This study investigated the potential for recreational gamblers to respond as if certain types of losing slot machine outcomes were actually closer to a win than others (termed the near-miss effect). Exposure to conditional discrimination training and testing disrupted this effect for 10 of the 16 participants. These 10 participants demonstrated high percentages of conditional discrimination testing performance, and the remaining 6 participants failed the discrimination tests. The implications for a verbally based behavioral explanation of gambling are presented.
The present paper describes 3 experiments which sought to further investigate if arbitrary stimuli may enter into relations with terrorist and non-terrorist stimuli via a transformation of stimulus functions. Experiment 1 used a rating scale to measure perceptions of North American and Middle Eastern males appearing as "Terrorists" before and after various relational training and testing procedures. Experiment 2 incorporated stimuli classification and sorting procedures to measure perceptions of the same images before replicating training and testing procedures from Experiment 1. Experiment 3 replicated the measurement procedures of Experiment 2 however, participants rated arbitrary stimuli. Results of these studies contribute to a Relational Frame Theory account of prejudice by demonstrating a pre-existing relationship between participant opinions and images of North American and Middle Eastern males and that these relationships can be altered through a conditional discrimination procedure.
The present study evaluated the effect of teaching nutritional information on the choice making of undergraduate students. The training procedure was based on the phenomenon of stimulus equivalence in order to create an efficient and effective method of teaching this type of information. Participants were asked to sort pictures of fast food items into categories of caloric content before and after they received relational training. Additionally, they were asked to select items they would like to eat immediately prior to and following the training procedure. Results indicated the number of items sorted correctly substantially increased for all participants and four of six participants made healthier choices following the intervention. Implications of teaching nutritional information as part of a behavioral model of weight loss treatment are discussed.
Pathological and nonpathological gamblers completed a task that assessed preference among 2 concurrently available slot machines. Subsequent assessments of choice were conducted after various attempts to transfer contextual functions associated with irrelevant characteristics of the slot machines. Results indicated that the nonproblem gambling group, but not the problem gambling group, increased their responding toward the slot initially trained as greater than following the initial training procedure, then decreased their responding toward that slot following the reversal phase.
Teachers address a wide range of student behavior by teaching expectations and routines and by responding proactively and constructively to misbehavior, while simultaneously holding all students, including those with emotional or behavioral disorders, to high academic standards. It can be a challenge for educators to effectively communicate their expectations to students and provide the structure that some will need in order to function in the classroom. Using the job of an air traffic controller as an analogy may help teachers clearly communicate the strategies they will employ in the instructional environment and help students with and without disabilities remain academically engaged in meaningful learning activities. Empirically supported critical features of effective classroom management include strategies that maximize structure and predictability and fit nicely within the analogy. This article describes these strategies.
The current study evaluated the effect of participating in simulated gambling activities on happiness levels of 3 nursing home residents. A 4-component analysis was used to measure objective responses associated with happiness during baseline, varying durations of engagement in simulated gambling activities, and 2 follow-up periods. Results indicated that all residents exhibited a higher percentage of happiness levels while engaged in simulated gambling activities compared with baseline. Follow-up assessment took place 10 min and 30 min following the intervention; no lasting effects were observed.
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