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An evaluation of durability during and following delay‐and‐denial tolerance teaching
Ano: 2025
Abstract Across five treatment applications, we evaluated two forms of treatment relapse (renewal, resurgence) with a version of functional communication training known as delay‐and‐denial tolerance teaching. Renewal of challenging behavior following a context change occurred for most treatments, but challenging behavior did not increase to clinically significant levels in most cases. Resurgence of challenging behavior following decrements in alternative reinforcement occurred only in two of five extinction tests when communication responses were placed on extinction. Omitting alternative activities during extinction tests led to an appreciable increase in resurgence for one of the three participants who did not display resurgence initially. Despite promising findings during the extinction test, resurgence frequently occurred during most treatments when thinning reinforcement for communication responses. When resurgence occurred during schedule thinning, it tended to be at clinically significant magnitudes. We discuss these findings in relation to the larger literature on treatment relapse.
An investigation of stimulus prevalence effects in rats
Ano: 2025
Abstract Antecedent stimulus prevalence can affect detectability. Two contrasting effects have been reported in humans. The low‐prevalence effect is when participants are less likely to report the presence of the target stimulus when it occurs with low prevalence. Recently, an opposite effect has been discovered in which participants are more likely to report the presence of low‐prevalence stimuli. There is little if any research on stimulus prevalence with nonhuman animals; therefore, the present study investigated prevalence effects in rats to extend species generality, determine which effect would occur, and identify controlling variables. Rats were trained to press left and right levers conditional on the flash rate of the sample stimulus (1 or 5 Hz). A between‐group, within‐subject comparison in which the two flash rates were not always equally prevalent was employed. Low‐prevalence stimuli were underreported, systematically replicating the low‐prevalence effect. Rats initially trained under the unequal‐prevalence condition failed to acquire or took longer to acquire high accuracy with the low‐prevalence stimulus but quickly achieved high accuracy with the high‐prevalence stimulus. Subsequent training under equal‐prevalence conditions remediated these effects, and prior training under equal prevalence seemed to offer a protective effect from later decreases in stimulus prevalence.
Assessing differential personal information value with social discounting and hypothetical payment tasks with university students
Ano: 2025
Abstract Different personal information types are shared at different rates during a social‐discounting task. However, it is unclear whether differences in social‐discounting rates between different personal information types are related to differences in valuing personal information. To assess the value of personal information more directly, 160 university student participants completed four hypothetical purchase tasks (HPT) for protecting identification, health, security, and financial personal information at 17 ascending price points and a social‐discounting task for one of those four different personal information types. The results for social discounting partially replicated those of a previous study where discounting rates for health information were higher than those for financial information. The results for the HPT largely mirrored those for the social‐discounting task. The demand for protecting financial information was significantly higher relative to the that for the other three types of personal information for most demand indices such as the highest price participants were willing to pay for the protection of personal information (break point) and the price where consumption for personal information protection became elastic ( P max ). However, there were no significant relations between social‐discounting rate and HPT demand indices. These results show that value may play a role in the observed differences in social‐discounting rate for personal information, but additional factors likely contribute to these differences.
Assessment and treatment of pica: A consecutive controlled case series study
Ano: 2025
Abstract Pica includes the persistent ingestion of nonnutritive, nonfood items at a level that is inappropriate given the individual's developmental level and cultural or religious practices. Behavioral treatments involve a variety of components to target the motivating operations that evoke pica, disrupt its occurrence, and reinforce adaptive alternatives; they have been characterized as well established and empirically supported. However, the literature consists of mostly small‐ n studies, limiting analysis of the general and comparative efficacy of different treatment components. The current study describes outcomes from two different sites for 33 consecutively encountered cases for whom a behavioral treatment for pica was evaluated. The final treatment reduced pica by at least 90% for 30 participants. Positive outcomes were maintained when treatment was extended to novel implementers, settings, and discard apparatuses for 26 of 29 participants. We examine the comparative efficacy of treatment components and discuss tactics used to safely assess and treat pica.
Behavioral mechanisms of oxycodone's effects in female and male rats: II . Reinforcement magnitude and implications for impulsive/risky choice
Ano: 2025
Abstract Rats responded under a concurrent‐chains procedure wherein reinforcement magnitude was varied within sessions and oxycodone's effects on sensitivity to magnitude were evaluated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, the alternative providing the larger magnitude was signaled and effects of acute (0.1–1.0 mg/kg) and chronic (1.0 mg/kg, twice daily) oxycodone administration were examined in female and male rats. Under baseline, sensitivity was slightly higher for females than males. Acute oxycodone decreased sensitivity in both sexes, but females were more susceptible to this effect. Effects of chronic administration on sensitivity were somewhat variable; on average, females showed slight tolerance and males showed slight sensitization to this effect. No physical dependence was noted during withdrawal probes. In Experiment 2, the alternative providing the larger magnitude was not signaled and effects of acute oxycodone were evaluated in a separate group of male rats. Sensitivity was higher under baseline, and larger doses reduced sensitivity to a greater extent in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1. Taken with previous data on oxycodone's effects on sensitivity to reinforcement delay, oxycodone would be expected to leave impulsive choice unchanged in both sexes. Additional analyses revealed that oxycodone's effects on sensitivity in both experiments were baseline dependent: higher sensitivities were reduced to a greater extent than lower sensitivities.
