Sharing in preschool children: Facilitation, stimulus generalization, response generalization, and maintenance

Three approaches to facilitating verbal and physical sharing and of the generalizability and durability of the behaviors that were trained were investigated. During a free play period, groups of preschool children were taught to share verbally, to share physically, or to share verbally and physically; another group was not trained. Immediately following free play, the children were observed in a different setting. Follow-up was conducted 4 weeks after training ended. Physical sharing that was durable and generalizable resulted only when children were taught to share verbally. Increases in physical sharing produced by training children to share only physically were not durable and did not generalize. Training both verbal and physical sharing produced results with a magnitude slightly greater than teaching just verbal sharing. Despite a lack of special programming, some of the treatment effects generalized to another setting and were maintained during the Follow-up. There was response generalization of the effects of training verbal sharing to physical sharing but not vice versa. Problems with the concept of response class, a methodological suggestion for studying response generalization, and possibilities concerning why generalization and maintenance occurred without specific programming are discussed.     

Concept attainment,generalization, and retention through observation and verbal coding

Observationally induced acquisition, generalization, and retention of a novel clustering concept were studied in second-graders. All children earned zero scores in baseline (which were maintained by the no-modeling controls), demonstrating initial ignorance of the concept. No extrinsic reinforcers were promised or dispensed. In separate groups, a model accompanied performance of correct responses with no verbalization, with provision of a weak verbal code, a strong verbal code, or the strong code plus a rule to guide correct response. Concept acquisition and generalization to new stimuli were found, and were partially retained at retesting after several weeks delay. Strength of immediate concept attainment and generalization were related to amount and saliency of information verbally coded by the model, but more complex results were obtained with the retention data.     

The acquisition,maintenance, and generalization of first-aid skills by youths with handicaps

This study validated a program for teaching first-aid skills to four youths with handicaps. Two first-aid skills were targeted for training: treating minor wounds that continue to bleed (not severe) and treating minor burns. Also, data were gathered on the treatment of abrasions to assess the collateral effects of the program. The program featured an activity book with task-analysed illustrations, puppets, a first-aid kit, reinforcement, and corrective feedback. A multiple base-line design across first-aid skills was replicated across each of the four participants. Probes and pre-/post-training assessments were conducted to measure generalization via the treatment of the injuries of others, as well as self-injuries; additionally, assessments were conducted in the participants' natural homes to determine generalized effects across settings. Results revealed that the participants had generalized and maintained (up to 66 weeks) the acquired first-aid skills. The program appears to offer promise as a means of teaching first-aid skills to youths with handicaps, since it produces effects which generalize across settings and novel situations, and which maintain over time.     

Effects of serial versus concurrent task sequencing an acquisition, maintenance, and generalization

Effects of serial and concurrent task presentation on skill acquisition, generalization, and maintenance were compared. Two severely retarded females participated. During serial training, items of one response class, tracing, were trained to mastery before those of a second task, vocal imitation. In the concurrent method, training on two different tasks, tracing and vocal imitation, alternated within sessions for fixed periods of time. There were no major differences between the serial and concurrent methods of instruction in the number of steps attained per behavior or in the number of trials required to reach criterion levels of performance. It was found however, that concurrent training resulted in more generalization. Retention results were not consistently related to training method.     

Response to name in children with autism: Treatment,generalization, and maintenance

Deficits in response to name (RTN) are an early indicator of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and RTN is a treatment goal in many early intervention curricula for children with ASD. However, little research has empirically evaluated methods for increasing RTN in children with ASD. We evaluated a series of conditions designed to increase RTN for 4 children with ASD using a multielement experimental design. The schedules of tangible reinforcement were thinned after mastery and generalization was tested across people and contexts. Tangible reinforcers were necessary to increase RTN for all 4 participants, and the schedule of reinforcement was successfully thinned with all participants after intervention. Generalization was also observed across people and experimental contexts.     

