Comparison of a stimulus equivalence protocol and traditional lecture for teaching single-subject designs

This study compared the effects of a computer-based stimulus equivalence protocol to a traditional lecture format in teaching single-subject experimental design concepts to undergraduate students. Participants were assigned to either an equivalence or a lecture group, and performance on a paper-and-pencil test that targeted relations among the names of experimental designs, design definitions, design graphs, and clinical vignettes was compared. Generalization of responding to novel graphs and novel clinical vignettes, as well as the emergence of a topography-based tact response after selection-based training, were evaluated for the equivalence group. Performance on the paper-and-pencil test following teaching was comparable for participants in the equivalence and lecture groups. All participants in the equivalence group showed generalization to novel graphs, and 6 participants showed generalization to novel clinical vignettes. Three of the 4 participants demonstrated the emergence of a topography-based tact response following training on the stimulus equivalence protocol.     

The effects of training on caregiver implementation of incidental teaching

A brief training package consisting of modeling, rehearsal, and feedback was evaluated to train caregivers to use incidental teaching to teach 3 children with autism to request an item or activity. The training package improved correct implementation of the incidental teaching procedure by caregivers. In addition, probes indicated that caregivers could apply these skills to teach the child an additional skill.     

Parent-implemented mand training: acquisition of framed manding in a young boy with partial hemispherectomy

This study examined the effects of parent-implemented mand training on the acquisition of framed manding in a 4-year-old boy who had undergone partial hemispherectomy. Framed manding became the predominant mand form when and only when the intervention was implemented with each preferred toy, but minimal generalization to untrained toys nevertheless occurred. A pure mand test suggested that manding was controlled by the relevant motivating operation.     

Effects of general-case training, instructions, rehearsal, and feedback on the reduction of sight-reading errors by competent musicians

We used general-case training, instructions, rehearsal, and feedback to teach 3 advanced flute students to improve their sight-reading skills. Training resulted in systematic decreases in note errors, rhythm errors, repetitions, and hesitations for each participant. The procedures and outcomes were socially validated through subjective evaluation by the participants and music teachers not involved with the study.     

The effect of attending to motor overflow on its voluntary inhibition in young and older adults

Motor overflow refers to involuntary movement or muscle activity coinciding with voluntary movement. We examined whether 16 young adults (18-30 years) and 16 older adults (50-80 years) could voluntarily inhibit overflow. Participants performed a finger pressing task, exerting 50% of their maximal force. Overflow was concurrently recorded in the non-task hand. In the first condition, participants were not made aware of their motor overflow. Then participants, though informed of it, were asked to ignore their overflow. Finally, participants were requested to inhibit overflow with, and then without visual feedback, or vice versa. Overflow was exacerbated when older adults were unaware of it, and was reduced once they were informed. For young adults there was no significant difference between these conditions. Both Age Groups could significantly reduce overflow when so requested, independent of visual feedback. Thus motor overflow can be modulated by higher order cognitive control with directed attention.     

多篇章学习中提取练习策略对高阶技能的影响

采用多篇章学习方式, 结合测试效应研究的经典范式, 设计两个实验探究提取练习策略对高阶技能的影响。结果表明：(1)连续学习3篇文章后, 在最终测试阶段学习策略主效应显著, 提取练习组高阶技能的成绩更优：提取组在每篇文章学习间隔中插入即时测试, 无论是概念型知识还是高阶技能, 最终测试中的成绩都显著高于重学组, 但其反应时却低于重学组。在提取练习组中, 概念型知识与高阶技能成绩均有提升, 但概念型知识比高阶技能提升幅度明显; (2)将篇章数扩展至5篇后, 最终测试中, 提取练习组的成绩仍显著高于重学组。对高阶技能4个维度作以分析后发现, 两组在应用与分析维度上差异显著, 但在评估与创造维度上, 提取练习组成绩虽有提升但差异不显著。结果证实了提取练习是高效学习的有效策略, 不仅体现在单独内容的记忆保持, 也可扩展到连续学习中高阶技能的发展与促进。研究支持了情景语境解释对提取练习内部机制的阐述, 并进一步验证了前摄抑制干扰理论和上下文内容转换假说的观点。     

Cognitive and linguistic skills in Swedish children with cochlear implants - measures of accuracy and latency as indicators of development

The purpose of the present study was to examine working memory (WM) capacity, lexical access and phonological skills in 19 children with cochlear implants (CI) (5;7-13;4 years of age) attending grades 0-2, 4, 5 and 6 and to compare their performance with 56 children with normal hearing. Their performance was also studied in relation to demographic factors. The findings indicate that children with CI had visuospatial WM capacities equivalent to the comparison group. They had lower performance levels on most of the other cognitive tests. Significant differences between the groups were not found in all grades and a number of children with CI performed within 1 SD of the mean of their respective grade-matched comparison group on most of the cognitive measures. The differences between the groups were particularly prominent in tasks of phonological WM. The results are discussed with respect to the effects of cochlear implants on cognitive development.     

Teaching children with autism to respond to and initiate bids for joint attention

A multiple baseline design across 3 children with autism was used to assess the effects of prompting and social reinforcement to teach participants to respond to an adult's bid for joint attention and to initiate bids for joint attention. Participants were taught to respond to an adult's bid for joint attention by looking in the direction of an object at which the adult pointed, by making a comment about the object, and by looking back at the adult. Additional training and reinforcement were needed to teach the participants to initiate bids for joint attention. Findings are discussed in terms of the social relevance of teaching children with autism to respond to and initiate bids for joint attention.     

The role of overt and covert self-rules in establishing a daily living skill in adults with mild developmental disabilities

The purpose of the current study was to explore the use of overt and covert self-rules in the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of a chained task by adults with mild developmental disabilities. This research differed from previous research in that the experimenter did not deliver reinforcement for correct responses during training, and we examined the correspondence between each self-rule statement and each subsequent response on each trial. Results showed that the self-rules participated in control over participants' responding, in that the skill was acquired and shown to generalize in the absence of experimenter-delivered reinforcement. Moreover, performance was shown to deteriorate when the emission of overt, but not covert, self-rules was blocked.