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Issue Information

Ano: 2026

Issue Information

Ano: 2026

Life skills evaluation in a kindergarten special education classroom

Ano: 2026

Abstract Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at risk of developing severe interfering behavior, such as aggression and self‐injury. Teaching young children with IDD life skills, such as social and communication skills, may help prevent the development of interfering behavior by addressing deficits in these areas. This study extended previous research on the Preschool Life Skills program by adapting it for young children with IDD, renamed the Life Skills Program (LSP). We evaluated the effects of researcher‐implemented LSP on the classwide use of social and communication skills and interfering behavior for five kindergarten children with IDD in a public special education classroom using a multiple‐baseline‐across‐units design. We also assessed generalization to novel settings and adults as well as maintenance of skills. The results demonstrated a functional relation between LSP and increased use of life skills along with preliminary evidence of skill generalization and maintenance over time.

Multiple‐context training mitigates renewal during differential reinforcement

Ano: 2026

Abstract Renewal occurs when a behavior is reduced in one context but reemerges when transitioning to a different context, which poses challenges for behavioral interventions. This preclinical research evaluated whether multiple‐context training could mitigate renewal of operant behavior eliminated with extinction and differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior (DRA + EXT) in humans recruited through crowdsourcing. In each of two experiments, three groups received conditioning, with point deliveries as reinforcers for a target‐button press within Context A. During DRA + EXT, multiple‐context training arranged nine alternations among three contexts (BCD) for one group, while the other two groups experienced equal DRA + EXT exposure but within a single context (B). During testing, the control group remained in Context B while multiple‐ and single‐context groups transitioned to either the original Context A (Experiment 1) or a novel Context E (Experiment 2). Both experiments provided the first evidence suggesting multiple‐context training can mitigate renewal with DRA + EXT contingencies. However, the present findings joined others showing multiple‐context training slowed reductions in target responding during DRA + EXT compared with single‐context training, suggesting trade‐offs in the use of this mitigation strategy.

Pigeons' choosing to go to work: Using reinforcement‐based methods to balance animal welfare with research needs

Ano: 2026

Abstract We arranged conditions of social enrichment for a group of six pigeons as part of a larger program of research concerned with an animal model of gambling. When not in their experimental sessions, the pigeons lived together in a free‐flying aviary, interacting with each other and with a physical environment that included perches, nesting materials, and nesting boxes. This enabled a range of species‐typical social behavior including courtship, mating, and reproductive behavior. To minimize human involvement and the potential stress of daily captures, we devised procedures whereby the pigeons could choose to exit each day by flying one‐by‐one on cue into a box attached to the porthole door of the aviary from which they were transported to the test apparatus for their daily experimental sessions. By the end of this training, all pigeons were consistently entering the box independently in the presence of their own distinctive cues for transport to the session, and this continued for a maintenance phase during which each pigeon chose to participate in 120 daily sessions. The findings show the power of using reinforcement‐based methods to solve practical problems in animal enrichment and welfare, balancing the welfare needs of the animals with the needs of the research.

Pigeons, portals, and Pacman: Insightful problem solving and navigation using a touchscreen video game

Ano: 2026

Abstract Video games have been used in several studies to investigate problem solving. We present empirical findings from a redesigned touchscreen navigation “grid‐world” procedure resembling the classic video game PacMan (hereafter, “pacman”) played by pigeons. Our objective was to develop a procedure to study insight, similar to that of Epstein et al. (1984). During Training Phase 1, pigeons learned to guide a virtual pacman across a touchscreen arena to a banana goal (triggering an “eating” animation and food delivery) and to navigate around barriers. In Training Phase 2, they learned to traverse portals that transported the pacman across the arena. Each tool was trained in a distinct context: barrier navigation with banana targets and portal use with a green dot target. Finally, we tested for functional generalization of the two learned tools in a series of novel configurations of puzzle tasks (insight tests). Results showed that some subjects were able to learn how to navigate the pacman with a high degree of control and showed evidence for functional generalization and insight.

