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Sivaraman M, Barnes-Holmes D, Greer RD, Fienup DM, Roeyers H. Verbal behavior development theory and relational frame theory: Reflecting on similarities and differences. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 119:539-553. [PMID: 36808741 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
Relational frame theory and verbal behavior development theory are two behavior-analytic perspectives on human language and cognition. Despite sharing reliance on Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, relational frame theory and verbal behavior development theory have largely been developed independently, with initial applications in clinical psychology and education/development, respectively. The overarching goal of the current paper is to provide an overview of both theories and explore points of contact that have been highlighted by conceptual developments in both fields. Verbal behavior development theory research has identified how behavioral developmental cusps make it possible for children to learn language incidentally. Recent developments in relational frame theory have outlined the dynamic variables involved across the levels and dimensions of arbitrarily applicable relational responding, and we argue for the concept of mutually entailed orienting as an act of human cooperation that drives arbitrarily applicable relational responding. Together these theories address early language development and children's incidental learning of names. We present broad similarities between the two approaches in the types of functional analyses they generate and discuss areas for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maithri Sivaraman
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
| | | | - R Douglas Greer
- Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Daniel M Fienup
- Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Herbert Roeyers
- Department of Experimental, Clinical, and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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2
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Sivaraman M, Virues-Ortega J, Maes-Dhaeyere L, Saelaert E, Roeyers H. Social referencing training in children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized controlled study. J Appl Behav Anal 2022; 55:763-781. [PMID: 35647715 DOI: 10.1002/jaba.935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been shown to exhibit fewer instances of social referencing compared to their typically developing peers. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of multiple-exemplar training, prompting, and social reinforcement to teach social referencing. We used a single-blind randomized control trial with a multiple-baseline design nested within the experimental group to evaluate treatment effects. Twenty-five children with ASD participated. Participants in the treatment group showed significantly higher social referencing scores. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the posttraining initiating and responding to joint attention scores. The clinical implications of our findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maithri Sivaraman
- Department of Experimental, Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Javier Virues-Ortega
- Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.,Psychology Department, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Emaël Saelaert
- Department of Experimental, Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Herbert Roeyers
- Department of Experimental, Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
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Couger K, Peterson P, MacDonald R. The use of social referencing to teach safety skills to toddlers with autism. BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/bin.1837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Couger
- Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention New England Center for Children Southborough Massachusetts USA
| | - Pamela Peterson
- Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention New England Center for Children Southborough Massachusetts USA
| | - Rebecca MacDonald
- Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention New England Center for Children Southborough Massachusetts USA
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Taylor T, Edwards TL. What Can We Learn by Treating Perspective Taking as Problem Solving? Perspect Behav Sci 2021; 44:359-387. [PMID: 34632282 PMCID: PMC8476683 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-021-00307-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Perspective taking has been studied extensively using a wide variety of experimental tasks. The theoretical constructs that are used to develop these tasks and interpret the results obtained from them, most notably theory of mind (ToM), have conceptual shortcomings from a behavior-analytic perspective. The behavioral approach to conceptualizing and studying this class of behavior is parsimonious and pragmatic, but the body of relevant research is currently small. The prominent relational frame theory (RFT) approach to derived perspective taking asserts that "deictic framing" is a core component of this class of behavior, but this proposal also appears to be conceptually problematic. We suggest that in many cases perspective taking is problem solving; when successful, both classes of behavior involve the emission of context-appropriate precurrent behavior that facilitates the appropriate response (i.e., the "solution"). Conceptualizing perspective taking in this way appears to have many advantages, which we explore herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tokiko Taylor
- School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, 3240 New Zealand
| | - Timothy L. Edwards
- School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, 3240 New Zealand
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Lubomirska A, Eldevik S, Eikeseth S, Strømgren B, Budzińska A. The Social Referencing Observation Scale (SoROS) for children: Scale development and reliability. BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/bin.1789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Lubomirska
- Institute for Child Development University of Gdansk Gdansk Poland
| | | | | | | | - Anna Budzińska
- Institute for Child Development University of Gdansk Gdansk Poland
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Kavanagh D, Barnes-Holmes Y, Barnes-Holmes D. The Study of Perspective-Taking: Contributions from Mainstream Psychology and Behavior Analysis. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s40732-019-00356-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Matsuda S, Omori T, McCleery JP, Yamamoto J. Comparing Reinforcement Values of Facial Expressions: An Eye-Tracking Study. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s40732-019-00330-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Weisberg HR, Jones EA. Individualizing Intervention to Teach Joint Attention, Requesting, and Social Referencing to Children with Autism. Behav Anal Pract 2019; 12:105-123. [PMID: 30918774 PMCID: PMC6411543 DOI: 10.1007/s40617-018-0265-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Social communication skills such as joint attention (JA), requesting, and social referencing (SR) are deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Shifting gaze is a common response across these skills. In many studies, children respond variably to intervention, resulting in modifications to planned intervention procedures. In this study, we attempted to replicate the procedures of Krstovska-Guerrero and Jones (Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities 28; 289-316, 2016) and Muzammal and Jones (Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities 29; 203-221, 2017) to teach JA, requesting, and SR. In general, intervention procedures consisting of prompting and reinforcement were effective in teaching requesting, SR, and JA skills to children with ASD. However, not all children acquired each skill, and all children required individualized procedures to acquire some skills. We report the process of deciding how to modify intervention and discuss considerations for practitioners when planning intervention that may improve children's performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly R. Weisberg
