Infant pointing is predictive of later language development, but little is known about factors enhancing the development of pointing. The current study investigated two possible social learning mechanisms in the development of pointing. Given that infants observe their caregivers' pointing gestures from early on, one possibility is learning via…

Parity is one source of automatic reinforcement that increases the probability of verbal behavior that conforms to models provided by the verbal community. Parity as a conditioned reinforcer could explain the acquisition of grammar in the absence of direct, explicit reinforcement. This possibility has been explored in previous research on…

The current study combined equivalence-based instruction and instructive feedback (IF) with two groups of children with autism spectrum disorder. For group 1, three sets of three targets were tested, and for group 2, two sets of three targets were tested. For each target stimulus, the following verbal operants were evaluated: (1) tact name, (2)…

We assessed whether observational learning in perceptual-motor tasks is affected by the visibility of an action producing perceived environmental effects and by the observer's possibility to act during observation. To this end, we conducted three experiments in which participants were required to observe a spatial compatibility task in which only…

Many studies have shown that small-group direct instruction is effective and efficient for teaching students with and without disabilities, although relatively few studies have been conducted with heterogeneous groups of preschool participants. In addition, previous studies have primarily assessed whether observational learning occurred for…

Observational learning is an important area in the field of psychology and behavior science more generally. Given this, it is essential that behavior analysts articulate a sound theory of how behavior change occurs through observation. This paper begins with an overview of seminal research in the area of observational learning, followed by a…

We report an experiment in which observations of peers by six 3-5-year-old participants under specific conditions functioned to convert a small plastic disc or, for one participant, a small piece of string, from a nonreinforcer to a reinforcer. Prior to the observational procedure, we compared each participant's responding on (a) previously…

This study sought to further investigate the effects of an observational intervention for two participants on the reinforcing property of pieces of string. Pre-observational intervention data showed that the neutral stimuli (strings) did not function to reinforce two participants' responding to a performance task or learning three new skills that…

Examined four variables affecting children's resistance to deviation: (1) modeling resistance to deviation, (2) modeling alternative activity incompatible with deviation; (3) availability of alternative activity, and (4) attractiveness of alternative activity. It was concluded that the modeling of behavioral inhibition and incompatible responses…

The effects of different degrees of stimulus organization on subsequent generalization were studied with 120 fourth-grade children. (BRT)

Clear and unequivocal evidence shows that observation of object affordances or transitive actions facilitates the activation of a compatible response. By contrast, the evidence showing response facilitation following observation of intransitive actions is less conclusive because automatic imitation and spatial compatibility have been confounded.…

Nursery school children were shown films to vicariously condition either fear or positive emotional responses in them. The children showed a higher rate of responding to the positive stimulus. (Author/KM)

Examines nine studies claiming to have demonstrated facial imitation in the neonatal period. Finds that the claims of early imitative abilities are not well founded: because the matching behavior found is restricted to a single gesture--tongue protrusion--it is best explained as a specific, directly elicited response, rather than imitation. (HTH)

We tested the effects of a Peer-Yoked Contingency on students' acquisition of observational learning repertoires and collateral effects on naming. Three male middle school participants, diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disabilities, were selected for this study. The three participants did not have naming repertoires, and two of the three…

Attempts to define and clarify the concept of response uncertainty of the observer in imitation through a review of research on imitation. (CM)