the more parents educate their children by authoritarian parenting style, the more their children submit themselves to authoritarian parenting. The younger generation of people are belong to, the lesser their parents educate them by authoritarian parenting style. The more managers lead their subordinates by authoritarian leadership, the lesser their subordinates are satisfied with the interaction of their managers, and the lesser their subordinates submit themselves to their authoritarian leading. The more people submit themselves to their parents¡¦ authoritarian parenting, the more they submit themselves to their managers¡¦ authoritarian leading. The degree of different generation of people submitting themselves to parents¡¦ authoritarian parenting are the same, and submitting themselves to manager¡¦s authoritarian leading are the same, too. The degree of parents¡¦ authoritarian parenting is more than manager¡¦s authoritarian leading, and the degree of people submitting themselves to parents¡¦ authoritarian parenting is lesser than they submitting themselves to manager¡¦s authoritarian leading. The more stimulus generalization effect, people are easier using metaphor to compare family with company organization.

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A lot about the learning process still remains unknown. The experiments described in this thesis investigated variables that affect instructional efficiency by employing specifically programmed computers to manage and control instructional variables within each experiment for 6- to 7-year old children. A Measurement Procedures Study was undertaken to ascertain when a response should be classified as "acquired." It was decided to classify a response as acquired if it could be performed correctly (without prompting) seven days after instruction. A review of the relationship between accuracy level during instruction and the rate of acquisition found that higher accuracy levels during instruction tend to be associated with higher rates of acquisition provided that non-copying prompting procedures are employed. The first experiment investigated the relationship between accuracy level during instruction and rate of acquisition by presenting a non-copying antecedent prompt (model of the correct spelling word) depending on a preselected target accuracy level. As an error-contingent prompt (model of the correct spelling word) was also provided it could not be ascertained whether transfer of stimulus control occurred as a result of the antecedent prompt, or the error-contingent prompt, or both. The second experiment was a repeat of the first experiment with the error-contingent prompt removed. It was found that it was possible to manage, although not completely control, the accuracy level during instruction by presenting a simultaneous non-copying prompt and that higher accuracy levels during instruction were associated with higher rates of acquisition. A review that examined the error-correction research found that a variety of correction procedures were effective. However, none of the 36 experiments which were reviewed controlled the number of response opportunities. Experiment 3 compared the effects on rate of acquisition of presenting an antecedent model or an error-contingent model. The results of Experiment 3 showed that when the number of learning opportunities was controlled there was little difference in effectiveness or efficiency between an antecedent model and an error-contingent model. Experiment 4 compared the effects of presenting an error-contingent model against an error-contingent model and a secondary response opportunity. It was found that an error-contingent model was at least as effective, although it was overall less efficient when response opportunities were controlled. A supplementary analysis was undertaken to review and compare the results obtained across the four experiments. Across experiments each newly acquired spelling response required about five practice responses, on average. It appears this was a critical variable for acquisition. Additionally, each acquired response was acquired over a two-day period. Although rates of acquisition differed between high-achieving children and low-achieving children, there was little difference in the number of practice responses required for acquisition between these two groups. It was observed that most of the 6- to 7-year old participants found error feedback aversive and this appeared to result in reduced attention to models of the correct spelling when these occurred following errors. The results from this series of investigations suggest that an opportunity for the transfer of stimulus control from the prompt (model of the correct spelling) to the practice stimulus (the spoken word) is more critical for acquisition than where the prompt occurs within the trial (that is, the antecedent or consequent position). It was suggested that future research could investigate (a) the variables which are necessary for the transfer of stimulus control, (b) the generality of the observation that children require five practice responses in order to acquire discrete academic responses, and (c) the effects on rates of acquisition and instructional efficiency of varying the distribution in time of practice responses for children who are learning various types of academic skills.

Language development involves the learning of multiple sets of equivalence relations. Research has shown that if certain conditional relations are directly taught for one member of a class of stimuli, then additional conditional relations often emerge for other members of that class, without direct training. There are currently very few studies which have demonstrated this research finding in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research design used for the present experiment was a single-subject AB cross-over design replicated across five plus five children with ASD and five plus five typically developing children. The children with ASD and the typically developing children were matched on their level of vocabulary development. Participants were randomly assigned to either a teaching order Treatment A+B or a teaching order Treatment B+A. The first experimental treatment (Treatment A+B) involved teaching responses to S1 and S2 in the order Condition A followed by Condition B. The second experimental treatment (Treatment B+A) involved teaching responses to S1 and S2 in the order Condition B followed by Condition A. Condition A involved the teaching of AB and AC (hear-select) relations, and Condition B involved the teaching of BA and CA (see-say) relations. The participants in this study were taught stimulus-response relations that involved six names and numerical representations of quantities in the range 1 to 18. Tests for the emergence of symmetry and transitivity were then conducted. The relationships between the emergence of the untaught equivalence relations and teaching condition, the entering characteristics of the children, and trials to criterion were examined. The results of this study showed that five out of ten participants with ASD demonstrated the emergence of all of the untaught equivalence relations regardless of the treatment condition. The remaining five participants with ASD showed substantial variability. Of the children in the Typically Developing Group nine of the ten demonstrated emergence of all of the untaught equivalence relations. The variables that were most strongly correlated with the emergence of untaught equivalence relations were speed of acquisition of taught relations, functional academics scores, and the chronological age of the participants. The effect of communication ability, pre-academic numeracy skill level, and the experimental treatment (the teaching order conditions) were not strongly related to the emergence of untaught equivalence relations. These findings suggest that outcomes on tests for emergence may have been a function of children’s rate of development and prior learning history. The findings of the current study are best explained by Relational Frame Theory. The implications of these findings for teaching children with ASD and other developmental disabilities, and also teaching in general are discussed.