- Queens College, City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Science Building, Room E318, Queens, NY 11367 USA
- The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY USA
| | - Emily A. Jones
- Queens College, City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Science Building, Room E318, Queens, NY 11367 USA
- The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY USA
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Pelaez M, Monlux K. Development of Communication in Infants: Implications for Stimulus Relations Research. Perspect Behav Sci 2018; 41:175-188. [PMID: 31976393 PMCID: PMC6701736 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-018-0151-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Early forms of stimulus-response relations are learned by infants to communicate with caregivers. The infant communication abilities begin with the learning of eye gazing, joint attention, social referencing, and naming, among others. Learning to engage in these early communication skills facilitates the development of more advanced phenomena seen in equivalence class formations and derived relational responding research. This article discusses evidence of early communication skills that are often required for the emergence of other, more complex forms of stimulus-stimulus relations. We emphasize the importance of establishing these types of operants early in infancy and their implications for developmental research on stimulus relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Pelaez
- Department of Leadership & Professional Studies, College of Arts, Sciences & Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA
| | - Katerina Monlux
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA USA
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Guinther PM. Contextual influence over deriving others' true beliefs using a relational triangulation perspective-taking protocol (RT-PTP-M1). J Exp Anal Behav 2017; 108:433-456. [DOI: 10.1002/jeab.291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Walle EA, Reschke PJ, Knothe JM. Social Referencing: Defining and Delineating a Basic Process of Emotion. EMOTION REVIEW 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/1754073916669594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Social referencing informs and regulates one’s relation with the environment as a function of the perceived appraisals of social partners. Increased emphasis on relational and social contexts in the study of emotion makes this interpersonal process particularly relevant to the field. However, theoretical conceptualizations and empirical operationalizations of social referencing are disjointed across domains and populations of study. This article seeks to unite and refine the study of this construct by providing a clear and comprehensive definition of social referencing. Our perspective presents social referencing and social appraisal as coterminous processes and emphasizes the importance of a relational and interpersonal approach to the study of emotion. We conclude by outlining possible lines of research on this construct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric A. Walle
- Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, USA
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DeQuinzio JA, Poulson CL, Townsend DB, Taylor BA. Social Referencing and Children with Autism. THE BEHAVIOR ANALYST 2016; 39:319-331. [PMID: 31976939 PMCID: PMC6701260 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-015-0046-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
During social referencing, infants as young as 6 months of age look to others when confronted with unfamiliar or unexpected events in the environment and then respond to these events based on affective cues of the parent or caregiver (e.g., smiling and frowning). Social referencing is important for early communication and language development. Unfortunately, social referencing repertoires are limited or completely lacking in children with autism. Despite these documented social deficits, little research has focused on ameliorating social referencing deficits. The purpose of this paper is to present a behavior-analytic conceptualization of social referencing and the implications for ameliorating social referencing deficits of children with autism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claire L. Poulson
- Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY USA
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Su J, Cui N, Zhou G, Ai Y, Sun G, Zhao SR, Liu J. Hemoglobin Status and Externalizing Behavioral Problems in Children. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2016; 13:ijerph13080758. [PMID: 27472352 PMCID: PMC4997444 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13080758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Revised: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 07/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Still considered one of the most prevalent nutritional problems in the world, anemia has been shown in many studies to have deleterious effects on neurobehavioral development. While most research efforts have focused on investigating the effects of anemia on social and emotional development of infants by using a cross-sectional design, research is still needed to investigate whether early childhood anemia, beyond infantile years, is linked with behavioral problems. OBJECTIVE This study assessed whether (1) hemoglobin (Hb) levels in early childhood are associated with externalizing behavior; and (2) this relationship is confounded by social adversity. METHODS Hemoglobin levels were taken from children (N = 98) of the China Jintan Cohort Study at age 4 years, and externalizing behaviors (attention and aggression) were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (ASEBA-CBCL) at age 6 years (mean age 5.77 ± 0.39 years old). RESULTS Compared with other children in the sample, children with relatively lower Hb levels at age 4 had more behavioral problems in both attention and aggression at age 6, independent of social adversity. For boys, this association was significant for attention problems, which did not interact with social adversity. For girls, the association was significant for aggression, which interacted with social adversity. While girls on average exhibited higher social adversity than boys, the main effect of Hb was only significant in girls with low social adversity. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that there is an inverse association between hemoglobin levels and later behavioral problems. Findings of this study suggest that regular monitoring of children's hemoglobin levels and appropriate intervention may help with early identification of behavioral problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhua Su
- Department of Neurology, The Jintan Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, 16 Nanmen Street, Jintan, Changzhou 213200, China.
