Of the diagnostic features of autism, relatively little research has been devoted to restricted and repetitive behavior, particularly topographically complex forms of restricted and repetitive behavior such as rigidity in routines or compulsive-like behavior (e.g., arranging objects in patterns or rows). Like vocal or motor stereotypy,…

Past research has shown that response interruption and redirection (RIRD) can effectively decrease automatically reinforced motor behavior (Hagopian & Adelinis, 2001). Ahearn, Clark, MacDonald, and Chung (2007) found that a procedural adaptation of RIRD reduced vocal stereotypy and increased appropriate vocalizations for some children, although…

A recent theory of pigeons' equivalence-class formation (Urcuioli, 2008) predicts that reflexivity, an untrained ability to match a stimulus to itself, should be observed after training on two "mirror-image" symbolic successive matching tasks plus identity successive matching using some of the symbolic matching stimuli. One group of pigeons was…

Although newborns have surprised scientists with their learning skills, proficiency on concurrent schedules of reinforcement requires (in effect) the ability to integrate and compare behavior-consequence relations over time. Can very young animals obey the quantitative relation that applies to such repeated choices, the generalized matching law?…

Eight pigeons responded in a three-component concurrent-chains procedure, with either independent or dependent initial links. Relative probability and immediacy of reinforcement in the terminal links were both varied, and outcomes on individual trials (reinforcement or nonreinforcement) were either signaled or unsignaled. Terminal-link fixed-time…

Although there have been many suggestions for incorporating cell phone use into classroom activities, there have been few suggestions for removing cell phone use from the classroom. This article presents an easy-to-implement method using positive reinforcement that effectively removes cell phones from the classroom in a way that is highly endorsed…

Students with behavioral and emotional disabilities spend less time on academic instruction due to their behavioral disruptions, contributing to the academic difficulties these students face. Classroom management strategies, in the form of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), incorporate principles of applied behavior analysis to…

This study tested effects of a program that offers teachers universal classroom management strategies, on teachers' burnout symptoms and self-efficacy, and their teaching behaviors. Data were collected from 147 teachers (mean age = 38.4 years, SD = 10.8) in 15 special secondary education schools for students with emotional and behavioral problems,…

The current study examined the effects of the Class-wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), a class-wide group contingency, on the on-task behavior of all students in a first grade class and the on-task and disruptive behavior of three target students within that class who were nominated by their teacher through a behavioral screening.…

Predictive value for continuously reinforced cues is affected by context changes when they are trained within a context in which a different cue undergoes partial reinforcement. An experiment was conducted with the goal of exploring the mechanisms underlying this context-switch effect. Human participants were trained in a predictive learning…

Pigeons prefer a positive discriminative (S+) stimulus that follows a less preferred event (a large number of required responses, a longer delay, or the absence of food) over a different S+ with a similar history of reinforcement that follows a more preferred event (a single required response, no delay, or food). We proposed that this phenomenon…

It has been suggested that verbally sophisticated individuals engage in a series of precurrent behaviors (e.g., covert intraverbal behavior, grouping stimuli, visual imagining) to solve problems such as answering questions (Palmer, 1991; Skinner, 1953). We examined the effects of one problem solving strategy--visual imagining--on increasing…

We observed 11 undergraduates in an experiment designed to simulate infant caregiving. In negative reinforcement conditions experienced by all participants, a targeted caregiving response (e.g., rocking a baby doll) produced escape from, and avoidance of, a recorded infant cry. Nine participants' caregiving was shown to be controlled by this…

Frontal oscillatory dynamics in the theta (4-8 Hz) and beta (20-30 Hz) frequency bands have been implicated in cognitive control processes. Here we investigated the changes in coordinated activity within and between frontal brain areas during feedback-based response learning. In a time estimation task, participants learned to press a button after…

Children with autism have significant communication delays. Although some children develop vocalizations through shaping and differential reinforcement, others rarely exhibit vocalizations, and alternative methods are targeted in intervention. However, vocal language often remains a goal for caregivers and clinicians. Thus, strategies to increase…