Papers by Richard Laitinen
Psychological Record, Jul 1, 1988
Symmetric and transitive stimulus control within four-and fiveterm contingencies were studied for... more Symmetric and transitive stimulus control within four-and fiveterm contingencies were studied for five adult subjects. Four-term conditional stimulus relations consisted of two sets of four Greek letters (A 1, 81, C1, 01; A2, 82, C2, 02) each related within a match-to-sample paradigm. Five-term relations consisted of additional stimuli (geometric figures) which functioned to alternate A1 and A2 class membership-that is, given Figure 1, A 1 was related to 81, C1, 01; whereas, given Figure 2, A1 was related to 82, C2, 02. Three subjects were taught in a five-/four-term sequence, and two subjects were taught in a four-/five-term sequence. The results indicate that the order in which the four-and five-term relations were taught differentially influenced the emergence of transitive, but not symmetric, relationships. Stimulus equivalence refers to the emergence of untrained relationships between physically dissimilar stimuli as a result of the training of a series of conditional discriminations, and has three defining properties-reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity (Fields, Verhave, & Fath, 1984; Sidman & Tailby, 1982). Reflexivity is described as generalized identity matching of the type: "If A, then A." Symmetric stimulus control is shown when two or more nonidentical stimuli are reciprocally related; as in, "if A, then B," and "if B, then A." The formation of transitive stimulus relations requires stimulus classes of three or more functionally related stimuli (Fields & Verhave, 1987). Transitivity is demonstrated when previously untrained stimulus relations emerge following the training of intermediary stimulus relations. For example, with the conditional relations "if A, then B" and "if B, then C" element A can be logically related to C through transitivity (i.e., "if A, then C" and "if C, then A"). Studies demonstrating the emergence of reflexive, symmetric, and transitive stimulus control typically use conditional discrimination procedures within match-to-sample paradigms (De
The Behavioral Development Bulletin, Apr 1, 2017
This article gives an account of the development of a scope-and-sequence based curriculum, the Ve... more This article gives an account of the development of a scope-and-sequence based curriculum, the Verbal Behavior Curriculum, and an overview of the learning principles that directed its design and incorporation of instructional delivery and management procedures. The curriculum was informed by both Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian accounts of complex language and cognitive behaviors, instructional design and delivery technologies derived from discrete trial-based, Direct Instruction and Precision Teaching research as well as application concepts. The bulk of the article details that part of the curriculum's design intended to instantiate 3 critical behavioral repertoires (aka cusps): (a) early stages of participative, listener and observant skills, essential components for social behavior, (b) readiness/attention skills that enable the acquisition of missing prerequisite skills to acquire high order generative language, and (c) use of language skills in social situations to develop the full potential of the learner, sometimes turning into a fully verbal individual.
Elsevier eBooks, 2004
Publisher Summary Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Direct Instruction (DI), and Precision Teachin... more Publisher Summary Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Direct Instruction (DI), and Precision Teaching (PT) practices are commonly considered the best practices to serve a variety of learners in special and regular education settings. The intended outcome of the Competent Learner Model (CLM) is the development of Competent Learner Repertoires (CLRs), which allow learning to occur in everyday circumstances within and across school, home, and community settings. The CLM utilizes the best practice recommendations supported by experimental, conceptual, and applied research from ABA, DI, and PT practices. The CLM assists educators in doing that by providing them with the knowledge of the repertoires that need to be developed, the stimuli that serve as potential re-inforcers and aversives, and the contingencies that are needed to effectively develop or weaken repertoires. The CLM curricula are designed to serve naive learners, particularly those with special needs and learning histories that have made learning in typical learning environments very challenging.
The Journal for Vocational Special Needs Education, 1999
School Effectiveness and School Improvement, Mar 1, 1997
this issue). Elsewhere in this issue, Herman and Datnow (1997) provide a description of the overa... more this issue). Elsewhere in this issue, Herman and Datnow (1997) provide a description of the overall longitudinal design plan. Here we focus on reporting a first-year study designed to provide information for (a) increasing understanding of design processes and outcomes; (b) facilitating decision making in the school district regarding design-specific and systemic improvements in procedures and policies for the following year; and (c) providing early summative evaluation data on how the designs are affecting student achievement in comparison to traditional (non-restructuring) programs. Based on discussions with MCS administrators, the following broad evaluation questions were identified: • What is the level and quality of the design implementation? • How sufficient are the resources available to support the designs? • How effective and useful is the training provided to teachers and school staff for implementing the design? • What are the implications of the designs for school organization, curriculum, teaching, and community involvement?
