From direct contingencies to derived relations: the ever-developing nature of theory and practice in behavior analysis

Purpose

To illustrate the processes of development within the behavioral theory and the corresponding expansion of the areas in which it is applied, especially the advancement (conceptual developments) of the functional analysis of language inspired by Relational Frame Theory (RFT) research.

Views

Classical and operant conditioning are well-established behavioral learning processes, discovered and described at the beginning of the twentieth century. They provide the tools for analyzing, establishing and modifying the functions of stimuli and responses of the organisms through manipulation of the environment. Although B. F. Skinner provided grounds for the functional analysis of complex behaviors such as language, it was not until the beginning of the twenty-first century that RFT was introduced. From this moment behavior analysts could use behavioral principles to explain how stimulus functions may change without direct learning. The practical application of the growing knowledge about Arbitrarily Applicable Relational Responding (AARR), a basic generalized operant described within RFT, allows us to analyze, explain and change behaviors that had hitherto been beyond the scope of behavioral therapy. The continued growth and development of behavior theory and practice holds the promise for an expansion of its application to new areas and populations in need. One such development is the functional analysis of verbal behavior e.g., relational frames, ROE (relating-orienting-evoking).

Conclusions

It seems useful to add advancements proposed by RFT to the behavioral toolbox with which we could effectively describe, explain and change behavior with precision, scope and depth.

Can children with autism read emotions from the eyes? The eyes test revisited

This study aimed to test two new, simplified tasks related to the eye-test, targeting children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing controls (TD). Test-1 assessed the recognition of emotion/mental states with displays using one word and two eye-pictures, whereas Test-2 presented displays using two words and one eye-picture. Black and white photographs of children were used as materials. A cross-cultural study (Caucasian/East-Asian) with adults was initially carried out to verify generalizability across different ethnic groups. Cross-sectional trajectory analyses were used to compare emotion recognition from the eyes in the two tests. Trajectories were constructed linking performance on both tests either to chronological age or to different measures of mental age (receptive vocabulary based on the BPVS, CARS or ASQ for the ASD group). Performance improved with chronological age in both the ASD and TD groups of children. However, performance in Test-1 was significantly superior in children with ASD, who showed delayed onset and slower rate of improvement than TD children in Test-2. In both the ASD and TD groups the lowest error rate was recorded for the item 'anger', suggesting that threat-detection cue mechanisms may be intact in autism. In general, all children showed good performance on our novel tests, thus making them good candidates for assessing younger children and those with lower general abilities.

Determination of alphacypermethrin in the air by capillary gas chromatography

A new method for sampling and chemical analysis of alphacypermethrin in workplace air has been described. Air samples were taken using a glass tube filled with silica gel with chemically bounded octadecyl phase. Chromatographic determinations were conducted using an HP-5 capillary column (10 m x 0.53 mm) and an electron-capture detector. Alphacypermethrin recovery was 100.15%. The calculated detection limit for a 60-L air sample was 0.0001 mg/m(3).

General evaluation of risk associated with the use of pesticides and other chemical substances on animal breeding and plant production farms

A general characteristic of chemical risk on plant production farms in Poland is presented. The paper describes risk associated with the natural occurrence of chemical substances (such as ammonium and hydrogen sulfide) in the process of animal breeding and risk connected with the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. Pesticides are briefly described taking into consideration toxicity classes and the toxic effect of individual compounds. Exposure to pesticides is presented for individual methods and related activities. Finally, the author discusses pesticide risk on fruit-growing farms and in greenhouses.

[Contamination of the air at work sites during application of "Fastac 10EC" in fruit orchards]

The study of the air contamination was carried out in six fruit farms located in the region of Grójec and Warka. The measurements were carried out during the application of "Fastac 10EC" insecticide (alphamethrin) in fruit growing at work sites of tractor drivers operating the sprayers. The mean concentrations of alphamethrin at individual work sites were low and ranged between 0.001 and 0.0039 mg/m3 of the air. Due to the lack of maximum allowable concentration (MAC), the inhalation toxicity of alphamethrin of 320 mg/m3 (4-h), toxicity class of alphamethrin (III) and MAC of natural pyrethrum were considered. In this context the determined concentrations seem to be safe.