Reduced Alternating Gaze During Social Interaction in Infancy is Associated with Elevated Symptoms of Autism in Toddlerhood

In typical development, infants often alternate their gaze between their interaction partners and interesting stimuli, increasing the probability of joint attention toward surrounding objects and creating opportunities for communication and learning. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been found to engage less in behaviors that can initiate joint attention compared to typically developing children, but the role of such atypicalities in the development of ASD during infancy is not fully understood. Here, using eye tracking technology in a live setting, we show that 10-month-olds at high familial risk for ASD engage less in alternating gaze during interaction with an adult compared to low risk infants. These differences could not be explained by low general social preference or slow visual disengagement, as the groups performed similarly in these respects. We also found that less alternating gaze at 10 months was associated with more social ASD symptoms and less showing and pointing at 18 months. These relations were similar in both the high risk and the low risk groups, and remained when controlling for general social preference and disengagement latencies. This study shows that atypicalities in alternating gaze in infants at high risk for ASD emerge already during the first 10 months of life - a finding with theoretical as well as potential practical implications.     

ON THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN PREFERENCE ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES AND PROGRESSIVE‐RATIO SCHEDULE ASSESSMENTS OF STIMULUS VALUE

The current study examined whether stimuli of different preference levels would be associated with different amounts of work maintained by the stimuli, as determined through progressive‐ratio schedule break points. Using a paired‐choice preference assessment, stimuli were classified as high, moderate, or low preference for 4 individuals with developmental disabilities. The stimuli were then tested three times each using a progressive‐ratio schedule (step size of 1; the break‐point criterion was 1 min). In 10 of 12 possible comparisons, higher preference stimuli produced larger break points than did lower preference stimuli.     

The reinforcing properties of aggressive vs nonaggressive social interactions in isolated male ICR mice (Mus musculus)

Isolated male ICR mice in a T-maze consistently selected the goal box which enabled them to fight another mouse if the alternative goal box allowed no social interaction (Experiment 1). However, if the alternative choice enabled the isolated mice to interact with another mouse through a mesh screen which prevented fighting, the preference for the opportunity to fight did not appear (Experiment 2). Because the visual, olfactory, and auditory stimuli available through the screen appeared to be as attractive as the stimuli provided by the additional opportunity to fight, it is not necessary to conclude that the stimuli reinforcing the choice behavior in Experiment 1 were provided by fighting. Since there is no compelling reason to conclude that fighting is a primary reinforcer for these isolated mice, it is not necessary to argue that the high incidence of isolation-induced fighting is the reflection of a primary aggressive motive.     

Assessing preference for types of social interaction

To date, few researchers have evaluated methods for assessing preference for social interactions. Due to concerns that commonly used stimulus preference assessment methods may be inappropriate, or at least cumbersome, for the assessment of social reinforcers, we developed and evaluated a new method of assessing preference for social interactions. A social interaction preference assessment (SIPA) and a concurrent operant reinforcer assessment were conducted with five participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A differentially preferred and reinforcing social interaction was identified for all five participants. The SIPA procedures, results, and the implications of these results are discussed.     

TEACHING CHOICE MAKING DURING SOCIAL INTERACTIONS TO STUDENTS WITH PROFOUND MULTIPLE DISABILITIES

We taught 4 students with profound multiple disabilities to use a microswitch communication system to request a change in recreational stimuli during social interactions with nondisabled peers. In Study 1, we conducted a preference assessment across a range of stimuli for each student. The most and least preferred stimuli were incorporated into microswitch communication system training in Study 2. During the second study, 3 of the 4 students (a) learned to use the microswitch communication system to control stimulus presentation, (b) more clearly differentiated their time among stimuli, and (c) increased their level of general alertness. Study 3 extended the use of the microswitch communication system to social interactions with nondisabled peers. Two students were more engaged in interactions when they chose when to change stimuli; 1 student was more alert when a peer chose when to change activities; a 4th student showed an undifferentiated pattern. The outcomes of the investigation are discussed in terms of the effects of controlling stimulus presentation on the behavior of students with profound multiple disabilities and the stability of preference hierarchies over time.     