Exceptionality, Mar 1, 2005
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Dec 1, 1979
Recent research demonstrated that when autistic children are presented a discrimination task with... more Recent research demonstrated that when autistic children are presented a discrimination task with multiple cues, they typically respond to an abnormally limited number, usually one, of the available cues. This phenomenon, termed "'stimulus overselectivity, "" has been implicated as a possible basis for many of the behavioral deficits characteristic of autism. The present investigation was conducted to systematically analyze the effects of changing the schedules of reinforcement during discrimination training on subsequent stimulus overselectivity. Twelve autistic children were taught a discrimination involving multiple visual cues, with a CRF schedule of reinJorcement. The children were then overtrained on either the same (CRF) schedule or on a partial (VR:3) reinforcement schedule. Subsequent overselectivity on single-cue test trials was then assessed. Results suggested that significantly less overselectivity occurred when the children were presented with the VR:3 reinforcement schedule during
Operations Research, 1970
The probability distribution of a number of Bernoulli trials required to obtain a preassigned num... more The probability distribution of a number of Bernoulli trials required to obtain a preassigned number of successes under Markovian dependence arises in the study of certain weapon systems. If the sequences of observations are completely known, the maximum likelihood estimates can be obtained easily for the parameters in the distribution. However, when only partial information is available on the observed sequences, other methods of estimation, such as the method of moments, are employed. This paper obtains moment estimates of the parameters in this distribution and studies some of their properties.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1989
Three students with moderate mental retardation were taught a complex stimulus class with a twoch... more Three students with moderate mental retardation were taught a complex stimulus class with a twochoice conditional discrimination procedure applied across eight 10-member stimulus sets. Each set was composed of five age-appropriate and five age-inappropriate examples of clothing, accessories, and leisure items (e.g., a Walkmang radio). Discrimination training was programmed serially across each set, and generalization probes were conducted concurrently among all sets. Generalization probes consisted of unreinforced conditional matching trials with comparison items being drawn from (a) the set undergoing training (within-set probes), (b) sets not undergoing training (between-set probes), and (c) both sample and comparison items from different sets (transitive stimulus control probes). Results indicate that within-set generalization, between-set generalization, and transitive stimulus relations controlled responding by all 3 students for items that had been contingently associated with reinforcement. However, items that gained control of responding through within-set and between-set generalization alone (i.e., not acquired through contingent reinforcement) remained at baseline levels during transitive stimulus control probes. Results are discussed in terms of a taxonomy of multiple sources of stimulus control that underlie socially defined and maintained stimulus classes.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Barbara, 1992.
ABSTRACT Teachers of middle and high school students with developmental disabilities embedded pla... more ABSTRACT Teachers of middle and high school students with developmental disabilities embedded planned incidents in instruction to prepare students for appropriate decision making. Teachers were consistently able to provide choice-making opportunities without significantly disrupting core lessons. (SK)
Teachers of middle and high school students with developmental disabilities embedded planned inci... more Teachers of middle and high school students with developmental disabilities embedded planned incidents in instruction to prepare students for appropriate decision making. Teachers were consistently able to provide choice-making opportunities without significantly disrupting core lessons. (SK)
The Psychological Record, 1988
Symmetric and transitive stimulus control within four- and five-term contingencies were studied f... more Symmetric and transitive stimulus control within four- and five-term contingencies were studied for five adult subjects. Four-term conditional stimulus relations consisted of two sets of four Greek letters (A1, B1, C1, D1; A2, B2, C2, D2) each related within a match-to-sample paradigm. Five-term relations consisted of additional stimuli (geometric figures) which functioned to alternate A1 and A2 class membership—that is, given Figure 1, A1 was related to B1, C1, D1; whereas, given Figure 2, A1 was related to B2, C2, D2. Three subjects were taught in a five-/four-term sequence, and two subjects were taught in a four-/five-term sequence. The results indicate that the order in which the four- and five-term relations were taught differentially influenced the emergence of transitive, but not symmetric, relationships.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1979
Recent research demonstrated that when autistic children are presented a discrimination task with... more Recent research demonstrated that when autistic children are presented a discrimination task with multiple cues, they typically respond to an abnormally limited number, usually one, of the available cues. This phenomenon, termed "'stimulus overselectivity, "" has been implicated as a possible basis for many of the behavioral deficits characteristic of autism. The present investigation was conducted to systematically analyze the effects of changing the schedules of reinforcement during discrimination training on subsequent stimulus overselectivity. Twelve autistic children were taught a discrimination involving multiple visual cues, with a CRF schedule of reinJorcement. The children were then overtrained on either the same (CRF) schedule or on a partial (VR:3) reinforcement schedule. Subsequent overselectivity on single-cue test trials was then assessed. Results suggested that significantly less overselectivity occurred when the children were presented with the VR:3 reinforcement schedule during
Behavioral Development Bulletin
This article gives an account of the development of a scope-and-sequence based curriculum, the Ve... more This article gives an account of the development of a scope-and-sequence based curriculum, the Verbal Behavior Curriculum, and an overview of the learning principles that directed its design and incorporation of instructional delivery and management procedures. The curriculum was informed by both Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian accounts of complex language and cognitive behaviors, instructional design and delivery technologies derived from discrete trial-based, Direct Instruction and Precision Teaching research as well as application concepts. The bulk of the article details that part of the curriculum's design intended to instantiate 3 critical behavioral repertoires (aka cusps): (a) early stages of participative, listener and observant skills, essential components for social behavior, (b) readiness/attention skills that enable the acquisition of missing prerequisite skills to acquire high order generative language, and (c) use of language skills in social situations to develop the full potential of the learner, sometimes turning into a fully verbal individual.
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Papers by Richard Laitinen