Verbal Behavior Research Articles

Tact Training with Augmentative Gestural Support for Language Disorder and Challenging Behaviors: A Case Study in an Italian Community-Based Setting

Background: Gestures or manual signing are valid options for augmentative and alternative communication. However, the data in the literature are limited to a few neurodevelopmental disorders, and less is known about its application in the community setting. Objectives: This case report explores the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of tact training with augmentative gestural support intervention for a child affected by a language disorder with challenging behaviors in a community setting. Methods: Baseline assessments were conducted using the Verbal Behavior Milestone Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and Griffiths Mental Developmental Scale-III (GMDS-III). The patient received six months of standard treatment, consisting of neuropsychomotor and speech therapy each twice a week, with improved cooperation in proposed activities, but no improvement in language. Afterward, a total of 24 sessions of tact training with augmentative gestural support interventions were performed. Data were collected by two independent observers and analyzed to measure language and behavioral outcomes. Results: VB-MAPP scores increased form minimal communication and social interaction at T0 (baseline) to improved compliance but unchanged language skills at T1 (after standard therapy). After tack training with augmentative gestural support (T2), VB-MAPP scores showed significant improvements, with notable increases in verbal operants, independence in communication, and intersubjectivity skills. GMDS-III scores at T2 also demonstrated growth in social, communicative, and cognitive skills. Additionally, challenging behaviors were reduced by more than 70% and nearly resolved by the end of the intervention. Conclusions: Personalized approaches appear to be essential for interventions tailored to developmental age. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of these approaches for other neurodevelopmental disorders, identify patient characteristics that may be predictors of outcomes to tailor the intervention, and explore the generalization of the results obtained with these strategies.

Capturing Competence: The Design, Evaluation, and Implementation of a Video‐Based Instrument for Assessing Verbal Aggression Management Competence

ABSTRACTComplex competences, such as managing students' aggressive behaviour, are challenging to develop during teacher training. Recently, video‐based simulations have been considered promising, yet suitable assessment instruments are limitedly available. This paper reports on the design and evaluation of a video‐based assessment tool tailored to measure preservice teachers' verbal aggression management competence (V‐AMC) development. Design considerations for video‐based activities served as a framework, resulting in an assessment instrument consisting of video vignettes mirroring classroom situations concerning verbal aggressive behaviour, questions prompting situation‐specific skills development, and a coding scheme to analyse preservice teachers' answers. Furthermore, this paper discusses the results of the instrument's implementation on preservice teachers' (n = 182) V‐AMC. Findings support the appropriateness of the instrument in assessing V‐AMC levels and mapping the impact of a simulation‐based intervention. The data partially confirm the intervention's contribution to V‐AMC development. Implications for future interventions targeting competence development are discussed.

Curiosity and Digital Stories: Exploring Preschoolers’ Behaviors

<p style="text-align:justify">Given curiosity’s fundamental role in motivation and learning and considering the widespread use of digital stories as educational tools from the preschool age, we pursued measuring preschoolers’ curiosity when interacting with digital stories. Using 129 toddlers and preschoolers as a sample, three groups (one for each class) were given different versions of the same digital story to listen to: interactive, non-interactive, and animated. Toddlers' verbal and nonverbal behaviors were utilized to quantify curiosity as a condition brought on by the app. The participants' verbal and nonverbal behaviors were recorded during the digital reading aloud. Every child's data was encoded at one-minute intervals to examine concurrent behavior, and the results were then compiled. The findings show that interactive presentation formats encourage more touching and language use but less noise production and that interaction and the creative use of hot spots in digital illustrations are key elements in piquing viewers' curiosity while contributing to the strengthening of the engagement to the activity and the cultivation of critical thinking, creativity, and imagination.</p>

Remembering as an operant: Effects of instructional control and reinforcement on remembering behavior.

With the general aim of providing more evidence for considering certain behaviors involved in the act of remembering as operant, two experiments were carried out to verify its sensitivity to differential reinforcement, and to some of the variables upon which it depends. In the first experiment, three children participated, and two variables were manipulated in a "free recall" task: the accuracy of the instructions and the magnitude of the reinforcer applied to the emission of the target words. In the second experiment, 60 was changed to one of comparison between groups. In this case, the response-reinforcer interval (immediate vs. delayed) was manipulated using a "recognition" task. In both experiments, a greater number of remembered items were found in the presence of reinforcement compared to its absence, as well as with a greater magnitude of the reinforcer and with a shorter delay. These results are discussed considering the peculiarities of verbal behavior in humans and provide evidence that operant processes have an important role in traditional human memory tasks.