| | - Naixue Cui
- Schools of Nursing and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd., Room 426, Claire M. Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Guoping Zhou
- Department of Neurology, The Jintan Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, 16 Nanmen Street, Jintan, Changzhou 213200, China.
| | - Yuexian Ai
- Department of Neurology, The Jintan Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, 16 Nanmen Street, Jintan, Changzhou 213200, China.
| | - Guiju Sun
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Room #508, 87, DingJiaqiao, Nanjing 210096, China.
| | - Sophie R Zhao
- Schools of Nursing and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd., Room 426, Claire M. Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Jianghong Liu
- Schools of Nursing and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd., Room 426, Claire M. Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Virues-Ortega J, Froján-Parga MX. A translational approach to the functional analysis of language in psychotherapy. Int J Clin Health Psychol 2015; 15:69-75. [PMID: 30487823 PMCID: PMC6224699 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2014.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The functional analysis of verbal behavior has been successful in establishing basic and advanced forms of language in individuals with developmental disabilities. The development of behavioral approaches to psychotherapy, such as the functional-analytic psychotherapy, have advanced the implementation of operant analyses of verbal behavior among typical adults. The field of behavior-analytic approaches to psychotherapy departs from the applied experimental research in behavior analysis in various ways: (a) minimal use of molecular analyses of behavioral processes using single-subject experimentation, (b) confined use of functional analysis and function-driven intervention, and (c) metaphoric use of mainstream behavioral concepts and methods. The breakthroughs brought about by behavioral approaches to psychotherapy may be supplemented by way of translating some of the findings of the applied experimental literature. The present analysis illustrates how behavioral processes demonstrated in the context of experimental research, often with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, may be relevant to psychotherapy with typically-developed adults. This translational approach is discussed with reference to basic language processes: echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbal dynamics. This approach could prompt programmatic translational research in the field of behavioral psychotherapies.
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Bayet L, Pascalis O, Gentaz É. Le développement de la discrimination des expressions faciales émotionnelles chez les nourrissons dans la première année. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2014. [DOI: 10.3917/anpsy.143.0469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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Le développement de la discrimination des expressions faciales émotionnelles chez les nourrissons dans la première année. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2014. [DOI: 10.4074/s0003503314003030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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17
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Vanselow NR, Hanley GP. An evaluation of computerized behavioral skills training to teach safety skills to young children. J Appl Behav Anal 2014; 47:51-69. [PMID: 24535891 DOI: 10.1002/jaba.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2013] [Accepted: 10/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Clément F, Dukes D. The role of interest in the transmission of social values. Front Psychol 2013; 4:349. [PMID: 23785350 PMCID: PMC3683622 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2013] [Accepted: 05/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The environment is so rich with information that our cognitive system would be overloaded without a way to evaluate what is relevant for our needs and goals. Appraisal theory has shown how emotions, by "tagging" the environment with differential values, enable the attribution of our attentional resources to what is most relevant in any given circumstances. Most often, however, the different cues triggering the allocation of attention are thought of as purely individualistic, like physiological needs or past encounters with certain stimuli. This approach is perfectly appropriate for objects, organisms or events that, by their intrinsic properties, affect the organism's well being. But for humans, many aspects of the environment are culturally or temporally dependent: a soccer game may be highly relevant to some, but not at all to others. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the processes by which different elements of our social environment acquire value through our socialization process. We recruit different concepts proposed by developmental psychologists to shed some light on this social acquisition of relevance. The notion of "joint attention," for example, is particularly important to understand how we are sensitive to the other's focus of attention. Similarly, the term "social referencing" has been used to describe the process of taking into account the affective reaction to a given stimuli, in order to direct our behavior. At the core of this process, called "social appraisal" by Manstead, we propose that a specific emotion plays a major role: interest. Someone else's expression of interest, which seems to be detectable from a very early age, is extremely useful in gauging what is worthy of attention among stimuli that are not inherently interesting. The paper highlights how external sources of information (the life experiences of community members) indicate what is relevant, thus giving access to the social values of that group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrice Clément
- Cognitive Science Centre, University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel, Switzerland ; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland
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Pelaez M, Virues-Ortega J, Field TM, Amir-Kiaei Y, Schnerch G. Social referencing in infants of mothers with symptoms of depression. Infant Behav Dev 2013; 36:548-56. [PMID: 23756225 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2012] [Revised: 03/03/2013] [Accepted: 05/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The present study examined the acquisition of social referencing skills in infants of mothers with symptoms of depression (n = 44). We aimed to determine if a short discrimination training could facilitate infants' social referencing. Mothers were instructed to pose either joyful or fearful facial expressions to cue infants' approach/avoidance responses toward an ambiguous object. Maternal expressions were correlated with pleasant or unpleasant events occurring after the infant's response. The results showed that after the intervention, infants looked at their mothers more frequently and reached or avoided the ambiguous object based on the preceding maternal expression. The results suggest that discrimination training procedures can establish social referencing in infants of mothers with symptoms of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Pelaez
- College of Education, Florida International University, Miami, United States
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