Acta Comportamentalia

Effects of three kinds of water delivery on behavioral adjustment

Tres grupos de ratas fueron expuestos, respectivamente, a la entrega de agua no contingente, contingente y de acuerdo a una situación de discriminación condicional usando programas temporales paramétricamente equivalentes. Se calcularon índices de ajuste correspondientes a cada tipo de arreglo contingencial: diferencialidad, efectividad y precisión. Se observó que tanto en términos de los ritmos de desarrollo como de los estados terminales, los índices de diferencialidad superaron a los de efectividad, los que a su vez fueron más elevados que los índices de precisión. Estos resultados concuerdan con los supuestos de complejidad e inclusividad progresivas de la propuesta taxonómica de Ribes y López (1985) y se contrastan con los observados previamente en ésta y otras áreas del análisis experimental del comportamiento.

Three groups of rats were exposed, respectively, to non-contingent water delivery, contingent water delivery, and water delivery according to a conditional discrimination situation using parametrically similar temporal schedules. Adjustment indexes regarding each type of contingency arrangement were calculated: differentiallity, effectiveness and accuracy. It was observed that in terms of both rates of development as well as terminal states, differentiallity indexes exceeded those of effectiveness, which in time were higher than accuracy indexes. These results are consistent with assumptions of progressive complexity and inclusiveness of Ribes and Lopez (1985) taxonomic proposal, and they are contrasted with those previously observed in this and other areas of the experimental analysis of behavior.

Combined variables, rule-governed and contingency-shaped behavior

Investigando os efeitos de variáveis combinadas sobre o comportamento humano, 30 universitários foram expostos a um procedimento de emparelhamento com o modelo; a tarefa era apontar cada um dos três estímulos de comparação em sequência. A Sessão 1 era de linha de base. As contingências na Sessão 2, iniciada com a regra correspondente, eram alteradas na Sessão 3, e as contingências na Sessão 3, eram mantidas inalteradas na Sessão 4, iniciada com a regra discrepante. As condições diferiam quanto à complexidade da tarefa, à história de reforço para o seguimento da regra correspondente; e, à apresentação, ou não, de pergunta acerca das contingências. Na Sessão 3, a tarefa simples, a história de reforço intermitente e a não apresentação de pergunta, tenderam a favorecer o seguimento de regra. Já a tarefa complexa, a história de reforço contínuo e a apresentação de pergunta, tenderam a favorecer o abandono do seguimento de regra. Na Sessão 4, a manutenção de seguimento de regra dependeu da sensibilidade do comportamento alternativo ao especificado pela regra às contingências da Sessão 3. Propõe-se o conceito de variáveis combinadas. Os resultados também têm implicações práticas e os conceitos de entendimento e adesão ao tratamento são revistos.

To assess the effects of combined variables on following or not following rules, 30 college students exposed to a matching to sample task had to point to each of three stimuli in a given sequence. Session 1 was baseline. Session 2 begun with a rule corresponding to contingencies. Contingencies effective in Session 2 were changed without signaling in Session 3. Contingencies in Session 3, were effective through Session 4, beginning with discrepant rule.Participants were allocated to 6 conditions differing in respect to 1) task complexity - the simple sequence had 3 responses, the complex task had 6 responses -, 2) history of reinforcement- continuous or intermittent (FR 2) -for following the rule in Session 2, and 3) the presentation or not of question asking which behavior produced reinforcement. The results were compared with previous studies results. Together, these results showed that for the simple task, the history of intermitent reinforcement for rule following and no questions asked favored rule following after contingency change, while for the complex task the history of continuous reinforcement of rule-following and question asked favored the abandon of rule-following after contingency change. Data showed also that discrepant rule following 1) tend to be maintained when before presentation of the rule the alternative behavior to the specified by the rule shows to be insensitive to the contingencies - e. g. is under control of the rule, not of imediate contingencies; and 2) tend to stop occurring when before presentation of discrepant rule this alternative behavior shows sensitivity to the contingencies -e.g. is under control of the immediate consequences, not under control of rule. In summary, the combined variables effective in each of Sessions 2 and 3 determined the behavior in Session 3. Also, the combined variables effective in Sessions 2, 3, and 4 determined the behavior in Session 4. The concept of combined variables is advanced to describe the control by rules and by contingencies. The concepts of understanding is revised. The results have also practical implications and the concept of commitment to treatment is revised.

