Four mentally retarded human subjects performed delayed identity matching-to-sample tasks under c... more Four mentally retarded human subjects performed delayed identity matching-to-sample tasks under conditions of outcomespecific and nonspecific reinforcement contingencies. With outcome-specific contingencies, experimentally defined correct selections of different discriminative stimuli were perfectly correlated with one of two different consequences (e.g., different foods); with nonspecific contingencies, correct selections were equally likely to be followed by either consequence. Previous studies with pigeons have shown consistently higher accuracy on delayed-matching tasks with outcome-specific contingencies. Results of this study failed to replicate that finding. For three subjects, accuracy scores were similar in specific and nonspecific conditions at fixed delays ranging from 0 s to 5 s. For the other subject, delay duration varied within each session, and accuracy scores improved across sessions regardless of outcome condition. An accumulating body of evidence-largely from animal learning laboratories-indicates that conditional discrimination performances can be affected by certain specific relations between discriminative stimuli and trial outcomes arranged by the experimenter (e.g., Edwards,
This study examined relations between eye movements and accuracy scores in a delayed matching-to-... more This study examined relations between eye movements and accuracy scores in a delayed matching-to-sarnple procedure with multiple sample stimuli. Four adult humans responded with high accuracy when there were 2 samples per trial. When the number of samples was increased to 4 per trial, accuracy scores fell to intermediate levels for 2 of the subjects, and then recovered to high levels following practice. Eye-tracking analyses showed that subjects with high and low accuracy on the initial 4-sample trials made similar numbers of observations per trial , but high-accuracy subjects exhibited longer sample-stimulus observing durations. Practice and improvement to high accuracy was accompanied by relatively small changes in observing frequencies and large increases in sample-stimulus observing durations. The results are discussed in terms of independent stimulus control of different aspects of observing behavior topography. One topic of continuing interest in analyses of stimulus control concerns the range, breadth, or number of stimuli that can exert control simultaneously. This question has been addressod in such diverse areas as, for example, breadth of attention in animal cognition (e.g., Maki & Leuin, 1972); the effects of task complexity (number of stimuli) on reaction times in aging populations (e.g., Baron & Menich, 1985); and stimulus overselectivity, an atypically restricted breadth of stimulus control related to learning problems of some individuals with dHvelopmental disabilities Data collection and manuscript preparation were supported by NICHD Grants HD25995 and HD37055, and CNPq Grant 200552/96-1. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NICHD. Some of the data were presented at the annual conference of the Southeastern Association for Behavior Analysis, Chapel Hill, NC, October, 1997. We thank Kevin Farren for assistance in data analysis, Bill Mcllvane for advice on the project, and Bill Mcllvane and Richard Serna for comments on the manuscript. For their generosity with technical support and assistance, we thank Rikki Razdan and
Researchers from behavior analytic, developmental, and comparative perspectives have all investig... more Researchers from behavior analytic, developmental, and comparative perspectives have all investigated the conditions under which new arbitrary (symbolic) stimulus-stimulus relations are acquired. For example, young children, people with severe mental retardation, and several species of nonhuman mammals all exhibit emergent matching (EM) in the context of a wellestablished matching-to-sample baseline: When presented with an undefined sample stimulus and a comparison array that includes one undefined comparison and one or more baseline comparisons , participants select the undefined comparison. Further, subsequent testing may show a learning outcome: Exposure to EM trials may result in a new defined relation involving the formerly undefined stimuli. Between 1974 and the late 1980s, emergent matching and learning outcomes were described independently by behavior analytic, child language, and animal cognition researchers. Cross-literature citations were virtually absent, however. More recently, crossdisciplinary citations have begun to appear. This article briefly reviews the history of EM research, emphasizing the independent development of research programs, methods, and terminology in the three disciplines. We then identify several research areas where a multidisciplinary approach may benefit all concerned. For many years, psycholinguists, behavior analysts, and animal cognition researchers have investigated processes by which their respective participant populations learn new arbitrary relations without explicit training. Psycholinguists have studied young children's "fast mapping" of new words, a phenomenon that likely underlies the virtual explosion of word learning that occurs in the preschool years (e.g.,
Overselective stimulus control refers to discriminative control in which the number of controllin... more Overselective stimulus control refers to discriminative control in which the number of controlling stimuli is too limited for effective behavior. Experiment 1 included 22 special-education students who exhibited overselective stimulus control on a two-sample delayed matching task. An intervention added a compound identity matching opportunity within the sample observation period of the matching trials. The compound matching functioned as a differential observing response (DOR) in that high accuracy verified observation and discrimination of both sample stimuli. Nineteen participants learned to perform the DOR and two-sample delayed matching accuracy increased substantially for 16 of them. When the DOR was completely withdrawn after 10 sessions, accuracy declined. In Experiment 2, a more gradual withdrawal of DOR requirements showed that highly accurate performance could be maintained with the DOR on only a proportion of trials for most participants. The results show that DOR training may lead to a general improvement in observing behavior.