Beyond the jab: Modeling HIV vaccine acceptance in sexual and gender minorities with behavioral economic demand
Ano: 2025
Abstract This study was an investigation of the utility of behavioral economic demand curves (quantitative models showing how consumption changes with price) in assessing acceptance of hypothetical HIV vaccines among sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). Two experiments used simulated purchase tasks (hypothetical scenarios measuring purchasing decisions). SGMs were recruited through Reddit and LGBTQ+ community organizations across the United States. In Experiment 1, participants were randomly assigned to nine instructional sets combining varying vaccine administration modes (oral, mucosal, or subcutaneous) with different dosage schedules (one dose, two doses, or one dose annually). Experiment 2 examined how bundling HIV vaccines with one of nine health commodities affected demand. Participants also responded to questions assessing demographics, HIV risk behaviors, experiences of racial discrimination, and trust in institutions. The results demonstrated that the exponentiated demand equation effectively modeled vaccine acceptance across conditions (median R 2 = 0.92). Contrary to expectations, vaccine characteristics had a minimal influence on demand (Q₀: R 2 = 0.007; log α: R 2 = 0.001). Instead, individual factors significantly influenced demand intensity (consumption when price = 0; Q₀) and price sensitivity (sensitivity of consumption to increasing price; α). Significant predictors of Q₀ included injection drug use history, experiences of racial discrimination, and trust in science. Low household income was the strongest predictor of log α. Bundling HIV vaccines with other health commodities showed subtle effects on acceptance, with condoms and dental examinations significantly differing from the reference category. These findings suggest that behavioral economic approaches can inform policy decisions about pricing, bundling strategies and targeted interventions to maximize HIV vaccine uptake among SGMs who face disproportionate HIV risk without requiring exposure to non‐market‐ready vaccines.
Caregiver‐implemented intervention to increase use of positive airway pressure for adults with Down syndrome and sleep apnea
Ano: 2025
Abstract Many individuals with Down syndrome are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a medical condition that substantially affects health and quality of life. The most common treatment for OSA is positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. Few studies have examined interventions to improve PAP therapy adherence for adults with developmental disabilities or have recruited the assistance of caregivers to improve adherence with this therapy in the home. This study evaluated the efficacy of a caregiver‐implemented behavioral intervention to increase PAP use for four adults with Down syndrome and OSA. The experimenters trained caregivers via telehealth to implement the intervention in their homes. The intervention consisted of graduated exposure, noncontingent reinforcement, and differential positive and negative reinforcement without escape extinction. The intervention increased the duration of PAP use for all four participants. These results provide preliminary support for the efficacy of this intervention and service‐delivery model.
ChatGPT versus clinician responses to questions in ABA : Preference, identification, and level of agreement
Ano: 2025
Abstract The potential utility of artificial intelligence (AI) in applied behavior analysis (ABA) is an emerging discussion. There has been limited investigation on the current use, acceptability, or limitations of common AI tools within the field. The current study contributes to these topics by comparing expert clinician and AI (ChatGPT‐4) responses to questions specific to ABA. Fifty‐one behavior analysts were recruited as participants and indicated their preference for and level of agreement with ChatGPT‐4 versus human clinical team responses in a blind assessment. Next, participants' distinctions between the two response sources were evaluated. Finally, participants were asked about their current use of AI to aid in their behavior‐analytic work. Participants significantly preferred and agreed more with ChatGPT‐4 responses than with human responses. Participants could not reliably discriminate between ChatGPT‐4 and human responses. Some of the participants (15.69% of sample) indicated they have used AI to assist in aspects of behavior‐analytic work.
Choice versus no choice: Practical considerations for increasing choices
Ano: 2025
Abstract Choice involves engaging in a selection response when multiple options are concurrently available. Choices can be incorporated into many components of behavior‐analytic treatment such as providing clients with a choice between multiple items, activities, or tasks. We reviewed the main characteristics of 38 behavior‐analytic articles that compared choice and no‐choice conditions. We coded the experimental arrangements of choice and no‐choice conditions and analyzed potential factors affecting preferences for choice and no choice. The findings suggest that the sizing of alternatives from which to choose, the timing of choice opportunities, and the timing of the delivery of the chosen option varied across the studies. Furthermore, preferences for choice shifted with differential reinforcement history and response effort manipulations of choice or no choice. The findings suggest that individual variables should be considered when providing choices, but more research is needed.
Clarifications for calculating area under the curve for discounting data: A primer and technical report
Ano: 2025
Abstract Discounting is a pervasive phenomenon in human decision making and has been extensively studied across disciplines. This article focuses on area under the curve (AUC) as a popular measure of discounting. We provide a comprehensive review of AUC in relation to discounting, focusing on its atheoretical underpinnings and methods to calculate the measure. Additionally, we delve into the limitations of traditional AUC measures and limitations of more recent modifications of AUC (i.e., ordinal and logarithmic AUC). First, authors using AUC do not routinely report whether and how they impute an indifference point at the y ‐intercept, which is critically important when using the ordinal or logarithmic versions. Additionally, the ordinal version of AUC requires removing the x ‐axis information (e.g., delay, odds against, social distance, etc.) and replacing them with ordinal values. The logarithmic version of AUC often introduces nonintuitive values on the x ‐axis that lead to a high likelihood of miscalculations. We propose that authors always impute an indifference point at the y ‐intercept—when such data were not collected—and propose a novel method to shift indifference points that leads to a more intuitive logarithmic AUC calculation. An R package and Excel workbook to help calculate AUC are also provided and discussed.