Members (behaviors) of a response class are equivalent in that they produce the same functional reinforcer. Oftentimes, some members of a response class occur at higher rates than others. This can be problematic when the members that occur at high rates are socially inappropriate (e.g., self-injury, aggression, or disruption). The participant in…

Children with autism often demonstrate less variable behavior than their typically developing peers and those with other cognitive disabilities. A possible reason for lack of response variability emitted by children with autism is that they do not have a variety of response forms in their repertoire. Multiple-exemplar training through the use of…

A primary deficit seen in many children with autism, particularly those with limited verbal repertoires, is repetitive and rote verbal behavior. This type of repetitive or rote verbal behavior can be stigmatizing and may severely limit access to primary reinforcers. Therefore, it may be beneficial to attempt to increase response variability in…

Article discusses selected observations on behaviorally oriented approaches to counseling, defines behavioral counseling, and examines current techniques. (Author/RK)

The treatment of a 10-year-old elective mute boy is reported in detail. A learning principles based approach was used in a one-to-one therapeutic setting. Relatively normal speaking patterns were established after 15 months of treatment. (Author)

Describes a computer tutorial that teaches the fundamentals of stimulus generalization in operant learning. Concepts covered include reinforcement, discrimination learning, stimulus continua, generalization, generalization gradients, and peak shift. The tutorial also reviews applications in human and animal situations. The content is appropriate…

Five experiments were conducted to determine whether properties inherent in some training procedures may subtly influence the adaptability of skilled performance of complex tasks. The first two experiments assessed the insensitivity of low-rate performances. Examined in the third experiment was the issue of whether instructions that focus…