The Effects of Observational Training on the Acquisition of Reinforcement for Listening.

Abstract Experiment 1 investigated the effects of observational training in a social listener reinforcement game on participants' conversational units in non-instructional settings. Experiment 2 tested the effects of multiple exemplar instruction on the development of "empathy. " The participants who had reader/writer levels of verbal behavior were selected because they emitted a low number of speaker and listener exchanges with others and did not have empathy as measured in the study. In Experiment 1, data were collected on the number of sequelics, conversational units, "wh" questions, vocal approvals and vocal disapprovals during 5 minute probe sessions after meeting criterion on each objective of the listener reinforcement game. During intervention, the participants were required to engage in a speaker listener exchange through playing a yoked contingency game where they competed with the experimenter to teach several objectives including "I Spy", peer tutoring, textually responding and group instruction. Data showed that the total number of verbal interactions in non-instructional settings significantly increased for both participants. In Experiment 2 multiple exemplar instruction across questions was implemented to teach the participants empathy. The participants responded to 3 questions: "What happened? " "How does the person feel? " and "What could you do to help? " The results showed a significant increase in correct responses to empathy questions. Keywords: autism, empathy, observational training, reinforcement for listening. ********** Many children with autism do not have a history of reinforcement for listening to others. Listening to others is a critical component of social experiences that leads to more advanced listener repertoires such as emitting behaviors characterized as empathy. Skinner (1957) proposed a theory on the function of verbal behavior based on operant research. Verbal behavior was defined by Skinner as "behavior reinforced through the mediation of others" (Skinner, 1957, p. 2). Verbal behavior is categorized based on function into mands, tacts, intraverbals, autoclitics, echoics, and textual topographies. Skinner (1957) discussed verbal behavior from the point of view of the speaker as mediated by the contingencies of the listener. The listener provides reinforcement for verbal repertoires in the form of providing access to a preferred item or generalized reinforcement. Verbal behavior is analyzed through the function of the behavior and is emitted to affect the behavior of a listener. Catania (1998) expanded on Skinner's views and stated that, "Verbal behavior involves both listener behavior shaped by its effects on the speaker's behavior, and speaker behavior shaped by its effects on the listener's behavior" (Catania, 1998, p. 262) Greer (2002) expands upon Skinner's verbal repertoires. Greer also includes naming, the conversational unit, the learn unit and joint stimulus control as extensions to the operants proposed by Skinner. A conversational unit is defined as "one full exchange in which the student emits both a speaker response that is reinforced by the verbal behavior of another person responding as a listener and in turn a listener response by the initial speaker" (Greer, 2002, p. 91). Conversational units are directly reinforced by the listener who responds in the role of the speaker (Greer, 1989). Each member must respond as both speaker and listener to complete the conversational unit. Truly social behavior is measured by the presence or absence of conversational units. One emits conversational units because of the reinforcement obtained as both a speaker and a listener (Donley & Greer, 1993; Lodhi & Greer, 1989). The key component of conversational units is the capacity of an individual to be reinforced by listening. If an individual is not reinforced by what another has to say, there will not be a speaker listener exchange, only a sequelic. …