To reply to the two commentaries, an overview of social contextual analysis is given focusing more on the overall goals and expected outcomes based on 50 years of studying human behavior and 35 years of field or community observations. Misinterpretations occur because there are different goals in play between behavior analysis and SCA. In particular, we need to prioritize getting “off the page” and away from theories and models and focus instead on better observing both the behaviors of humans and the many contexts that shape those behavior in different ways. Behavior analysis has done the first but not the second of these, but we can use the social sciences as our initial starting points for making our observations. We resort to theories when we have poor or no observations and the recent behavior analysis of human behavior has seen both poor observations of context and an upsurge in abstract theorizing and modeling. Getting “off the page,” however, requires new methodologies for observation and how we interact and engage with our subject matter, and less time spent on how we write observations into theories. Like all “science,” our written versions are there only to sensitize readers as to where they might make observations, not to record an accumulation of truths.
This article focused on the role of the echoic in testing for and potentially inducing naming. Four subtypes of naming were analyzed: unidirectional naming (UniN), bidirectional naming (BiN), incidental unidirectional naming (Inc-UniN), and incidental bidirectional naming (Inc-BiN). Five autistic participants, aged 4–7 years, were tested for these four subtypes of naming. If a subtype was not present then the participant was retested with an adapted test that included an echoic. This adapted test involved inducing an echoic response from the participant when required to match and point to stimuli. All five participants met the criterion for a subtype of naming following this adapted test that included the echoic. They continued to meet this criterion when the original test was subsequently used with novel stimuli and without the echoic. This article supports previous research that highlights the importance of the echoic to induce naming. The adapted test with the echoic was successful in inducing a subtype of naming for these five participants and it was shown to not require extensive trials. It is discussed whether this adapted test with an echoic should be an initial tactic to induce a subtype of naming before implementing more time-intensive procedures.
The present study compared two instructional arrangements during foreign-language tact acquisition. In one arrangement, participants were instructed to repeat target words covertly during instructional trials (covert repetition instruction; CRI). In the other, participants engaged in an overt stimulus-dependent vocal blocking task. Ten undergraduate students were taught Spanish tacts using an adapted alternating treatments design. The primary outcome was the number of sessions required to reach mastery; maintenance probes were also conducted. Across most participants, fewer sessions were required to reach criterion under the CRI arrangement than under the vocal blocking arrangement. Maintenance of acquired tacts also tended to be higher following CRI; however, interpretation is constrained by differential post-mastery exposure across conditions. No consistent differences were observed in matching-to-sample performance. These findings suggest that instructional arrangements can produce systematic differences in acquisition efficiency. A parsimonious account is that vocal blocking introduced additional, overt competing response requirements during instructional trials, which may have reduced acquisition efficiency. Although the CRI arrangement included instructions to repeat target words covertly, the processes responsible for the observed differences were not directly measured. Thus, any account involving covert rehearsal remains speculative. The results highlight the importance of analyzing instructional arrangements and observable response requirements in verbal behavior research and foreign-language instruction.
This study evaluated an experimental procedure for establishing an emergent reading repertoire of Japanese Hiragana (a nonalphabetic script) using the stimulus equivalence paradigm within a single-subject descriptive design. Three native Portuguese speakers were exposed to a matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure to establish conditional discriminations between dictated syllables (A), Hiragana characters (B), and their corresponding Romanized representations (C). The mastery criterion for all training phases was 100
Under avoidance schedules, a response is reinforced when it prevents or postpones the presentation of an aversive stimulus. Sidman avoidance schedules are defined by consistent intervals between presentations of the aversive stimulus and the response. Although these schedules are useful for the experimental analysis of behavior, they differ from the random avoidance schedules that are unavoidable in daily life. There is current clinical and conceptual interest regarding generative effects of extinction, and a dearth of research on these effects following avoidance, especially with human subjects and random-cycle avoidance schedules. Therefore, research evaluating extinction of responding previously maintained by avoidance is a steppingstone for clinical and experimental innovations. We compared the acquisition and persistence of responding maintained by a free-operant random-cycle avoidance schedule during two extinction conditions with four college students. During baseline, touching a circle prevented money loss according to a random-cycle 5-s avoidance schedule. The same schedule was used during two alternating components signaled by background colors. During extinction in one component, no money was lost (no-loss). During the other component, money was lost according to a random-time 5-s schedule (unavoidable-loss). Overall, no-loss and unavoidable-loss extinction extinguished responding maintained by random-cycle avoidance schedules similarly. If continued presentation of the stimulus is ethical, unavoidable loss tended to work more rapidly and reliably and was less likely to produce an extinction burst or high rates of variable responding.
