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Research suggests that the relational completion procedure (RCP) is effective for studying derived relations of same and opposite. Previously, procedural parameters, such as the presence or absence of a confirmatory response requirement, were found to have a facilitative effect on the number of training trials to criterion and overall arbitrary test pass rate (i.e., yield). These experiments report on the manipulation of additional potentially important parameters--the presence or absence of selection-based feedback, 4 vs. 8 trial types and of a linked nonarbitrary and arbitrary training phase--across both the RCP and matching-to-sample (MTS) protocols with either 3 or 5 comparisons. During selection-based feedback, after the production of the confirmatory response, the sample, contextual cue, and selected comparison were presented along with corrective feedback. During the linked nonarbitrary-arbitrary phase, in the presence of the sample stimulus and the same and opposite contextual cues, respectively, selections of a nonarbitrary comparison stimulus at either end of a specified physical dimension were reinforced. Findings indicated a trend for improved performance with the inclusion of selection-based feedback and the linked nonarbitrary-arbitrary phase. There was a significant difference in yield between the RCP and MTS conditions (84% vs. 56%, respectively). The implications of the findings for contemporary research on derived relational responding are discussed. (Contains 5 tables, 3 figures, and 1 footnote.)

An equivalence class is typically established when a subject is taught a set of interrelated conditional discriminations with physically unrelated stimuli and additional, untaught, conditional discriminations are then demonstrated. Interestingly, and perhaps counter-intuitively, the relations among the stimuli within such a class are not necessarily equal. Rather, some members of the class are differentially related to other class members. There are two opposing theories of why relations among stimuli are unequal: "nodal" and "discrimination" accounts. The former suggests that delayed emergence is due to nodal distance (i.e. the number of intervening stimuli) while the latter suggests that delayed emergence is an artifact of the training procedure itself. The current paper reports on the first empirical study that directly compares these theories. Forty participants were given training designed to establish two 5-member equivalence classes. Participants' response speed supported the nodal account, thus suggesting that unequal relations among equivalence class members is not an artifact of the training procedure. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Previous research suggests that the Relational Completion Procedure may be an effective alternative procedure for studying derived relational responding. However, the parameters that make it effective, relative to traditional match-to-sample, remain to be determined. The present experiment compared the Relational Completion Procedure and match-to-sample protocols for training and testing Same and Opposite derived stimulus relations. Trials to criterion and overall pass rate (i.e., yield) in both procedures were compared across three variables: presence versus absence of a confirmatory response requirement, three versus five comparison stimuli, and top-to-bottom versus left-to-right presentation format. Findings demonstrated a facilitative effect of the confirmatory response requirement in both procedures. Training trials to criterion were nominally but not significantly lower during the nonarbitrary training phase in the Relational Completion Procedure compared to match-to-sample, and the overall yield on the arbitrary relational test was greater in the former procedure compared to the latter. The present findings support the further development of the Relational Completion Procedure as an efficient alternative procedure for establishing Same and Opposite relations with adult humans, and with potential applicability to other types of derived relations. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures, and 1 footnote.)

The concept of the motivating operation (MO) has been subject to 3 criticisms: (a) the terms and concepts employed do not always overlap with traditional behavior-analytic verbal practices; (b) the dual nature of the MO is unclear; and (c) there is a lack of adequate contact with empirical data. We offer a more parsimonious approach to motivation, extending Skinner's (1938, 1953) early work on this topic, and introduce two new key terms: consequence-valuing operation (CVO) and consequence-valuing process (CVP). Our account focuses on the value of the reinforcer in terms of the level of responding that occurs relative to some previously measured baseline. We suggest that the concepts of the CVO and CVP will facilitate the identification, analysis, and manipulation of motivational factors in the treatment of behavior disorders. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

The present experiment examined temporal discounting across 3 different age bands: adolescents, adults, and older adults (mean ages 14, 46, and 73 years, respectively). A computerized task was employed in which participants were asked to choose between larger rewards available at a specified time in the future--either 100 British Pounds or 1,000 British Pounds (approximately 200 US dollar and 2,000 US dollar, respectively)--or a smaller reward available immediately. The subjective value of the reward decreased with increasing delay for each of the 3 age groups. A hyperbola-like function adequately described the group discounting data. The adolescent group discounted significantly more than the adult group when the larger later reward (LLR) was 100 British Pounds but not when the LLR was 1,000 British Pounds. The adolescents discounted significantly more than the older adult group when the LLR was either 100 British Pounds or 1,000 British Pounds. There were no significant differences in discounting between the adult and older adult groups. The results of the present study suggest that the rate of temporal discounting is higher in adolescents than in adults but is stable from middle adulthood to older adulthood. Furthermore, the process of temporal discounting appears to be quantitatively similar across the life span. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)

