Arbitrarily applicable derived relational responding has been argued by relational frame theorists to be a form of operant behavior. The present study examined this idea with 4 female participants, ages 4 to 5 years old, who could not perform a series of problem-solving tasks involving arbitrary more than and less than relations. In a combined…

This paper discusses cognitive learning in terms of reinforcement theory and presents arguments suggesting that a viable theory of cognition based on reinforcement principles is not out of the question. This position is supported by a discussion of the weaknesses of theories based entirely on contiguity and of considerations that are more positive…

Research supported in part by OEO Headstart Subcontract No. 1410 with Michigan State University Headstart Evaluation and Research Center.

Assessed the relationship between temporally distant antecedent events (TDEs) and the frequency and function of aggressive and out-of-seat behaviors occurring in school. Results were consistent with previous literature that describes certain antecedent events as establishing operations. Discussion includes how these events interact to alter the…

This study was designed to examine the effects of two factors on the delay behavior of six year old children, a large percentage of whom had not yet attained temporal operations. The subjects consisted of 60 black, first grade children from a lower class urban neighborhood school. The experimental design was a 2x3 factorial with the first factor…

Twenty infants, 12 weeks of age, were subjects in an experiment to test the effects of maternal behavior on their perceptual-cognitive development. Each mother and child were observed in a controlled naturalistic setting, every 10 seconds their various behaviors were recorded, and then the mother was interviewed. During an experimental session the…