Reducing renewal with context fading during differential reinforcement procedures

Ano: 2026

Abstract Although differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) is frequently successful in decreasing challenging behavior, relapse of previously reduced behavior can occur. Renewal is a form of relapse following a context change. This human‐operant experiment evaluated a context‐fading procedure to mitigate renewal during DRA with asymmetrical reinforcers for two alternative responses (i.e., differing magnitudes of points). Thirty‐six participants were assigned to a context‐fading or control group. During the first phase, the target response was reinforced in Context A. During the second phase, the target response was on extinction and two alternative responses were reinforced in Context B. For the context‐fading group, the background color shifted from Context B to Context A. For the no‐fading group, Phase 2 occurred entirely in Context B. Context A was reintroduced during the renewal test, with reinforcement contingencies identical to those in Phase 2. Renewal occurred for 17 of 18 participants (94.44%) without fading and only nine of 18 (50.00%) with fading. The magnitude of renewal was also greater for the no‐fading group. These findings suggest context fading may be an effective strategy to mitigate renewal, although it may also produce temporary increases in the target response during the fading process.

Reducing social media use via contingency management: A replication and extension

Ano: 2026

Abstract Public health concerns about social media use (SMU) have generated interest in the development of interventions capable of reducing SMU. In this study, we replicated and extended Stinson and Dallery (2023) by evaluating the effects of a contingency management with alternative activity selection intervention on SMU and engagement in alternative activities with four college students. Results from the current study replicate the findings of Stinson and Dallery. Reductions in SMU were observed, but no discernable influence on engagement in alternative activities occurred during the intervention phase. We extended prior work by objectively measuring participant engagement in alternative activities and measuring participant SMU using data collection procedures that potentially improve the accuracy and reliability of SMU measurement. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed including the maintenance and generality of contingency management interventions for SMU and considerations for large‐scale implementation.

Reinstatement and a resurgence‐like effect in an odor‐signaled multiple schedule in rats

Ano: 2026

Abstract This study examined determinants of relapse in rats within a multiple schedule signaled by three odor stimuli (S1, S2, S3). In both experiments, reinforcement was programmed for all components in Phase A, extinction in S1 was programmed in Phase B, extinction in both S1 and S2 in Phase C, and extinction in all components in Phase D. In Experiment 1, an increase of S1 responding was observed in Phase C when extinction was introduced in S2. This resurgence‐like effect was not observed in Phase D when extinction was present in all three components. Experiment 2 tested whether the mitigation of relapse observed in Phase D was due to the absence of reinforcement in any component, but the results were equivocal. In Phase E, noncontingent food was delivered in the intercomponent interval or at the termination of S1. Reinstatement was generally highest in S3, which was associated with the greatest overall reinforcement amount and recency. When total reinforcement amount was equated across S1 and S2, more reinstatement was observed in the more recently reinforced component. Results demonstrate the utility of using a multiple schedule with odors to examine relapse in rats.

Renewal of challenging behavior in an intensive outpatient clinic: Replication and extension to task changes

Ano: 2026

Abstract Retrospective analyses have shown that renewal of challenging behavior following person or setting changes is common. This study replicates and extends prior work by evaluating renewal after a third type of context change: task changes. Among 98 patients in an intensive outpatient clinic who experienced 749 context changes, overall renewal prevalence was 25.23% using a max‐of‐5 criterion (39.79% using a mean‐of‐2 criterion), consistent with prior reports across this large sample. Of the 63 patients who experienced at least one task change, 36 (57.14%) exhibited renewal. Task changes produced higher renewal rates than person or setting changes across criteria, but differences were not statistically significant. Renewal magnitude generally declined across sessions; however, challenging behavior rarely returned to prechange levels, even after five sessions. Findings highlight the broader range of contextual variables that may evoke renewal and the need for strategies to reduce its intensity and persistence during treatment.