Brief report: The reinforcing effects of paternal verbal stimulation and gentle pushing on kicking behavior in a 36 week old in-utero fetus: A partial replication and a cautionary note.

Abstract

Cautill & Dziewolska (in press) used an ABAB reversal design; the experimenters observed the rate of kicking behavior over a four successive three minute periods. The results indicate that verbal statements combined with gentle touch can serve as a reinforcer for in utero fetus to kick. This study looked at the same prenatal fetus and attempted to replicate the previous findings. In this study, we evidenced a clear extinction burst. Implications of the finding are discussed. The second B phase was not initiated and a cautionary note is added because mother became nauseous during the session. Key words: Prenatal operant conditioning, replication, extinction and kicking response ********** Serial replication is the core of behavior analytic work (Fixen, Blase, Timbers, & Wolf, 2001; Wolf, Kirigin, Fixsen, Blase, & Brukmann, 1995; Baer, Wolf, & Risely, 1968). It is through serial replication that external validity of findings is produced (Novak & Pelaez, 2004; Baer, Wolf, and Risely, 1968). In a previous study, Cautilli and Dziewolska (in press) showed that prenatal infant kicking response can function as operant behavior. In their study, kicking responses clearly increased in relation to touch through the skin of the kick and fathers voice. The determination of a functional relationship between kicking and paternal voice is the youngest finding of human operant behavior to date. The current replication came about in response to several questions raised in the original study. In particular, we wished to determine whether or not the effect of pre natal infant kicking could be replicated. This study would add to the literature by extending the operant conditioning process to prenatal infants. METHODS Participants Parents are Caucasian male and female both in late 30's. Both parents have advanced degrees in behavior analysis. The fetus is healthy, typically developing female and in her 36th week of development. At the time of the study, the fetus was oriented into the upside down position for birthing. The infant has regular periods of activity in which it kicks/stretches. As with the original study, this study was conducted in a period normally of low activity. Design This design is a replication of the one used by Cautilli & Dziewolska (in press). The procedure entails contingent touching of the fetus's foot through the skin and stating baby, boom- boom based on the kicking behavior reflex. Mother sat in a reclining position. Father placed his hand lightly above the skin to be able to feel the kicking. Previous sessions had shown that touching more then lightly prevented mother from being able to identify infant kicking. Father's mouth was one inch from skin in the proximate position where the head would be. The sessions were continuous. Each of the first two session lasted for three minutes. In phase one, the fetus's kicking was observed and counted. Only kicks that stretched the skin and could be seen and felt by parents were counted. In phase two, fetus was on a continuous reinforcement schedule. After each kick, the area of kick was gently touched, so that indirect contact was made with the foot (through the skin) and the father stated baby boom-boom. After three minutes, phase three began. In phase three, a return to baseline occurred in which the response was placed on extinction. It was originally planned that after three minutes, phase four would begin; however, due to maternal nausea, the phase was discontinued. The actual length of the phase was seven minutes to ensure that the prenatal infant returned to baseline rates of the kicking. Thus the study has a clear ABA design. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Interobserver agreement Interobserver agreement can be calculated as the number of agreements divided by the number of agreements plus disagreements. Parents were in agreement on 96 of 110 kicking responses. …