Social discounting occurs when a person shares less of a commodity with other individuals as social distance with those other individuals increases. Sharing generally decreases as a function of increasing social distance. Many cross-cultural social discounting studies have shown sharing differences between cultures, but few have measured within-culture variables that may be responsible for differential generosity across social distances. The current study focused on economic strata, or relative economic prosperity, as a within-culture variable that may be meaningfully related to sharing differences for residents of two bordering districts in Bogotá, Colombia—Fontibón and Kennedy. In addition, we tested whether generosity across social distances was significantly related to other prosocial measures that have previously been shown to be correlate with social discounting tasks in North American participants. These measures included identification with all of humanity (IWAH) and impartial beneficence (IB). One hundred four participants from the Fontibón and Kennedy districts completed a social discounting task, three other prosocial measures, and provided demographic information, including their economic stratum. Results showed that Fontibón residents self-reported being in higher economic strata, relative to Kennedy residents. Fontibón residents also shared significantly less during the social discounting task, relative to Kennedy residents. Correlations between social discount rates and IWAH and IB also largely replicated a previous study using North American participants. The impact of economic strata on sharing is discussed in relation to other cross-cultural variables used in social discounting research.
This study investigated the extent to which differences in subjective time perception corresponded to measures of delay discounting. Thirty-nine college students served as participants. Participants were first instructed to estimate five different durations of time ranging from 5 s to 120 s. From these estimations, participants were grouped based on an average deviation score (DS). Participants then completed a standard hypothetical monetary delay-discounting interview for delayed 1,000 and10,000. Ten delays between 1 day and 25 years were used. Area under curve (AUC) measures were calculated and compared across groups and conditions. Mean AUC measures significantly differed across groups in 1,000 and10,000 conditions. Participants in the negative DS had significantly greater AUC values compared to the positive DS group. Similar magnitude effects were observed for both groups. The results of the current study provide support for including subjective time perception variables in our understanding of the mechanisms influencing delay discounting.
Whether the acquisition of conditional relations occurs simultaneously or sequentially is often obscured by global accuracy measures. The present study analyzed the acquisition of conditional discriminations in humans using a molecular, trial-by-trial approach. Three undergraduate students were trained on 12 visual conditional relations, divided into two sets (AB and BC), using an arbitrary zero-delay matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure. Results showed that all participants reached the acquisition criteria for each conditional relation at different moments during training. The cumulative frequency curves for each relation showed minimal overlap, indicating a clear sequential pattern of acquisition where relations were learned one by one. These findings suggest that average accuracy scores can mask individual learning trajectories and that reinforcement histories develop uniquely for each relation during training. Understanding these fundamental learning processes in MTS is a crucial step toward elucidating the mechanisms governing the formation of equivalence classes and possibly improving the efficiency with which these classes are formed.