The Pacific eLearning Observatory at the University of the South Pacific (USP) conducted an online survey of educational technologists (n = 60) to assess levels of access to information and communication technologies (ICT) in education and identify ways of lowering the barriers to ICT in the Pacific region. Almost half of USP's 22,000 students are distance based, and access to ICT defines their learning activities. The survey addressed perceptions of educational ICT, development strategies and initiatives, and "guesstimates" of ICT accessibility. Results show ICT access between 1 and 11%, with tertiary-level access at 70%. Capacity building, curriculum development, infrastructure, policy, and government support are the most important development factors. Findings are analysed through eight barriers to education, and proposals are made to help USP improve access to ICT in the region. (Contains 5 tables.)

Gary Greenberg and Charles Lambdin's review (in the summer 2007 issue) does an excellent job of summarizing the contents of Uttal's book "Neural Theories of Mind: Why the Mind-Brain Problem May Never Be Solved" (hereafter NTM). These authors make several insightful comments about the issues raised in NTM. In this response, the author disagrees, however, with two aspects of Greenberg and Lambdin's review: one a matter of opinion, the other of fact. First, the author is surprised at Greenberg and Lambdin's generally positive assessment of NTM, because they (and the author) disagree with Uttal's fundamental notion that minds exist and that the brain is the source of behavior. Second, the author takes issue with some of Greenberg and Lambdin's interpretations of neuroscience research, which they use, rightly, to argue that psychology is not a biological science. The author disagrees that NTM is worthwhile reading for behaviorists (or psychologists in general), because Uttal's basic assumption--that the mind exists and that psychology can be reduced to neurophysiology--is flawed. The author disagrees more strongly with Greenberg and Lambdin's uncritical citations of obscure and dated neuroscience research. This flaw is unfortunate, because Greenberg and Lambdin are correct on the substantive issue: psychology is a behavioral science, not a biological one. (Contains 1 figure.)

Most analyses of reaction time (RT) data are conducted by using the statistical techniques with which psychologists are most familiar, such as analysis of variance on the sample mean. Unfortunately, these methods are usually inappropriate for RT data, because they have little power to detect genuine differences in RT between conditions. In addition, some statistical approaches can, under certain circumstances, result in findings that are artifacts of the analysis method itself. A corpus of research has shown more effective analytical methods, such as analyzing the whole RT distribution, although this research has had limited influence. The present article will summarize these advances in methods for analyzing RT data. (Contains 1 figure.)

Research on the emergence of human avoidance behavior in the absence of direct contact with an aversive event is somewhat limited. Consistent with work on derived relational responding, the present study sought to investigate the transformation of avoidance response functions in accordance with the relational frames of Same and Opposite. Participants were first exposed to nonarbitrary and arbitrary relational training and testing in order to establish Same and Opposite relations among arbitrary stimuli. The training tasks were; Same-A1-B1, Same-A1-C1, Opposite-A1-B2, Opposite-A1-C2. Next, all possible combinatorially entailed (i.e., B-C and C-B) relations were tested. During the avoidance-conditioning phase, one stimulus (B1) from the relational network signaled a simple avoidance response that cancelled a scheduled presentation of an aversive image and sound. All but one of the participants who met the criteria for conditioned avoidance also demonstrated derived avoidance by emitting the avoidance response in the presence of C1 and the nonavoidance response in the presence of C2. Control participants who were not exposed to relational training and testing did not show derived avoidance. Implications of the findings for understanding clinically significant avoidance behavior are discussed. (Contains 3 tables, 2 footnotes, and 2 figures.)

Across three experiments, the transformation of consequential functions in accordance with a seven-member relational network (A-B-C-D-E-F-G) was investigated. In this network, the relational rankings ranged from A, ranked the least, to G, ranked the most. In the first phase, contextual cues for more-than and less-than were established by training participants across multiple exemplars to select comparisons containing larger quantities in the presence of the former cue, and fewer quantities in the presence of the latter cue. Participants then were trained in six conditional discriminations (i.e., A less than B, B less than C, C less than D, E greater than D, F greater than E, and G greater than F) with the contextual cues as samples and nonsense words as comparisons, and all possible derived relations were tested (e.g., B less than F). In a subsequent phase, the D stimulus was paired with the delivery of points. Next, a test for a transformation of consequential functions was presented in either simultaneous discrimination tasks (Experiments 1 and 2) or a free-operant schedule task (Experiment 3), each of which employed members of the relational network as consequences. In all experiments, participants consistently emitted the response that produced the derived consequential stimulus that was ranked higher in the relational network, thus demonstrating a transformation of consequential functions. In Experiment 2, the baseline conditional discriminations were altered in a reversal design, and Experiment 3 examined generalization of the derived performance to a schedule-based task, with and without detailed instructions. Overall, the study demonstrated a transformation and generalization of consequential functions in accordance with the relational frames of More-than and Less-than, and bears relevance to the literature on transitive inference. (Contains 1 footnote, 3 tables and 4 figures.)