... In a recent study, we demonstrated this phenomenon by showing transfer of discriminative func... more ... In a recent study, we demonstrated this phenomenon by showing transfer of discriminative functions among stimulus class members (de Rose, McIlvane, Dube, Galpin, Stoddard, in press). Subjects were preschool children, normally capable adults, and mentally retarded adults. ...
O desempenho de participantes humanos freqüentemente mostra aprendizagem de relações não diretame... more O desempenho de participantes humanos freqüentemente mostra aprendizagem de relações não diretamente ensinadas após o treino de discriminações condicionais entre estímulos fisicamente diferentes. Essas relações emergentes documentam a formação de classes de equivalência. O presente estudo investigou se conseqüências específicas paras as classes (i.e., reforçadores específicos usados para cada classe potencial durante o treino) também integram as classes de equivalência. Vários estudos anteriores sugeriram que as conseqüências específicas podem integrar as classes, entretanto, o treino nesses estudos inclui pareamento arbitrário e pareamento por identidade. No presente estudo, duas crianças autistas foram submetidas apenas a treino de reversões de discriminações simples e pareamento por identidade com conseqüências específicas paras as classes potenciais. Então, testes de pareamento arbitrário foram conduzidos. O desempenho das crianças evidenciou a formação de classes nestes testes, a despeito de elas não terem experiência de treino de pareamento arbitrário. Adicionalmente, um dos participantes mostrou evidência de formação de classes após treino de reversões de discriminação simples somente. Esses resultados tanto demonstram que as conseqüências reforçadoras de fato se tornam parte das classes de equivalência, quanto dão suporte à idéia de que equivalência surge das contingências de reforçamento e não é baseada em habilidades lingüísticas. Palavras-chave: equivalência de estímulos, pareamento ao modelo, discriminação simples, reforçamento específico, efeito de conseqüência específica, retardo mental ABSTRACT Human participant performances often show evidence of learning untrained relations when conditional discrimination training between physically dissimilar stimuli is conducted. These emergent relations document equivalence class formation. The current study investigated whether class-specific consequences (i.e. the specific reinforcers used for each potential class during training) also join the equivalence class. Several studies have suggested they do so. However, training in those studies typically included arbitrary matching and identity matching baselines. In the current study, two autistic children were trained on simple discrimination reversals and identity matching with class specific consequences. They were then given arbitrary matching probes. Performances of both children initially showed evidence of class formation on these tests, despite the fact that neither had received training on arbitrary matching. In addition, one of the participants showed evidence of class formation after simple discrimination reversal training alone. These results demonstrate that the reinforcing consequences do in fact become part of the stimulus equivalence class and provide support for the ideas that equivalence (1) arises from reinforcement contingency and (2) is not based upon language skills.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2016
Stimulus overselectivity refers to maladaptive narrow attending that is a common learning problem... more Stimulus overselectivity refers to maladaptive narrow attending that is a common learning problem among children with intellectual disabilities and frequently associated with autism. The present study contrasted overselectivity among groups of children with autism, Down syndrome, and typical development. The groups with autism and Down syndrome were matched for intellectual level, and all three groups were matched for developmental levels on tests of nonverbal reasoning and receptive vocabulary. Delayed matching-to-sample tests presented color/form compounds, printed words, photographs of faces, Mayer-Johnson Picture Communication Symbols, and unfamiliar black forms. No significant differences among groups emerged for test accuracy scores. Overselectivity was not statistically overrepresented among individuals with autism in contrast to those with Down syndrome or typically developing children.