This study investigated the influence of autoclitics denoting sameness and opposition on class formation through intraverbal naming, building on the bidirectional naming theory. Four undergraduate participants were exposed to an experimental procedure involving tact training, intraverbal training, and matching-to-sample (MTS) posttests. First, participants were taught to tact all stimuli vocally. Then, stimuli were divided into two sets, and intraverbals were established through spoken words with different autoclitics for each set. The intraverbal included “equal to” (sameness) for Set 1 and “opposite to” (opposition) for Set 2. Then, all emergent relations were tested through both an MTS and a vocal task. As a result, three out of four participants learned the target relations and demonstrated relational responding aligned with predictions, indicating that autoclitic functions played a role in stimulus class formation. One participant exhibited alternative patterns, likely influenced by distinct reinforcement histories regarding the relational autoclitics used. These findings expand on naming theory through the concept of autoclitics by linking autoclitics to the mechanisms underlying verbally mediated equivalence classes. We argue that the concept of autoclitics could enhance our understanding of emergent symbolic behavior.
Brazilian research has played an important role in the study of Arbitrarily Applicable Relational Responding (AARRing) through the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP)—a method derived directly from Relational Frame Theory (RFT). This study aims to systematically review the empirical literature that employs the IRAP in investigations of AARRing involving Brazilian samples. The goals are to (1) quantify the studies published in each journal; (2) identify the aims of the studies; (3) identify the sample size (N) and the type and the age of the participants involved in each study; (4) describe the stimuli used (i.e., label, target, and response options); (5) describe the methodological parameters (i.e., latency and accuracy criteria, number of block tests, and trials per block); (6) verify whether the IRAP is used in conjunction with other tools; (7) identify the themes investigated and their relevant findings; and (8) identify the values of differential trial-type effects. The review followed the PRISMA protocol. Searchers were conducted in three Brazilian and five international journals. Results showed 25 studies published from 2012 to 2024, covering 13 years of research. The findings indicate that the IRAP has been used both in a correlational sense with other tools and as a functional-analytic tool, with the latter aligning with broader developments in RFT, namely the Differential Arbitrarily Applicable Relational Responding Effects (DAARRE) model. Limitations and future directions for the IRAP as a functional-analytic tool that meets the goals of prediction-and-influence are also discussed.
In this article, I examine Guerin’s Social Contextual Analysis (SCA) in relation to behavior analysis (BA). Although both frameworks share an antimentalistic orientation and emphasize behavior-as-history, I argue that they diverge markedly in their explanatory commitments. I contend that SCA advances a form of “reverse reductionism” by privileging exclusively societal-level explanations and, in doing so, effectively eliminates psychology, including behavior analysis. A consequence of this move is the absence of behavioral learning mechanisms capable of explaining how societal factors exert their influence on behavior. Although SCA offers valuable societal analyses and highlights the importance of empirical methods beyond the experimental laboratory, it often relies on abstract conceptual categories—such as “forces,” “resources,” and “relationships” —without specifying the processes through which these operate. At the same time, SCA critiques BA for its theoretical abstractions while engaging in comparable forms of theorizing and interpretation. I argue that BA must broaden its analytical scope to incorporate societal and cultural variables more fully, whereas SCA must acknowledge the necessity of multiple levels of analysis. I propose a pluralistic, multidetermined approach as the most productive path for advancing the study of social and cultural behavioral phenomena.
Physical inactivity during pregnancy is problematic and associated with adverse health outcomes, including increased blood loss during labor and pre-eclampsia. The purpose of the present study was to apply the behavioral economic framework to understand physical inactivity among pregnant women. We examine the factor structure of a novel hypothetical purchase task for physical inactivity in a cross-sectional survey study, as well as examine differences in the latent variable scores in a convenience sample of two distinct populations (n = 68): pregnant veterans and nonveterans. Results showed that the purchase task was characterized by two latent factors: amplitude (i.e., intensity of demand for physical inactivity, α = 0.5) and persistence (i.e., demand sensitivity regarding physical inactivity, α = 0.9). After controlling for relevant demographic variables using linear regression analysis, veterans—compared to nonveterans—exhibited higher persistence (b = 1.6, p < 0.001) and amplitude scores (b = 1.2, p < 0.001). In summary, this study characterized a new behavioral economic measure of physical inactivity for pregnant women. Furthermore, we suggest that pregnant veterans may value physical inactivity more than pregnant nonveterans.