Verbal Mediation During Auditory Equivalence Class Formation Using Go/No-Go Successive Matching-to-Sample

AbstractSuccessive matching-to-sample (S-MTS) with a go/no-go response requirement has previously produced equivalence classes with nonverbal auditory stimuli among college students. When participants are required to talk aloud during posttests (protocol analysis), their verbal behavior tends to match their selection performance. However, in some cases, the protocol analysis seems to interfere with posttests, in that equivalence yields are lower when participants are required to talk aloud. Thus, the current study replicated and extended previous research by requiring participants to complete emergence posttests before introducing training for the protocol analysis. Subsequently, participants completed one additional block of the transitivity/equivalence posttest with the talk-aloud requirement. Additionally, participants completed tact and intraverbal tests following emergence posttests to further assess possible verbal-mediation strategies. The results showed that six of eight college students formed equivalence classes, suggesting that previous failures could have been influenced by the talk-aloud requirement. Further, there was a positive correlation between verbal and nonverbal (selection) responses suggesting the possibility that verbal mediation may have contributed to equivalence-class formation.

Evaluating the Quality of Screening Process for High-Risk Pregnancies in Paser District, East Kalimantan

Health service programme success is measured by maternal mortality. There have been efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal fatalities. Field observations suggest that high-risk pregnancy referral rates are still low, delaying access to better services. Screening for high-risk pregnancies is an operational technique to prevent maternal and newborn emergency issues by allowing early treatment and referral planning. Health cadres and personnel can provide quality information. Lack of knowledge and awareness will harm society, especially pregnant women, in dealing and seeking health care. This study uses descriptive methods to assess high-risk pregnancy screening in Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, by collecting individual data and watching written and verbal behaviour. This research is qualitative and phenomenological. Health workers, ob-gyns, GPs, and pregnant women were informants. The data was collected through interviews from November to December 2023. The research found that high-risk pregnancy screening was still poor due to lack of knowledge, understanding, staff, time, site, and community culture. This research aims to improve high-risk pregnancy screening in Paser Regency, East Kalimantan Province, so that the policy can become permanent and help the planned referral process by motivating, socialising, training health cadres, and requiring cross-sectoral and cross-program support.

Understanding Therapeutic Lying In The Care Of A Person with Dementia: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis

Abstract Background Therapeutic lying, described as any verbal or non-verbal behaviour or communication that involves the manipulation of information has been shown to be pervasive in dementia care. However, its theoretical foundation is difficult to underpin and appears to have evolved through practice without a clear definition. The aim of this study is to establish conceptual clarity around the concept of therapeutic lying in the care of a person with dementia. Methods Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis was used to focus on the contextual qualities of therapeutic lying. This dispositional view recognises that concepts are fluid in nature. The analysis involves deconstructing the concept into surrogate terms, attributes, antecedents, consequences and related terms to generate a greater understanding of its innate features. A systematic search relating to “therapeutic lying” and “dementia” was undertaken. The final study sample consisted of 37 papers. Results This analysis revealed therapeutic lying’s surrogate terms, attributes, antecedents, consequences and related terms in the care of a person with dementia. This study highlighted this concept is intended to be used in the person's best interests, for the purpose of doing good. However, its subjective nature makes it an extremely difficult concept to grasp collectively. Conclusion Therapeutic lying is highly dependent on individual interpretation and the caregiver’s moral compass. It can potentially damage trust in a caring relationship and may contribute to the “othering” of a person with dementia. The negative consequences surrounding this concept must be studied comprehensively before it is considered in practice. Therapeutic lying should be used only as a last resort when a person with dementia is exhibiting truth related distress. As the therapeutic effect of a therapeutic lie cannot be guaranteed, the term “well intentioned lying” is proposed as a potential alternative for the concept as this term highlights the caregiver’s good intention behind incorporating a lie during care.