Choice, time allocation, and response rate during stimulus generalization

Six pigeons were trained to discriminate between two noise intensities using a procedure that assessed choice, time allocation, and response rate simultaneously and independently. Responses on the left or right key (R1 or R2) were respectively correct in the presence of two different intensities, S1 and S2. After a correct response, reinforcement became available for pecks on the center key. Reinforcement density for R1¦S1 relative to R2¦S2 was varied across experimental conditions. Generalization tests followed extensive training at each condition. As a function of stimulus intensity, proportions of initial choices of R2, of time spent in R2-initiated components, and of center-key responses emitted in R2-initiated components all yielded sigmoidal gradients of similar slope, which shifted slightly in location when relative reinforcement density changed. Changeovers were maximal where initial choice proportions approximated 0.5. Gradients relating the absolute number of center-key responses to stimulus intensity were also roughly sigmoidal, but were more sensitive to changes in reinforcement density. Gradients of momentary response rate also depended on reinforcement density. During training, large but transitory shifts in choice responding occurred when reinforcement density changed, while differences in momentary response rate developed slowly, suggesting separate control of choice and response rate by the contingencies of reinforcement.     

Conservation acquisition, maintenance, and generalization by mentally retarded children using equality-rule training.

To teach conservation to mildly retarded, preoperational preadolescents (9 to 12 years old), a number-representational system was used to mediate the invariance of quantity as part of "equality-rule" training. Before viewing a perceptually misleading configuration of either two equal quantities or two unequal quantities entailing the dimensions of number or length, participants learned that equality involved the assignment of two identical numbers and inequality the assignment of two different numbers. These numbers were then applied to the actual quantities and became the basis for rule statements that were rehearsed, memorized, and subject-generated each time the quantities were transformed into a new configuration. Following equality training, correct judgments and verbal justifications of conservation were high (M greater than or equal to 85%) during both immediate and delayed post-tests and for near-generalization (number and length) and far-generalization (weight, liquid substance, and solid substance) tasks. In contrast, the post-test levels of comparable participants given learning-set (LS) training, LS plus verbal-rule training (a combination of statements about identity, negation, and compensation), or no training at all were substantially and significantly lower. Equality training is of theoretical and practical interest because of its potential to teach a symbolic representational rule that directly and meaningfully articulates the quantitative properties of objects and counteracts the overreliance on task-specific and faulty perceptual cues inherent in the conservation task.     

The effects of interference and retention delay on temporal generalization performance

This study investigated the effect of forgetting of the standard duration on temporal discrimination in a generalization task. In two experiments, participants were given a temporal generalization task with or without a retention delay between the learning of the standard duration and the testing of the comparison durations. During this delay, they either performed or did not perform an interference task. Results failed to reveal any effect of 15-min and 24-h retention delays on time judgments (Experiment 1). However, when an interference task was performed during the 15-min delay (Experiment 2), there was a subjective shortening effect, indicating that the standard duration was judged shorter with than without an interference task. These findings suggest that when an interference task occurs immediately after initial temporal encoding, it affects the process of consolidation in reference memory.     

Peer tutoring to prevent firearm play acquisition, generalization, and long-term maintenance of safety skills

Hundreds of accidental injuries and deaths to children occur annually in the United States as a result of firearm play. Behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training have been found to be effective in teaching children the skills to use if they find a firearm, but training requires substantial time and effort. The current study examined the use of peers as tutors as a potential way to decrease the time and resources needed to teach these safety skills to youngsters. Peer trainers conducted BST and in situ training with other children. Children taught by the peer trainers acquired the safety skills and demonstrated them in naturalistic situations in which the skills were needed. Furthermore, all of the peer trainers acquired and maintained the skills. These results support the use of peer tutoring for teaching safety skills to other children.     

Effects of active student response during error correction on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of science vocabulary by elementary students: A systematic replication

We compared active student response (ASR) error correction and no-response (NR) error correction while teaching science terms to 5 elementary students. When a student erred on ASR terms, the teacher modeled the definition and the student repeated it. When a student erred on NR terms, the teacher modeled the definition while the student looked at the vocabulary card. ASR error correction was superior on each of the study's seven dependent variables.     

Analysis of response class hierarchies with attention-maintained problem behaviors

We replicated a method for clarifying inconclusive functional analysis outcomes via an extinction analysis of separate topographies of problem behavior with 2 participants. Results suggested that both mild and severe problem behaviors belonged to the same response class. An analysis of response latency was consistent with a response class hierarchy hypothesis, indicating that mild problem behavior nearly always occurred prior to severe topographies of problem behavior.