An analysis of the current scientific scene shows that behavior-analytic approaches to social relations have multiplied in the recent decades, producing diverse and sometimes competing frameworks for analyzing how individuals, groups, and societies function. This commentary examines Bernard Guerin’s analysis of groups as a macro analysis that integrates behavior-analytic principles with insights from the social sciences. By classifying social forces at the interpersonal, group, and societal levels, and by treating language as a strategic dimension of these forces, Guerin offers a distinct framework for both analysis and intervention. The review concludes by situating Guerin’s model in dialogue with the others, identifying shared concerns and conceptual gaps, and suggesting that future progress may depend less on unification than on mutual critique and systematization.
Pairs of undergraduates were exposed to a two-component multiple schedule comprised of two progressive-ratio (PR) schedules. In one component of the multiple schedule, the total number of key-presses by both participants of a pair meeting a PR requirement resulted in points exchangeable for money given to each participant (the PR schedule of collective reinforcement, PRC, component). In the other component, each participant obtained points depending on their own key-presses that met the PR requirement (the PR schedule of individual reinforcement, PR, component). For 6 of the 10 pairs of participants, the reinforcers per minute were lower during the PRC component than during the PR component, suggesting that collective reinforcement was less efficient than individual reinforcement. Previous results suggesting the inefficiency of collective reinforcement were obtained from experiments using strict contingencies, contaminated procedures, or no control conditions. By contrast, the present results demonstrate this effect under relatively simple contingencies, without concurrent schedule contamination, and with an individual-reinforcement control condition.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Behavior Analysts: A Practice Guide from Theory to Treatment, by Dixon et al. (2023), offers a rigorous and conceptually systematic perspective on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) within behavior analysis. The book aims to settle whether ACT qualifies as behavior analytic and to guide behavior analysts in integrating ACT-consistent strategies in their practice. It does so by addressing (1) historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of ACT; (2) functional analyses of the six ACT processes; and (3) practical applications and ethical considerations. This review offers an overview of the book, critically evaluates its contributions and limitations, suggests readers who might benefit from it, and determines whether the book achieves its purpose.
Behavioral equilibrium is what an organism usually does during its free time, without any constraints on its behavior. A contingent response deficit is a constraint that restricts an organism from approaching its behavioral equilibrium. Human and nonhuman animals are known to regulate their behavior to reduce this deficit, and therefore, reapproach behavioral equilibrium. The current study investigated whether verbal stimuli might have an effect akin to a response deficit. Human participants were given the opportunity to view advertisements or videos across periods of baseline, deficit, and verbal stimuli. Verbal stimuli included “more” and “better” contextual cues as follows: “View more Ads to see better TikTok Vids.” Verbal stimuli were presented during a period of equilibrium, where there was no environmental constraint on behavior. Most participants increased their instrumental advertisement viewing in the same way they increased it to reduce a response deficit. Results indicated that verbal stimuli disrupt behavioral equilibrium, causing human participants to deviate from equilibrium or abandon it altogether.
Hayes and Fryling's book Interbehaviorism: A Comprehensive Guide to the Foundations of Kantor’s Theory and Its Applications for Modern Behavior Analysis is an updated account of Kantor’s interbehaviorism for behavior analysts. Their book reflects on current theoretical, empirical, and applied developments in behavior analysis while developing Kantor’s position on science, the scientific enterprise, and the psychological field. To achieve this, the authors organize their book into a philosophical and theoretical section in which the main postulates of Kantor’s interbehaviorism are presented and shown to enhance current analysis. In the second part, they present Kantor’s perspectives on linguistic behavior, inapparent events, memory, the self, perspective-taking and relationships, feelings, human development, family values, and morality, while contrasting them with traditional psychology and Skinner’s perspectives. Some chapters provide more tools for connecting theoretical accounts to applied and basic practice, whereas others serve as an appetizer for future developments. Given the complex nature of Kantor’s proposal, this is a book to be studied and is suited for researchers, advanced students, and practitioners interested in theory. It may be used as a required reading for any class on theoretical and philosophical aspects of behavior analysis. The book serves as a reference to current developments in Kantor’s interbehaviorism, while offering tools for study and the necessary philosophical and theoretical tools to address some of the most common critiques of behavior-analytic explanations of complex behaviors.