AN ANALOGUE EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT: THE ROLE OF STIMULUS PREFERENCE

To evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment on stereotypic self-injurious behavior (SIB), we conducted an assessment of preference for manipulating alternative stimuli rather than engaging in SIB. First, for each of 3 participants, a functional analysis of SIB was conducted in Phase 1. Participants were selected for Phase 2 if the functional analysis showed that SIB persisted in the absence of social consequences. In Phase 2, a preference assessment was conducted in which participants were observed manipulating preferred stimuli in a free-operant format. A measure was taken of time spent manipulating each stimulus and time spent engaging in SIB. In Phase 3, environmental enrichment was evaluated using stimuli that were preferred over the target response, and alternative treatments were evaluated in the event of environmental enrichment failure. Results suggested that the free-operant preference assessment (a) predicted the efficacy or inefficacy of an environmental enrichment procedure and (b) suggested possible treatment alternatives when environmental enrichment was ineffective. Collectively, the results may provide a basis for interpreting the idiosyncratic effects of environmental enrichment and a rationale for treatment selection when behavioral function is unknown.     

A comparison of picture and GIF-based preference assessments for social interaction

Researchers have recently begun to evaluate video-based preference assessments; however, only two studies have evaluated the efficacy of this preference assessment modality in assessing preference for social interactions. Four individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who could not match pictures or graphic-interchange-format images (GIFs) of social interactions to in vivo interaction participated. We compared picture and GIF-based paired-stimulus preference assessments for social interaction and evaluated the preference assessment hierarchies by conducting a concurrent-operant reinforcer assessment including all social interactions. The GIF-based preference assessment produced similar hierarchies to the reinforcer assessment for all participants, whereas the picture-based preference assessments produced similar hierarchies to the reinforcer assessment for 2 of 4 subjects. Additionally, we conducted a modality preference assessment in which we evaluated participants' preference for viewing GIFs or pictures of social interactions, and found that 3 out of 4 subjects displayed a preference for GIFs.     

Bigger is better: the influence of physical size on aesthetic preference judgments

The hypothesis that the physical size of an object can influence aesthetic preferences was investigated. In a series of four experiments, participants were presented with pairs of abstract stimuli and asked to indicate which member of each pair they preferred. A preference for larger stimuli was found on the majority of trials using various types of stimuli, stimuli of various sizes, and with both adult and 3‐year‐old participants. This preference pattern was disrupted only when participants had both stimuli that provided a readily accessible alternative source of preference‐evoking information and sufficient attentional resources to make their preference judgments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Counterintuitive effects of negative social feedback on attention

Which stimuli we pay attention to is strongly influenced by learning. Stimuli previously associated with reward outcomes, such as money and food, and stimuli previously associated with aversive outcomes, such as monetary loss and electric shock, automatically capture attention. Social reward (happy expressions) can bias attention towards associated stimuli, but the role of negative social feedback in biasing attentional selection remains unexplored. On the one hand, negative social feedback often serves to discourage particular behaviours. If attentional selection can be curbed much like any other behavioural preference, we might expect stimuli associated with negative social feedback to be more readily ignored. On the other hand, if negative social feedback influences attention in the same way that other aversive outcomes do, such feedback might ironically bias attention towards the stimuli it is intended to discourage selection of. In the present study, participants first completed a training phase in which colour targets were associated with negative social feedback. Then, in a subsequent test phase, these same colour stimuli served as task-irrelevant distractors during a visual search task. The results strongly support the latter interpretation in that stimuli previously associated with negative social feedback impaired search performance.     