The impact of verbal behavior on audience engagement in Chinese talk shows: Based on a novel mediation model

This study employs the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model to construct a new mediation framework, examining the impact of Chinese stand-up comedians' language on audience engagement from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Statistical analysis of data from 415 online viewers of stand-up comedy shows revealed that comedians' humorous language significantly enhanced audience engagement by positively influencing their enjoyment. Based on this, in-depth interviews were conducted with 8 viewers to understand their specific perceptions of different types of humor. The analysis results showed that Chinese audiences had a higher acceptance of affiliative humor, self-deprecating humor, and humor incorporating traditional cultural elements, while they had lower acceptance or even rejection of aggressive humor, political satire, and vulgar humor. This study enriches the research on the relationship between Chinese stand-up comedy shows and audience engagement, providing insights for improving the production of Chinese stand-up comedy shows and for Western entertainment programs entering the Chinese market.

Acoso sexual experimentado por estudiantes universitarios ecuatorianos: prevalencia, impacto y acciones institucionales

This study addresses sexual harassment at the Technical University of Machala, aiming to examine its prevalence, characteristics, and emotional effects on students. Quantitative research with descriptive, exploratory, and explanatory scopes, conducted on a simple random sample of 776 university students, who were administered the ASIES instrument to collect data, which has been previously validated in the Ecuadorian context. The results reveal that a significant fraction of the students have experienced harassment, with verbal and non-verbal behaviors predominating, and women reporting a higher incidence. It was observed that,despite the implemented policies, there is still a lack of knowledge about the resources and reporting procedures. We conclude that it is essential to expand the research and improve information dissemination to address this issue, in addition to emphasizingthe need for educational and prevention strategies that promote a safe and inclusive university environment for all genders.

Peering into the team role kaleidoscope: the interplay of personal characteristics and verbal interactions in collaborative problem solving.

The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between personality and peer-rated team role behavior on the one hand and team role behavior and verbal behavior on the other hand. To achieve this, different data types were collected in fifteen professional teams of four members (N = 60) from various private and public organizations in Flanders, Belgium. Participants' personalities were assessed using a workplace-contextualized personality questionnaire based on the Big Five, including domains and facets. Typical team role behavior was assessed by the team members using the Team Role Experience and Orientation peer rating system. Verbal interactions of nine of the teams (n = 36) were recorded in an educational lab setting, where participants performed several collaborative problem-solving tasks as part of a training. To process these audio data, a coding scheme for collaborative problem solving and linguistic inquiry and word count were used. We identified robust links and logical correlation patterns between personality traits and typical team role behaviors, complementing prior research that only focused on self-reported team behavior. For instance, a relatively strong correlation was found between Altruism and the Team builder role. Next, the study reveals that role taking within teams is associated with specific verbal interaction patterns. For example, members identified as Organizers were more engaged in responding to others' ideas and monitoring execution.

Impacts of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) on Verbal Scores in Children With Autism: A Secondary Analysis of the HBOT Trial Using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA).

Introduction A secondary analysis employing advanced statistical methodologies constitutes a robust means of validating initial findings in systematic empiricism. The current research will undertake a secondary analysis of the impacts of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) on verbal behaviors in children with autism using the original dataset. This approach aims to enhance the robustness of the initial results, thereby providing a deeper understanding of the data and potentially uncovering additional insights. Materials and methods From January 2018 to July 2021, all cohorts of autistic children (n = 65) were scheduled, evaluated, and treated at The Oxford Center(TOC) in Brighton and Troy, Michigan, USA. Trained research assistants retrospectively extracted pretest and posttest data from electronic medical records from the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS). This data collection focused on children with autism who received either non-HBOT control with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) treatment only or ABA + HBOT interventions. For the VB-MAPP, the experimental group (ABA + HBOT) included 23 children, while the control group (ABA only) included 12 children. For the ABLLS, the experimental group (ABA + HBOT) consisted of nine children, compared to 21 children in the control group (ABA only). Demographic information was systematically summarized. Two independent sample t-tests were recomputed from the original study. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were conducted, followed by one-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) post hoc analyses to elucidate the findings. Results The ages in both groups ranged from 2 to 17 years (M = 5.7 years ± 3.08), with median ages of four years for the experimental group and five years for the control group. The p-values and effect sizes indicated that the two independent sample t-tests from the original study and the MANOVAs from the current research are in agreement. This concordance provided confirmatory evidence for the validity of the pretest and posttest differences in VB-MAPP and ABLLS scores for the control group (ABA only) and the experimental group (ABA + HBOT), highlighting the impact of HBOT on verbal scores in children with autism. Conclusions The results from the two independent sample t-tests from the initial study exhibited high alignment with those derived from the current study's MANOVAs. Both statistical methodologies were applied to the same VB-MAPP and ABLLS datasets. The convergence of results from these two distinct statistical analyses may reinforce the credibility of the original research findings. It supports the hypothesis that the combined ABA and HBOT intervention may offer additional benefits over ABA therapy alone, with verbal milestone behaviors in children with autism.