The concept of values was first introduced into behavior-analytic literature by B. F. Skinner and later expanded by S. C. Hayes and colleagues. Today, values constitute a central component of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and play a key role in contextual behavioral therapies and other evidence-based interventions. In the broader literature, radical behaviorism and functional contextualism are often presented as complementary or divergent approaches, but rarely as theoretically incompatible. Although discussions of values appear across these traditions, the specific relationship between their conceptualizations has remained largely unexamined. This article offers a conceptual analysis of how values are defined within radical behaviorism and functional contextualism. To accomplish this, we reviewed publications from both traditions with a specific focus on the theme of values and organized our comparative analysis around four categories: agreement, divergence, contradiction, and complementarity. Our review identified one area of agreement, three areas of divergence, three areas of direct contradiction, and explored the possibility of complementarity. These findings suggest that the two approaches offer conceptually incompatible accounts of values, with significant implications for theory, research, and clinical practice. Conceptual precision in defining values can reduce ambiguity and support more effective action, aligning CBS with its goals of predicting and influencing behavior. Moreover, each definition of values embeds implicit normative commitments that shape the community’s practices. Understanding the functional consequences of each formulation, therefore, is not a matter of determining which definition is “correct” in a realist or empiricist sense, but of evaluating which definition best serves the purposes and interests of the behavior-analytic community.
Although simultaneous and successive discrimination procedures are both effective in establishing stimulus control, their direct comparison often suffers from procedural asymmetries. In this study, 10 undergraduate students were trained in simple discrimination tasks using either a simultaneous or successive format and tested for the maintenance of discriminative function by switching procedures. Half of the participants started with one procedure and the other half with the alternative. Discriminative performance was transferred nearly perfectly across procedures, with high accuracy in the test phase, regardless of the training format. However, simultaneous training required fewer blocks to reach criterion, and response latencies were significantly shorter during an interaction between procedure and phase, with simultaneous-to-successive transfer associated with longer latencies during testing. A modified cumulative arousal model fit the successive group data well but underestimated learning in the simultaneous group. These findings highlight procedural features that influence acquisition rates and response latencies and may help advance research in discrimination learning.
As contingency management (CM) moves from research to practice, researchers have a responsibility to outline the minimum procedural necessities that lead to an effective, sustainable treatment that can be implemented as a mainstream therapy for substance use disorders. To begin identifying the minimum requirements, the purpose of the current study was to provide framework and a first step toward building a risk calculator that predicts treatment outcomes in CM, and can predict the optimal incentive size to prescribe by evaluating behavioral economic factors, demographic variables, and use severity measures in individuals who completed CM treatment for alcohol use. Participants were 38 individuals enrolled in the active treatment arms of two parent CM studies for reducing alcohol use (Koffarnus et al., 2018; Koffarnus et al., 2021). Participants were 42 years old on average, 55% male, and a majority were white, non-Hispanic. Fifteen candidate predictor variables were assessed for inclusion in the predictive model including demographic variables, use severity scores, and behavioral economic parameters. A logistic regression framework was used to identify top predictive models. Accuracy was assessed by computing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curves. A model including the delay discounting parameter, log10(ED50) of alcohol, participant age, and Beck's Anxiety Inventory score was predictive of treatment outcomes in the current sample. The results demonstrate the utility of the ROC analysis as a method for identifying a predictive model. Further research is needed to replicate and verify the findings of the current analysis.