The Relation Between Obtained Preference Value and Reinforcer Potency

Stimulus preference assessments often include items suspected to be highly preferred. If only high‐preference stimuli are assessed, preference hierarchies may not accurately predict the results of reinforcer assessments (RA). In this study, paired‐stimulus (PS) preference assessments using items suspected to be preferred (PS‐1) generated distinct preference hierarchies. Subsequent RAs (RA‐1) indicated that high‐preference and low‐preference stimuli were associated with similar response rates. Additional assessments (PS‐2) were then conducted, using the least‐preferred item from PS‐1 plus seven new stimuli. The least‐preferred items on PS‐1 ranked as most preferred on PS‐2, and on RA‐2, the top‐ranked items functioned as reinforcers, but low‐ranked items did not. Implications for incorporating low‐preference items into clinical/educational programming are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

4-8年级学生社交淡漠与同伴接纳的交叉滞后回归分析

摘要：用同伴提名和班级戏剧对小学4年级至初中二年级787名儿童进行一年的追踪研究,采用交叉滞后设计,考察了社交淡漠与同伴接纳的相互预测关系。结果发现：（1）同伴接纳与社交淡漠呈显著负相关;（2）社交淡漠在一年时间内呈现出高度的稳定性。测试时间与性别、年级的交互作用显著,在一年时间里,小学男生社交淡漠水平有所减少、女生社交淡漠水平有所增加,而初中男生社交淡漠水平有所增加、女生社交淡漠水平有所减少;（3）二元交叉滞后回归分析结果表明,社交淡漠与同伴接纳的关系模式存在显著的性别差异。对于男生,前测的社交淡漠可以显著预测后测的同伴接纳,而前测的同伴接纳不能显著预测后测的社交淡漠。女生则呈现完全相反的模式。     

ASSESSING PREFERENCE FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION IN CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM

In this study, preference for social interaction was investigated for three young children diagnosed with autism. The study consisted of conducting a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment to determine a hierarchy of preference for the interactions and conducting a reinforcer assessment. Results showed several types of social interaction functioned as reinforcers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infant irritability and early mother–infant reciprocity patterns

This study investigated how various forms of neonatal irritability (at 3 days) and irritability at 10 weeks are related to reciprocal interactions between mothers and their infants. Fifty‐six fullterm, first‐born male infants were examined using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS‐K) at 3 days postpartum. Each infant was rated for irritability to aversive stimuli, general irritability, consolability and responsiveness to visual–auditory stimuli. At 10 weeks of age, during a home visit, mother–infant reciprocity was scored for gaze, smile, vocalization and hold behaviors. Based upon maternal reports and behavioral observations, infant irritability was scored at 10 weeks using the NBAS‐K scoring system. Findings revealed that: (1) there were two distinct forms of reciprocity: social and physical; (2) general irritability at 3 days was negatively related to reciprocal hold interaction and positively related to reciprocal social interaction at 10 weeks, and (3) neonatal irritability to aversive stimuli (at 3 days) was positively related to subsequent reciprocal social interaction. Regression analyses showed that neonatal variables were the foremost predictors of reciprocal hold at 10 weeks. Findings are discussed in terms of (1) the need to differentiate between social and physical behavioral patterns, and (2) time‐lag effects with respect to mother–infant interactions. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sharing behavior and racial preference in children

Three groups of white children, 43 preschoolers and first-graders, 46 third-graders, and 44 fifth-graders, were asked to choose either a white child or a black child as a recipient of sharing and also as a companion for several social interaction situations ordered for social distance. The preschoolers and first-graders preferred to share and interact socially with the white child. The third-graders and the fifth-graders displayed a weaker preference for the white child over the black child on the sharing task, no preference in situations of high social distance, and a preference for the white child in situations of low social distance. The results from ancillary measures suggested that the choices of the younger children were motivated by a generalized color preference but that the choices of the older children were guided by an awareness of the social meaning of racial categories.The investigation was supported by the Research Advisory Council of East Tennessee State University.     

