Seven adults participated in simulated teaching sessions with an experimenter who role played as a student with developmental disabilities. The experimenter engaged in problem behavior and either (a) terminated problem behavior contingent on participant reprimands (negative reinforcement) or (b) did not terminate problem behavior contingent on reprimands (extinction). Results suggested that reprimands were sensitive to negative reinforcement in the form of the immediate cessation of problem behavior. These preliminary findings support role play as a potentially viable laboratory model for analyzing behaviors of typical adults.

We evaluated the feasibility and utility of a laboratory model for examining observer accuracy within the framework of signal-detection theory (SDT). Sixty-one individuals collected data on aggression while viewing videotaped segments of simulated teacher-child interactions. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to determine if brief feedback and contingencies for scoring accurately would bias responding reliably. Experiment 2 focused on one variable (specificity of the operational definition) that we hypothesized might decrease the likelihood of bias. The effects of social consequences and information about expected behavior change were examined in Experiment 3. Results indicated that feedback and contingencies reliably biased responding and that the clarity of the definition only moderately affected this outcome.

The effects of two types of mands on participants' adherence to instructions were examined across two groups using procedures based on Hackenberg and Joker (Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 62: [367][368][369][370][371][372][373][374][375][376][377][378][379][380][381][382][383] 1994). Participants were presented with instructions describing a pattern of responding for producing points later exchanged for money and were exposed to choice trials in which a progressive-time (PT) and a fixed-time (FT) schedule were concurrently available. The instructions initially described how to optimize point production; however, the PT schedule was manipulated over the course of the experiment such that response patterns maximizing point production differed across conditions. All participants experienced the same experimental arrangement, and the two groups differed only in the form of the mand contained in the instructions presented to them. The instructions for the directive group contained the mand "you must…" (i.e., command) preceding the instructed response pattern, whereas the non-directive group instructions contained the mand "you might consider…" (i.e., suggestion) preceding the instructed response pattern. Results indicated that instruction type influenced response patterns across changing contingencies. The directive group exhibited greater adherence to the instruction than the nonVerbal antecedents, or rules, influence nearly all aspects of the human experience. Rules have been defined as verbal "contingency-specifying stimuli" (Skinner 1969) that set the occasion for discriminated responding known as rule-governed behavior or rule following (Glenn 1987).1 Rule following can be highly adaptive, potentially leading to efficient behavior for temporally proximate reinforcers in our everyday lives and promoting behavior that may lead to more remote reinforcers. For example, personal rules may govern our morning routines to arrive to work on time or rules about daily calorie consumption may lead to better health later in life.Analysis Verbal Behav (2014) 30:100-112 DOI 10.1007/s40616-014-0015-x 1 The behavioral perspective of rules implies a functional definition that involves discriminated responding in the presence of a verbal antecedent. This is in contrast to more colloquial definitions that need not invoke compliance to the verbal antecedent stimulus. The use of the word "rule" throughout the remainder of this article refers to the behavioral definition that is functionally determined by its discriminative effects on behavior (i.e., verbal governance; Catania 2006). directive group when instruction following was less profitable. Results are interpreted in terms of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, and implications for practical application are discussed.

PRACTICE POINTS• The automation of permanent product recording is useful for both researchers and practitioners.• Electronic or mechanical recording of data tends to be efficient, unobtrusive, and reliable. A product measure that is related to many human behaviors is the consumption of electricity, typically measured in watts or kilowatt hours.

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Recent advances in assessment methodology have resulted in a highly efficient procedure for obtaining delay discounting rates for adults: a 5‐trial adjusting delay task (ADT‐5) examining intertemporal choice for hypothetical rewards. The low participant burden of this task makes it potentially useful for children, with whom delay discounting research is relatively limited. However, it is unknown whether results from this task match choice for real rewards. The present study assessed delay discounting for real and hypothetical monetary rewards using a modified ADT‐5 with 9 children admitted to a psychiatric day treatment program. Participants completed up to 3 tasks with each reward type in alternating order. No difference in discounting rate, via log(k), was observed between the first task of each reward type. This finding was replicated across subsequent tasks for the subset of participants (n = 6) who completed all 6 tasks. However, delay discounting of real and hypothetical rewards was not found to be statistically equivalent. These results suggest that a modified ADT‐5 using hypothetical rewards may be a viable option for assessing delay discounting in children with psychiatric diagnoses, but additional research is needed to explicitly examine whether hypothetical and real rewards are discounted equivalently in this population.

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