Sensitivity to differences in reinforcement contingencies was examined in 6 individuals with ment... more Sensitivity to differences in reinforcement contingencies was examined in 6 individuals with mental retardation. A concurrent operants procedure was implemented in the context of a computer game. Participants selected two different types of animated figures displayed concurrently in the left and right portions of a touchscreen monitor. Over a series of conditions, the relative rates or magnitudes of reinforcers following selections of the two options were changed in ratios of 5:1, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, and 1:5. Sensitivity was quantified by application of the generalized matching equation. Results included individual differences in sensitivity and differential sensitivity to rate and magnitude variation. The results suggest that comprehensive assessments of potential reinforcers may benefit from including tests of delivery parameters.
Individuals with developmental disabilities may fail to attend to multiple features in compound s... more Individuals with developmental disabilities may fail to attend to multiple features in compound stimuli (e.g., arrays of pictures, letters within words) with detrimental effects on learning. Participants were 5 children with autism spectrum disorder who had low to intermediate accuracy scores (35% to 84%) on a computer-presented compound matching task. Sample stimuli were pairs of icons (e.g., chair-tree), the correct comparison was identical to the sample, and each incorrect comparison had one icon in common with the sample (e.g., chair-sun, airplane-tree). A 5-step tabletop sorting-to-matching training procedure was used to teach compound matching. The first step was sorting 3 single pictures; subsequent steps gradually changed the task to compound matching. If progress stalled, tasks were modified temporarily to prompt observing behavior. After tabletop training, participants were retested on the compound matching task; accuracy improved to at least 95% for all children. This procedure illustrates one way to improve attending to multiple features of compound stimuli.
... PNO: Moderate to severe mental retardation (MR); severe seizure disorder, Vineland Adaptive B... more ... PNO: Moderate to severe mental retardation (MR); severe seizure disorder, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) AE ... In SC Hayes & LJ Hayes (Eds.), Understanding verbal relations (pp. ... All service marks and trademarks are property of Cengage Learning and its affiliates. ...
Four mentally retarded human subjects performed delayed identity matching-to-sample tasks under c... more Four mentally retarded human subjects performed delayed identity matching-to-sample tasks under conditions of outcomespecific and nonspecific reinforcement contingencies. With outcome-specific contingencies, experimentally defined correct selections of different discriminative stimuli were perfectly correlated with one of two different consequences (e.g., different foods); with nonspecific contingencies, correct selections were equally likely to be followed by either consequence. Previous studies with pigeons have shown consistently higher accuracy on delayed-matching tasks with outcome-specific contingencies. Results of this study failed to replicate that finding. For three subjects, accuracy scores were similar in specific and nonspecific conditions at fixed delays ranging from 0 s to 5 s. For the other subject, delay duration varied within each session, and accuracy scores improved across sessions regardless of outcome condition. An accumulating body of evidence-largely from animal learning laboratories-indicates that conditional discrimination performances can be affected by certain specific relations between discriminative stimuli and trial outcomes arranged by the experimenter (e.g., Edwards,
This study examined relations between eye movements and accuracy scores in a delayed matching-to-... more This study examined relations between eye movements and accuracy scores in a delayed matching-to-sarnple procedure with multiple sample stimuli. Four adult humans responded with high accuracy when there were 2 samples per trial. When the number of samples was increased to 4 per trial, accuracy scores fell to intermediate levels for 2 of the subjects, and then recovered to high levels following practice. Eye-tracking analyses showed that subjects with high and low accuracy on the initial 4-sample trials made similar numbers of observations per trial , but high-accuracy subjects exhibited longer sample-stimulus observing durations. Practice and improvement to high accuracy was accompanied by relatively small changes in observing