EVALUATION OF A BRIEF STIMULUS PREFERENCE ASSESSMENT

We evaluated the utility of a brief (5-min) stimulus preference assessment for individuals with developmental disabilities. Participants had noncontingent (free) access to an array of stimuli and could interact with any of the stimuli at any time. Stimuli were never withdrawn or withheld from the participants during a 5-min session. In Experiment 1, the brief preference assessment was conducted for 10 participants to identify differentially preferred stimuli, and reinforcer assessments were conducted to test the reinforcing efficacy of those stimuli identified as highly preferred. In Experiment 2, a comparison was conducted between the brief preference assessment and a commonly used paired-stimulus preference assessment. Collectively, results demonstrated that the brief preference assessment identified stimuli that functioned as reinforcers for a simple operant response, identified preferred stimuli that were differentially effective as reinforcers compared to nonpreferred stimuli, was associated with fewer problem behaviors, and required less time to complete than a commonly used paired-stimulus preference assessment.     

婴儿面孔偏好理论模型述评

在婴儿早期的视觉经验中,面孔是最特殊的一类刺激,小婴儿从出生开始就喜欢看面孔,这种现象称为面孔偏好。面孔偏好的发展反映了婴儿知觉能力的发展规律,具有重要的社会化意义。该文系统介绍了线性系统模型、右脑优势模型、CONSPEC理论、视觉模块理论和非特异化识别理论5种最主要的婴儿面孔偏好理论,并对这些理论的区别和联系进行了探讨。最后,对面孔偏好研究的新趋势和未来方向进行了评价和展望     

New-born infants' perception of similarities and differences between two- and three-dimensional stimuli

The new-born baby' ability to detect similarities and differences between three-dimensional stimuli and their two-dimensional representations is investigated in three experiments, using both visual preference and habituation procedures. In Expt 1 new-borns strongly preferred (looked more at) complex objects to their photographs. This preference was found with monocular viewing, and suggests that motion parallax is a salient cue in the detection of the differences between the two- and three-dimensional stimuli. The results from Expt 2 support the view that, for the new-born, the differences between objects and their two-dimensional representations are more detectable or salient than their similarities. These conclusions were further supported by the results from the last experiment, using simpler stimuli, although the preference was for the two- rather than the three-dimensional stimuli. The results suggest that studies which use only two-dimensional stimuli may provide only limited information about the course of perceptual development, at least in the first few months from birth.     

An evaluation of a brief multiple-stimulus preference assessment with adolescents with emotional-behavioral disorders in an educational setting

Brief multiple-stimulus-without-replacement (MSWO) preference assessments were conducted with 3 adolescent boys with emotional-behavioral disorders in the context of their public school educational program. The reinforcing effects of stimuli identified as high, medium, and low preference were then evaluated using an alternating treatments design in which, following an initial baseline, stimuli were delivered contingent on on-task behavior. High-preference stimuli produced the highest percentages of on-task behavior for all 3 participants.     

Comparing stimulus preference and response force in a conjugate preparation

Researchers used a conjugate preparation to evaluate how response force changed based on participants' preferences for visual stimuli. First, researchers used a verbal preference assessment to evaluate each participant's preference for viewing for five object categories of visual stimuli; this process identified high preference (HP) stimuli and low preference stimuli for most participants. Thereafter, researchers exposed each participant to the five stimulus categories in a randomized order while using a force dynamometer to measure their response force to increase visual clarity of each stimulus. Results indicate the majority of participants' HP stimuli corresponded to the stimulus category for which they exerted the highest mean force. These preliminary findings suggest conjugate preparations involving response force may provide another option for measuring the relative value of some stimulus events.     

Moral motivation in defending classmates victimized by bullying

The study addresses factors that relate to defending of classmates victimized by bullying in early adolescence. Specifically, it examines whether moral motivation—measured as a combination of emotion attributions and their justifications in response to a hypothetical transgression—predicts defending in context of gender, social preference, perceived popularity and teacher support. We gathered single-time-point data on a sample of 512 sixth-graders (aged 11–13 years). A three-step hierarchical regression analysis showed that defending was positively predicted by: (1) moral motivation, when gender, social preference, perceived popularity and teacher support were accounted for; (2) interaction between moral motivation and social preference, when all other independent variables were accounted for. Simple slopes indicated that increased social preference strengthened the link between moral motivation and defending. The full model explained 40.5% of the variance in defending. The findings underscore the relevance of morality and its interplay with social preference in understanding defending.