Increasing accurate preference assessment implementation through pyramidal training

Preference assessments directly evaluate items that may serve as reinforcers, and their implementation is an important skill for individuals who work with children. This study examined the effectiveness of pyramidal training on teachers' implementation of preference assessments. During Experiment 1, 3 special education teachers taught 6 trainees to conduct paired-choice, multiple-stimulus without replacement, and free-operant preference assessments. All trainees acquired skills necessary to implement preference assessments with 90% or greater accuracy during the training sessions and demonstrated generalization of skills to their classrooms or clinic. During Experiment 2, 5 teachers who served as trainees in Experiment 1 trained 18 preschool teachers. All preschool teachers met the mastery criterion following training. Training teachers to implement preference assessments may increase teachers' acceptance and use of behavior-analytic procedures in school settings.     

The moderating role of subordinate political skill on supervisors' impressions of subordinate ingratiation and ratings of subordinate interpersonal facilitation

Nearly 2 decades ago, social influence theorists called for a new stream of research that would investigate why and how influence tactics are effective. The present study proposed that political skill affects the style of execution of influence attempts. It utilized balance theory to explain the moderating effect of employee political skill on the relationships between self- and supervisor-reported ingratiation. Additionally, supervisor reports of subordinate ingratiation were hypothesized to be negatively related to supervisor ratings of subordinate interpersonal facilitation. Results from a combined sample of 2 retail service organizations provided evidence that subordinates with high political skill were less likely than those low in political skill to have their demonstrated ingratiation behavior perceived by targets as a manipulative influence attempt. Also, when subordinates were perceived by their supervisors to engage in more ingratiation behavior, the subordinates were rated lower on interpersonal facilitation. Implications of these findings, limitations, and future research directions are provided.     

Operant discrimination training to establish praise as a reinforcer

Social deficits are a hallmark feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Consequently, socially mediated consequences (i.e., praise) may not function as reinforcers for individuals with ASD. Given the frequency in which praise is used as a programmed consequence in empirical research and in clinical practice, it is necessary to explore procedures that could condition praise to function as reinforcers. Operant discrimination training has emerged as a potential procedure to condition stimuli to acquire reinforcing properties. This study aimed to utilize the operant discrimination training procedure to condition a praise statement to function as a reinforcer. Four children diagnosed with ASD participated in the study. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate this emerging pairing procedure. Findings suggest that immediate effects were observed across all participants, but responding did not maintain, suggesting that reinforcing value of the praise statement diminished.