Teaching conditional monetary relations through exclusion to deaf children

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o efeito de um procedimento de ensino de relações condicionais através da exclusão sobre a produção de equivalência monetária em crianças surdas com diferentes repertórios matemáticos. Participaram seis crianças surdas distribuídas em dois grupos experimentais (com e sem prérequisitos matemáticos). Houve ensino via MTS entre valores em LIBRAS e preços (AB), figuras de moedas (AC) e figuras de cédulas (AD), seguidos de sondas de exclusão com as mesmas relações para valores nãotreinados e de testes de equivalência entre preços impressos e figuras de moedas (BC) e a relação inversa (CB). Nas sondas de exclusão, em ambos os grupos, houve emergência de relações condicionais entre os valores monetários. Isso indica que, independentemente do repertório inicial dos participantes, houve aprendizagem deste tipo de relação condicional.

In the literature on monetary equivalence there is a controversy about the importance of prerequisites for learning this kind of skill. One of the procedures that are used for teaching relationships between monetary values is the exclusion one. The study investigated the effect of a teaching procedure of conditional relations by exclusion on learning of monetary relations in deaf children with different mathematical repertoires. Our subjects were six children enrolled in a specialized school for the deaf, where the experiment was conducted. They were divided into two groups: children with mathematical prerequisites (Group I) and children without those prerequisites (Group II). A notebook was used with software (PROLER). Initially, the participants were exposed to pre-testing of mathematical relationships. Then, children were to match, in an MTS procedure, values in LIBRAS and prices (AB) and teaching the same relation to the introduction of the mask. Then exclusion probes were applied with monetary value in LIBRAS and prices (AB) with values untrained. Teaching between monetary values in LIBRAS and pictures of coins (AC) was conducted, followed by exclusion probes the same relationship with the values untrained. Equivalence tests between prices and pictures of coins (BC) and inverse (CB) were performed. Then there was the teaching of three relations between value in LIBRAS and facsimile of Brazilian Real bills (AD), followed by exclusion probes with untrained values. We used equivalence tests of the relationship between prices and facsimile of Brazilian Real bills (BD), prices and figures of coins (BC) and facsimile of Brazilian Real bills and prices (DB). In exclusion probes in both groups, conditional relations between monetary values have emerged. This outcome reveals that even of the initial repertoire of the participants were learning this type of conditional relationship.

Echoic and picture naming in prelingual impaired hearing children with cochlear implant

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o efeito do ensino do comportamento ecoico sobre a nomeação de figuras em quatro crianças entre oito e nove anos de idade, com deficiência auditiva pré-lingual e usuárias de implante coclear. O delineamento adotado foi: (a) pré-treino que ensinou a tarefa de matching-to-sample; (b) pré-teste que selecionou três palavras para ensino; (c) ensino de relações condicionais auditivo-visuais; (d) pós-teste de nomeação; (e) ensino de ecoico com pistas orofaciais e, (f) segundo pós-teste de nomeação. No pré-teste todos os participantes demonstraram menores porcentagens de acertos em nomeação (60%-80%) e em ecoico (20%-50%), se comparadas a reconhecimento de palavras (86%-93%). Todos os participantes aprenderam as relações auditivo-visuais. A melhora em nomeação ocorreu depois do treino baseado em seleção para dois participantes; para outros dois, somente ocorreu depois do treino de ecoico. A análise dos dados demonstrou que os desempenhos de falante e de ouvinte são independentes e seu estabelecimento requer condições específicas de ensino; no caso deste estudo, embora o resultado não seja generalizado para todos os participantes, a maior correspondência ponto a ponto em nomeação foi obtida após o ensino de ecoico.