Derived equivalence relations, it has been argued, provide a behavioral model of semantic or symbolic meaning in natural language, and thus equivalence relations should possess properties that are typically associated with semantic relations. The present study sought to test this basic postulate using semantic priming. Across three experiments, participants were trained and tested in two 4-member equivalence relations using word-like nonsense words. Participants also were exposed to a single- or two-word lexical decision task, and both direct (Experiment 1) and mediated (Experiments 2 and 3) priming effects for reaction times and event-related potentials were observed within but not across equivalence relations. The findings support the argument that derived equivalence relations provides a useful preliminary model of semantic relations. (Contains 9 tables and 1 figure.)

The current study aimed to test a Relational Frame Theory (RFT) model of analogical reasoning based on the relating of derived same and derived difference relations. Experiment 1 recorded reaction time measures of similar-similar (e.g., "apple is to orange as dog is to cat") versus different-different (e.g., "he is to his brother as chalk is to cheese") derived relational responding, in both speed-contingent and speed-noncontingent conditions. Experiment 2 examined the event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with these two response patterns. Both experiments showed similar-similar responding to be significantly faster than different-different responding. Experiment 2 revealed significant differences between the waveforms of the two response patterns in the left-hemispheric prefrontal regions; different-different waveforms were significantly more negative than similar-similar waveforms. The behavioral and neurophysiological data support the RFT prediction that, all things being equal, similar-similar responding is relationally "simpler" than, and functionally distinct from, different-different analogical responding. The ERP data were fully consistent with findings in the neurocognitive literature on analogy. These findings strengthen the validity of the RFT model of analogical reasoning and supplement the behavior-analytic approach to analogy based on the relating of derived relations. (Contains 6 figures and 2 tables.)

The current experiment investigated the effect of differential training histories on responses to a 5-term linear chain of nonsense syllables (described here with sequential, alphabetical characters; A [is less than] B [is less than] C [is less than] D [is less than] E) across unreinforced probe trials. Participants' responses to nonarbitrary stimulus relations of More-than and Less-than were first brought under contextual control. Participants were then exposed to 1 of 3 training structures, in which each training structure was defined by the trial types that were presented: Less-More (A [is less than] B | B [is less than] C | D>C | E>D), All-Less (A [is less than] B | B [is less than] C | C [is less than] D | D [is less than] E) and All-More (B>A | C>B | D>C | E>D. The contextual cues served as sample stimuli, and 2 nonsense words as comparison stimuli. Twenty unreinforced probe trials were subsequently administered on all possible derived relations: directly trained, mutually entailed, and 1-, 2- and 3-node combinatorially entailed relation types. Comparisons of response latencies among 1-, 2-, and 3-node combinatorially entailed relations, for accurate performances on all 20 test trials, indicated that the former produced significantly longer latencies than the latter 2 relations. Comparisons of response latencies across the 3 training structures indicated that latencies were significantly lower in the All-More condition relative to both the Less-More and the All-Less conditions. The effects of nodal distance are readily predicted by both associative accounts and Relational Frame Theory, but the effect of training structure is readily predicted only by the latter theory. The reported findings are also broadly in accordance with previous studies on relational inferences reported in the literature from mainstream cognitive psychology.

Although the literature on reinforcement in behavioral psychology is extensive, few studies have examined the derived transformation of reinforcing functions in accordance with equivalence classes, and no published research has yet examined the derived transformation of consequential functions in accordance with nonequivalence relations. In the present study, which consisted of four experiments, the basic preparation was as follows. First, an arbitrary stimulus, B2, was established as a conditioned punisher, using direct stimulus pairing. Following nonarbitrary relational training, designed to establish SAME and OPPOSITE contextual cues, subjects were exposed to arbitrary relational training using these contextual cues to establish A1 as the same as B1 and C1, and as opposite to B2 and C2. Subsequently, C2 (based on its Same relation with B2) functioned as a punisher and C1 (based on its Opposite relation with B2) functioned as a reinforcer in a simultaneous discrimination task. Critically, the C1 stimulus acquired reinforcing functions, based on the derived relation of Opposite, although no such function had actually been established for any member of the network. Furthermore, these effects were observed across ABA reversals in the baseline contingencies. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)