The model of hierarchical complexity (MHC) assesses a general, unidimensional behavioral developmental set of tasks and stages that measures difficulty across different domains. Teaching the model is a challenge because of the abstract nature of the model. Using traditional methods of lecturing to t
One young man with autism was trained in botanical skills. He was trained to match different drawings of trees (c), shown with Their respective names (a), and tree leaves (b) using a conditional discrimination procedure. The conditional discrimination Procedures were arranged as a many-to-one traini
Several methods have been devised to measure delay discounting. The present study recruited university students to complete a delay-discounting task involving five different outcomes (finding a dating partner, free cigarettes, winning $100,000, being owed $100,000, and obtaining one's ideal body image) that was administered using either the fill-in-the blank (FITB) or multiple-choice (MC) method. Results showed that the different administration methods sometimes produced significantly different rates of discounting, the direction of which differed by outcome. Hyperbolic discounting and the area under the discounting curve were nearly always significantly correlated when the FITB method was used but were never significantly correlated when the MC method was used. Discounting across the five outcomes produced a two-factor solution when the FITB data were factor analyzed. The MC data were described by a one-factor solution. The present results illustrate that procedural variables have a potentially profound impact on delay-discounting data, and generalizing from studies on delay discounting should be done with caution until those variables are fully understood.