The aim of this work was to verify the effect of teaching the echoic behavior over the pictures naming in four children between eight and nine years old with prelingual hearing impaired, users of cochlear implants. The design adopted was: (a) pre-training that taught the matching-to-sample task; (b) pre-tests that selected three words to teach; (c) teaching of auditory-visual conditional relations; (d) naming pos-test; (e) the teaching of echoic with orofacial clues and, (f) the second naming pos-test. In the pre-test all participants achieved smaller percentage of correct on naming (60%-80%) and echoic (20%-50%) when compared to percentages word recognition (86%-93%). All participants learned the auditory-visual relations. The improvement on naming test occurred after auditory training select based for two participants; for other two participants the improvement on naming test occurred just after the training of echoic. Analysis of data showed that the listening and speaking performances are independent in their establishment and require specific conditions of teaching; in the case of this study, even though the result is not generalized to all participants, the highest correspondence into point to point naming was obtained following the teaching of echoic.

Cultural practices in online political campaigns - an analysis of brazil's 2010 presidential campaign via twitter

A evolução da tecnologia, principalmente os avanços trazidos pela internet, tem grande relevância na avaliação das interações entre os indivíduos em sociedade e suas práticas culturais. Este trabalho enfoca mídia e política. Objetivou-se analisar relações comportamentais identificadas na campanha presidencial brasileira de 2010 via Twitter - uma rede social na internet. Para isso, foram coletadas as mensagens que os candidatos Dilma Rousseff, José Serra e Marina Silva postaram em seus perfis entre 1 de junho e 31 de outubro. Os resultados indicam que as mensagens participaram de diferentes operações de controle de estímulos e que os candidatos apresentaram estratégias de comunicação diversas com seus seguidores. Discute-se o estabelecimento de práticas culturais com o uso de recursos da internet nas campanhas eleitorais.

The evolution of technology, especially the advances brought by the Internet, should be considered to evaluate the interactions between individuals in society and its cultural practices. The present work focuses on media and politics. The objective was to analyze behavioral relationships identified in Brazil's 2010 presidential campaign via Twitter. For this purpose, messages posted by the candidates Dilma Rousseff, José Serra and Marina Silva on their profiles between June 1 and October 31 were collected. The results indicate that the messages could be categorized into several types of stimulus control operations and that the candidates used different strategies to communicate with their followers. The establishment of cultural practices with the use of internet resources in political campaigns is discussed.

Evaluation of an Educative Social Skills Program for Mothers of Children with ADHD

Pais têm sido incluídos em programas de atendimento a crianças com problemas, mas evidências do impacto de intervenções exclusivamente com pais são escassas. Este estudo avaliou experimentalmente os efeitos de um Programa de Habilidades Sociais Educativas sobre o repertório social e instrucional dos pais e sobre as habilidades sociais, problemas de comportamento e competência acadêmica de filhos com Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade (TDAH). Oito mães foram alocadas ao Grupo Experimental (GE) e oito ao Controle (GC). Avaliações de pré-intervenção, pós-intervenção e seguimento foram realizadas por meio de inventários (IHS-Del-Prette e SSRS-BR) e de observação direta em situação estruturada. Análises não paramétricas (Mann-Whitney) indicaram o impacto positivo do programa sobre o repertório das mães e dos filhos do GE, mas não do GC, com generalização para o contexto familiar, com indicadores de manutenção no seguimento. São discutidas as implicações práticas e de pesquisa, bem como limitações deste estudo.

Parents have been included in intervention programs aiming to reduce their children problems, but evidences of the programs impact exclusively with parents are scarce. This study evaluated, in an experimental design, the effects of an Educational Social Skills Program on the behavior of children with Attention-Deficits/ Hyperactive-Disorder (ADHD), focusing mothers' the social and instructional repertoire of parents and children' social skills, behavior problems of academic competence. Eight mothers were allocated in Experimental Group (EG) and eight in Control (CG). Pre, post and follow-up evaluations were accomplished with inventories (IHS-Del-Prette and SSRS-BR) and direct observation in structured situation. Non parametric statistics assay (Mann-Whitney) indicated the positive impact of the program on the EG mothers' and children' repertoire, with generalization to the family context and maintenance of the indicators in the follow-up. Practical implications of the results, as well as limitations of this study are discussed.

The evolution of the concept of competence in Behavior Theory

Se revisa la evolución del concepto de competencia en la Teoría de la Conducta a lo largo de 30 años de historia, desde su aparición en 1981 relacionado al comportamiento inteligente, hasta 2011 en que se precisa su uso técnico. El artículo intenta mostrar un ejemplo historiográfico de la evolución de los conceptos dentro de una misma teoría. Se concluye que los cambios históricos que ha sufrido el concepto de competencia constituyen variaciones en el acento puesto en los componentes morfológicos y funcionales alrededor de una misma característica definitoria: el cumplimiento del criterio de logro.