frequencies and large increases in sample-stimulus observing durations. The results are discussed in terms of independent stimulus control of different aspects of observing behavior topography. One topic of continuing interest in analyses of stimulus control concerns the range, breadth, or number of stimuli that can exert control simultaneously. This question has been addressod in such diverse areas as, for example, breadth of attention in animal cognition (e.g., Maki & Leuin, 1972); the effects of task complexity (number of stimuli) on reaction times in aging populations (e.g., Baron & Menich, 1985); and stimulus overselectivity, an atypically restricted breadth of stimulus control related to learning problems of some individuals with dHvelopmental disabilities Data collection and manuscript preparation were supported by NICHD Grants HD25995 and HD37055, and CNPq Grant 200552/96-1. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NICHD. Some of the data were presented at the annual conference of the Southeastern Association for Behavior Analysis, Chapel Hill, NC, October, 1997. We thank Kevin Farren for assistance in data analysis, Bill Mcllvane for advice on the project, and Bill Mcllvane and Richard Serna for comments on the manuscript. For their generosity with technical support and assistance, we thank Rikki Razdan and
Researchers from behavior analytic, developmental, and comparative perspectives have all investig... more Researchers from behavior analytic, developmental, and comparative perspectives have all investigated the conditions under which new arbitrary (symbolic) stimulus-stimulus relations are acquired. For example, young children, people with severe mental retardation, and several species of nonhuman mammals all exhibit emergent matching (EM) in the context of a wellestablished matching-to-sample baseline: When presented with an undefined sample stimulus and a comparison array that includes one undefined comparison and one or more baseline comparisons , participants select the undefined comparison. Further, subsequent testing may show a learning outcome: Exposure to EM trials may result in a new defined relation involving the formerly undefined stimuli. Between 1974 and the late 1980s, emergent matching and learning outcomes were described independently by behavior analytic, child language, and animal cognition researchers. Cross-literature citations were virtually absent, however. More recently, crossdisciplinary citations have begun to appear. This article briefly reviews the history of EM research, emphasizing the independent development of research programs, methods, and terminology in the three disciplines. We then identify several research areas where a multidisciplinary approach may benefit all concerned. For many years, psycholinguists, behavior analysts, and animal cognition researchers have investigated processes by which their respective participant populations learn new arbitrary relations without explicit training. Psycholinguists have studied young children's "fast mapping" of new words, a phenomenon that likely underlies the virtual explosion of word learning that occurs in the preschool years (e.g.,
Overselective stimulus control refers to discriminative control in which the number of controllin... more Overselective stimulus control refers to discriminative control in which the number of controlling stimuli is too limited for effective behavior. Experiment 1 included 22 special-education students who exhibited overselective stimulus control on a two-sample delayed matching task. An intervention added a compound identity matching opportunity within the sample observation period of the matching trials. The compound matching functioned as a differential observing response (DOR) in that high accuracy verified observation and discrimination of both sample stimuli. Nineteen participants learned to perform the DOR and two-sample delayed matching accuracy increased substantially for 16 of them. When the DOR was completely withdrawn after 10 sessions, accuracy declined. In Experiment 2, a more gradual withdrawal of DOR requirements showed that highly accurate performance could be maintained with the DOR on only a proportion of trials for most participants. The results show that DOR training may lead to a general improvement in observing behavior.
... In a recent study, we demonstrated this phenomenon by showing transfer of discriminative func... more ... In a recent study, we demonstrated this phenomenon by showing transfer of discriminative functions among stimulus class members (de Rose, McIlvane, Dube, Galpin, Stoddard, in press). Subjects were preschool children, normally capable adults, and mentally retarded adults. ...