Personality Expression using Co-speech Gesture

We express our personality through verbal and nonverbal behavior. While verbal cues are mostly related to the semantics of what we say, nonverbal cues include our posture, gestures, and facial expressions. Appropriate expression of these behavioral elements improves conversational virtual agents’ communication capabilities and realism. Although previous studies focus on co-speech gesture generation, they do not consider the personality aspect of the synthesized animations. We show that automatically generated co-speech gestures naturally express personality traits, and heuristics-based adjustments for such animations can further improve personality expression. To this end, we present a framework for enhancing co-speech gestures with the different personalities of the Five-Factor model. Our experiments suggest that users perceive increased realism and improved personality expression when combining heuristics-based motion adjustments with co-speech gestures.

Commentary on Noam Chomsky's review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal behavior

Commentary on Noam Chomsky's review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal behavior

Verbal behavior by B. F. Skinner (review)

Verbal behavior by B. F. Skinner (review)

It Helped Push Me Through the Class’: Community College Student Perceptions of the Role of Instructor Immediacy Behaviors in Completing an Online Course

For decades, the number of students enrolling in online courses has been increasing, and this trend toward online education has been further intensified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The completion rate of online courses is not as high as in-person instruction, and researchers and practitioners have long been invested in identifying ways in which online education can be optimized. One dimension of online education that has received scholarly attention is the transactional distance that exists between students and instructors, which, if not appropriately minimized, can lead to a variety of negative student outcomes. Scholars have also identified a variety of verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors that can help online instructors decrease this transactional distance and promote a variety of positive student outcomes. To date, the study of immediacy behaviors in online college courses has focused primarily on four-year institutions utilizing quantitative methods. As complement to this research, we interviewed 12 community college students to better understand how a particular set of immediacy behaviors (i.e., a “welcome” phone call, sending personalized emails, using humor, creating videos, and sending “check-in” emails) influenced students’ desire and ability to remain in and complete an online course. Implications of these findings for practice and future research are discussed.

Examining the Use of Address Terms among Postgraduate Students in an Online Speech Community and Their Implication

This paper examined the terms of address as an important part of verbal behavior through which the behavior, norms and practices of a society can be identified. As a classic study in sociolinguistics, Brown and Gilman (1960) pronominal address system highlighted the semantic power and solidarity in relation to address terms. Since then, several studies have emerged on address terms in various social domains notably academia, religion, politics and many more. However, most of these studies did not give much consideration to online speech communities. This study therefore focuses on sociolinguistic analysis of address terms among postgraduate students in an online speech community using ethnographic approach. The study selected three (3) postgraduate online groups from the University of Cape Coast. One hundred and fifty chats (150) were collected from each group and studied to reveal the key address terms used by the students to address each and also the factors influencing the choice of the address terms. The study revealed that the key address terms used among postgraduate students are personal names, descriptive phrases and titles. Again, the study revealed the following as the factors influencing the choice of address terms: situational and socio-cultural factors, level of formality, innovativeness and playfulness, gender and age variations.

Functional Analysis and Treatment of Repetitive Verbal Behavior in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Functional Analysis and Treatment of Repetitive Verbal Behavior in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Does Sense of Presence Affect People's Politeness? Comparing VRChat and Soul App

Mobile social activities are among the most popular forms of socialization today, and has become an integral part of people's daily lives. With advances in technology and the rise of affordable virtual reality devices, VR social interaction through avatar creation and support for advanced body tracking capabilities has the potential to lead the next revolution in the digitization of social activities. However, whether in VR or on mobile phones, user politeness and friendliness are always crucial factors influencing the user experience of social applications. While past research has examined online politeness, less attention has been paid to comparing politeness perceptions between social VR and mobile applications. In the meantime, given that the core characteristics of VR socializing is its heightened sense of presence, research by many scholars in the relevant field also indicates that presence often positively correlates with positive emotions. Therefore, this study will explore how people perceive and express verbal and non-verbal politeness behaviors in different social applications (VR chat, Soul app), as well as investigate how the sense of presence provided by the devices influences people's expression of politeness. The study's results identified the polite and impolite behaviors that people had perceived in VR and the mobile App. Lastly, the study also reported that VR applications that offer a heightened sense of presence can better facilitate politeness.