The evolution of the concept of competence in Behavior Theory is reviewed along its 30 years of history, since its appearance in 1981 related to intelligent behavior, until 2011 when its technical use is specified. The paper intends to show a historiographic example of the evolution of concepts within the same theory. It is concluded that historical changes suffered by the concept of competence are mainly variations in emphasis made on its morphological and functional components around the same defining characteristic: compliance of the achievement criterion.

Remarks on teleological behaviorism: part II

Este artigo é a segunda parte de um trabalho maior cujo objetivo é discutir o behaviorismo teleológico de H. Rachlin. O âmbito desta segunda parte é duplo, a saber, a ênfase de Rachlin em comportamentos manifestos como componentes das relações que formam condições de verdade de predicações psicológicas ordinárias; e sua teleologia. Levantam-se, aqui, algumas ponderações à exclusão de Rachlin de comportamentos encobertos, alentando a hipótese de que há fatores não manifestos envolvidos, ainda que apenas em parte e em alguns casos, na veracidade de predicações em questão. Além disso, o artigo sugere, com base na análise etiológica da noção de função, um entendimento evolucionista de aspectos da teleologia de Rachlin, assim aproximando-a do teleofuncionalismo (mas sem mentalismo). A partir das observações feitas neste artigo e na primeira parte do trabalho maior, emerge um esboço de uma perspectiva alternativa (a ser aprofundada e expandida), a qual pode chamada de behaviorismo teleofuncional.

This article is the second part of a larger work whose aim is to discuss H. Rachlin's teleological behaviorism. The scope of this second part is twofold, viz., Rachlin's emphasis upon overt behaviors as components of the relations that are truth conditions for ordinary psychological predications; and the teleology he suggests. Some objections to Rachlin's exclusion of covert behavior in the analysis of ordinary psychological categories are here raised. The article supports the hypothesis according to which there are fundamental non-manifest factors involved in, despite only partially and in some cases of, usage of ordinary psychological categories. Rachlin's altogether rejection of the notion of covert behavior probably stems from the assumption that such notion implies one or another mentalist view. However, this assumption is implausible, at least when covert behavior is understood as behavior of limited public observability, which, nonetheless, has the same general ontological features of overt behavior; i.e., the same relational structure and types of causal processes. Accepting that covert behaviors sometimes make up the relevant (behavioral) relations for the truth of ordinary psychological predications allows us to accommodate important common properties underneath the employment of ordinary psychological categories; for instance, those properties according to which reasoning may happen without being manifest, and feeling hot may involve organic reactions not very perceptible upon the outside body. Also, this article offers an evolutionary interpretation of Rachlin's teleology, drawing upon the so called etiological analysis of the notion of function. Thus, we argue in favor of a sort of teleofunctionalism about at least some ordinary psychological categories. Depending upon the way Rachlin's sort of Aristotelian perspective is interpreted, the account here provided makes explicit an evolutionary thought in disguise; but our goal is constructive, and not exegetical. From the remarks offered throughout this article, together with those of the first part of the work, an outline of an alternative account of at least most of ordinary psychological categories emerges, which may be called teleofunctional behaviorism. This approach suggests that ordinary psychological predications of at least most of the categories usually explain and predict behavior by reporting to operant and sometimes (though not only) respondent patterns of behavior, and these patterns may comprise covert behaviors. To such extent, these predications are anchored upon functions that ensue from selection histories, as the teleofunctionalist emphasizes. Notwithstanding, contrary to the usual teleofunctionalist approaches, these functions are possessed by the behaviors of the whole organism or system, rather than by the brain or any other part of the body. Hence, at least most of ordinary psychological categories, indeed, as Rachlin maintains, do not refer to inner entities, which are efficient causes of behavior and explain only how a particular behavior is performed. Rather, they refer to molar behavioral relations themselves, where we find a different type of causation - viz., selection by consequences -, which are fundamental for explaining why a particular behavior happen.