O desempenho de participantes humanos freqüentemente mostra aprendizagem de relações não diretame... more O desempenho de participantes humanos freqüentemente mostra aprendizagem de relações não diretamente ensinadas após o treino de discriminações condicionais entre estímulos fisicamente diferentes. Essas relações emergentes documentam a formação de classes de equivalência. O presente estudo investigou se conseqüências específicas paras as classes (i.e., reforçadores específicos usados para cada classe potencial durante o treino) também integram as classes de equivalência. Vários estudos anteriores sugeriram que as conseqüências específicas podem integrar as classes, entretanto, o treino nesses estudos inclui pareamento arbitrário e pareamento por identidade. No presente estudo, duas crianças autistas foram submetidas apenas a treino de reversões de discriminações simples e pareamento por identidade com conseqüências específicas paras as classes potenciais. Então, testes de pareamento arbitrário foram conduzidos. O desempenho das crianças evidenciou a formação de classes nestes testes, a despeito de elas não terem experiência de treino de pareamento arbitrário. Adicionalmente, um dos participantes mostrou evidência de formação de classes após treino de reversões de discriminação simples somente. Esses resultados tanto demonstram que as conseqüências reforçadoras de fato se tornam parte das classes de equivalência, quanto dão suporte à idéia de que equivalência surge das contingências de reforçamento e não é baseada em habilidades lingüísticas. Palavras-chave: equivalência de estímulos, pareamento ao modelo, discriminação simples, reforçamento específico, efeito de conseqüência específica, retardo mental ABSTRACT Human participant performances often show evidence of learning untrained relations when conditional discrimination training between physically dissimilar stimuli is conducted. These emergent relations document equivalence class formation. The current study investigated whether class-specific consequences (i.e. the specific reinforcers used for each potential class during training) also join the equivalence class. Several studies have suggested they do so. However, training in those studies typically included arbitrary matching and identity matching baselines. In the current study, two autistic children were trained on simple discrimination reversals and identity matching with class specific consequences. They were then given arbitrary matching probes. Performances of both children initially showed evidence of class formation on these tests, despite the fact that neither had received training on arbitrary matching. In addition, one of the participants showed evidence of class formation after simple discrimination reversal training alone. These results demonstrate that the reinforcing consequences do in fact become part of the stimulus equivalence class and provide support for the ideas that equivalence (1) arises from reinforcement contingency and (2) is not based upon language skills.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2016
Stimulus overselectivity refers to maladaptive narrow attending that is a common learning problem... more Stimulus overselectivity refers to maladaptive narrow attending that is a common learning problem among children with intellectual disabilities and frequently associated with autism. The present study contrasted overselectivity among groups of children with autism, Down syndrome, and typical development. The groups with autism and Down syndrome were matched for intellectual level, and all three groups were matched for developmental levels on tests of nonverbal reasoning and receptive vocabulary. Delayed matching-to-sample tests presented color/form compounds, printed words, photographs of faces, Mayer-Johnson Picture Communication Symbols, and unfamiliar black forms. No significant differences among groups emerged for test accuracy scores. Overselectivity was not statistically overrepresented among individuals with autism in contrast to those with Down syndrome or typically developing children.
Sensitivity to differences in reinforcement contingencies was examined in 6 individuals with ment... more Sensitivity to differences in reinforcement contingencies was examined in 6 individuals with mental retardation. A concurrent operants procedure was implemented in the context of a computer game. Participants selected two different types of animated figures displayed concurrently in the left and right portions of a touchscreen monitor. Over a series of conditions, the relative rates or magnitudes of reinforcers following selections of the two options were changed in ratios of 5:1, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, and 1:5. Sensitivity was quantified by application of the generalized matching equation. Results included individual differences in sensitivity and differential sensitivity to rate and magnitude variation. The results suggest that comprehensive assessments of potential reinforcers may benefit from including tests of delivery parameters.
Individuals with developmental disabilities may fail to attend to multiple features in compound s... more Individuals with developmental disabilities may fail to attend to multiple features in compound stimuli (e.g., arrays of pictures, letters within words) with detrimental effects on learning. Participants were 5 children with autism spectrum disorder who had low to intermediate accuracy scores (35% to 84%) on a computer-presented compound matching task. Sample stimuli were pairs of icons (e.g., chair-tree), the correct comparison was identical to the sample, and each incorrect comparison had one icon in common with the sample (e.g., chair-sun, airplane-tree). A 5-step tabletop sorting-to-matching training procedure was used to teach compound matching. The first step was sorting 3 single pictures; subsequent steps gradually changed the task to compound matching. If progress stalled, tasks were modified temporarily to prompt observing behavior. After tabletop training, participants were retested on the compound matching task; accuracy improved to at least 95% for all children. This procedure illustrates one way to improve attending to multiple features of compound stimuli.
... PNO: Moderate to severe mental retardation (MR); severe seizure disorder, Vineland Adaptive B... more ... PNO: Moderate to severe mental retardation (MR); severe seizure disorder, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) AE ... In SC Hayes & LJ Hayes (Eds.), Understanding verbal relations (pp. ... All service marks and trademarks are property of Cengage Learning and its affiliates. ...
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Papers by William V Dube