Evaluating the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) Scores Using Principal Components Analysis.

Introduction TheVerbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP)is an extensive tool used to assess children with autism and other developmental disabilities who have language delays. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) professionals frequently use the VB-MAPP to create personalized intervention programs catering to each child's needs. The lack of studies examining the VB-MAPPat the pretest, posttest, and differential scores using principal components analysis (PCA) suggests an opportunity to conduct PCAs on these different VB-MAPP scores. In doing so, researchers could better understand the VB-MAPP's dimensionality and factor structure at these levels. This, in turn, could inform the development of more effective assessment strategies and intervention plans for individuals with language and social communication challenges. Materials and methods From January 2018 to July 2021, The Oxford Centerin Brighton and Troy, Michigan, treated autistic children using ABAtherapy. A convenience sample of 13 children was retrospectively analyzed using VB-MAPP, which evaluates various behavioral milestones using a pretest-posttest design. Descriptive data analysis and internal consistency reliability estimates (using Cronbach's alpha) were calculated for pretest, posttest, and difference scores. A Wilcoxen signed-rank test was conducted to determine the statistical significance between thepretest and posttest. Correlation matrices were inspected for relevant relationships between VB-MAPP scales, and a PCAwith orthogonal rotation was alsoperformed on this pretest, posttest, and difference scores. Results The mean age for the children was 4.083 years ± 1.083 years, (95%CI 3.64, 4.36). Around 66.6% of the children had an autism severity level of three, 33.3% had a severity level of two, and none were at level one. Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency reliability of the pretest, posttest, and difference scores, indicating excellent reliability with values of 0.948 for the pretest and 0.937 for theposttest, respectively. The difference scores had a lower but acceptable reliability coefficient of 0.752. PCAon the pretest scores identified three factors that explain85.584% of the total variation, indicating that these components capture most of the data's structure. The posttest PCA also identified three factors, accounting for 84.293% of the variance, suggesting a similar complexity and good model fit as the pretest. PCA revealed four factors explaining 82.317% of the variation for the difference scores. The increase in factors suggests that changes between pretest and posttest scores are complex, likely due to the ABA treatment, and require an additional component to represent the data adequately. There is a good model fit; the underlying structure is more complex than the pretest or posttest alone. Conclusions Robust coefficient alphas combined with the shift to a more detailed factor structure post-ABA treatment highlight ABA therapy's diverse and multi-faceted impact on children. The increase from three to four principal components indicates a richer and more nuanced pattern of improvements across different domains of verbal and social behavior. This detailed factor structure is a testament to the comprehensive and individualized nature of ABA treatment, reflecting the therapy's effectiveness in addressing specific needs and fostering broad developmental gains in children.

A Ten-Year Systematic Review on Linguistic BehaviorsOral and Written Communication as Predictors of Anxiety

The purpose of this article is to conduct a systematic review of the literature over the past decade on the relationship between linguistic behavior and anxiety-related mental disorders. Anxiety is a universal and complex mental health problem with significant societal implications, and it has been one of the focuses of extensive attention, investigation and research in the psychological community. Many psychiatric disorders, especially anxiety disorders, are associated with severe anxiety. In recent years, as more and more scholars began to focus on the link between verbal behavior and anxiety, certain unique linguistic features have been identified in people with anxiety disorders, such as using less positive emotional words and fewer long sentences. However, some issues remain to be addressed. For instance, the majority of studies conducted in this field have not employed long-term observational experimental designs, which has hindered researchers from exploring the deeper effects of language behavior on the onset and development of anxiety symptoms. Additionally, in-depth research is challenging because some studies focus on specific populations, have limited sample selection, and rarely make cross-cultural comparisons. Anxiety disorders associated with decreasing quality of life and impairing social functioning. Therefore, it is crucial to study the relationship between anxiety and linguistic behavior from practical perspective. Future research should focus on solving the limitations of existing studies, exploring the mechanism of linguistic behavior's influence on anxiety symptoms, and exploring the relationship between anxiety and language in different cultures, to provide more effective strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders.