The effects of observational training on the acquisition of reinforcement for listening.

Abstract

Abstract Experiment 1 investigated the effects of observational training in a social listener reinforcement game on participants' conversational units in non-instructional settings. Experiment 2 tested the effects of multiple exemplar instruction on the development of The participants who had reader/writer levels of verbal were selected because they emitted a low number of and listener exchanges with and did not have empathy as measured in the study. In Experiment 1, data were collected on the number of sequelics, conversational units, wh questions, vocal approvals and vocal disapprovals during 5 minute probe sessions after meeting criterion on each objective of the listener reinforcement game. During intervention, the participants were required to engage in a listener exchange through playing a yoked contingency game where they competed with the experimenter to teach several objectives including I Spy, peer tutoring, textually responding and group instruction. Data showed that the total number of verbal interactions in non-instructional settings significantly increased for both participants. In Experiment 2 multiple exemplar instruction across questions was implemented to teach the participants empathy. The participants responded to 3 questions: What happened? How does the person feel? and What could you do to help? The results showed a significant increase in correct responses to empathy questions. Keywords: autism, empathy, observational training, reinforcement for listening. ********** Many children with autism do not have a history of reinforcement for listening to others. Listening to is a critical component of social experiences that leads to more advanced listener repertoires such as emitting behaviors characterized as empathy. Skinner (1957) proposed a theory on the function of verbal based on operant research. was defined by Skinner as reinforced through the mediation of others (Skinner, 1957, p. 2). is categorized based on function into mands, tacts, intraverbals, autoclitics, echoics, and textual topographies. Skinner (1957) discussed verbal from the point of view of the as mediated by the contingencies of the listener. The listener provides reinforcement for verbal repertoires in the form of providing access to a preferred item or generalized reinforcement. is analyzed through the function of the and is emitted to affect the of a listener. Catania (1998) expanded on Skinner's views and stated that, Verbal involves both listener shaped by its effects on the speaker's behavior, and shaped by its effects on the listener's behavior (Catania, 1998, p. 262) Greer (2002) expands upon Skinner's verbal repertoires. Greer also includes naming, the conversational unit, the learn unit and joint stimulus control as extensions to the operants proposed by Skinner. A conversational unit is defined as one full exchange in which the student emits both a response that is reinforced by the verbal of another person responding as a listener and in turn a listener response by the initial speaker (Greer, 2002, p. 91). Conversational units are directly reinforced by the listener who responds in the role of the (Greer, 1989). Each member must respond as both and listener to complete the conversational unit. Truly social is measured by the presence or absence of conversational units. One emits conversational units because of the reinforcement obtained as both a and a listener (Donley & Greer, 1993; Lodhi & Greer, 1989). The key component of conversational units is the capacity of an individual to be reinforced by listening. If an individual is not reinforced by what another has to say, there will not be a listener exchange, only a sequelic. …