Examination of efficacious,efficient, and socially valid error‐correction procedures to teach sight words and prepositions to children with autism spectrum disorder

Prior research shows that learners have idiosyncratic responses to error‐correction procedures during instruction. Thus, assessments that identify error‐correction strategies to include in instruction can aid practitioners in selecting individualized, efficacious, and efficient interventions. The current investigation conducted an assessment to compare 5 error‐correction procedures that have been evaluated in the extant literature and are common in instructional practice for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results showed that the assessment identified efficacious and efficient error‐correction procedures for all participants, and 1 procedure was efficient for 4 of the 5 participants. To examine the social validity of error‐correction procedures, participants selected among efficacious and efficient interventions in a concurrent‐chains assessment. We discuss the results in relation to prior research on error‐correction procedures and current instructional practices for learners with ASD.     

Stability of daily preference across multiple individuals

Preference stability provides clues about the extent to which a clinician might be able to deliver a particular stimulus contingent on behavior as a reinforcer. Previous research has been somewhat mixed in terms of evidence for preference stability. Results of the current study are consistent with studies that have reported correlations between preference assessments, suggesting that preferences are relatively stable across time.     

Assessment and treatment of problem behavior maintained by mand compliance

We modified functional analysis procedures to include a condition in which we reinforced problem behavior by complying with a child's mands. After identifying compliance with mands as a reinforcer, we evaluated the efficacy of a token system with a response‐cost contingency and incorporated discriminative stimuli to signal when mands would be reinforced. The token system with response cost effectively reduced problem behavior. Similar procedures may be beneficial when continuous adult compliance is not possible, when adults want to control when they will comply with the child's mands, or to build a child's tolerance for adult‐directed situations.     

Exceptionalism or Chinamerica: Measuring Religious Change in the Globalizing World Today

Religion is changing fast in this era of globalization. Major global trends include the growth of Muslims, the shrinking percentage of unaffiliated, and the rapid rise of Christianity in global China. By 2030, China is likely to become the largest Christian country in the world while retaining large numbers of Buddhists, Muslims, and folk religious believers. To capture religious changes more accurately, social scientists of religion must sharpen their measurement tools regarding religiosity; pay more attention to the reality of nonalignment among religious identity, belief, and practice; and acknowledge the reality of nonexclusive/multiple religious beliefs, practices, and identities. Scholars must also take responsibility for developing a clear and nuanced definition of religion, abandon exceptionalist thinking, and seek to discover common patterns of religious change across societies. Conceptual and measurement tools at the disposal of social scientists of religion should enable us to perceive and understand the converging changes of religion in China, the United States, and other societies, without ignoring their historical differences and contemporary particularities.