Tacts & Joint Attention: An Operant Analysis of Joint Attention Skills Per Holth Hey, you . . . out there in the dark, getting lonely getting -- can you hear me? Per Holth

Tacts & Joint Attention 5. Operant analysis of JA 6. Research questions 7. Training procedures 1. The tact 2. Generic (natural) reinforcement of the TACT 3. Joint attention 4. Why study JA? Hey, you . . . out there in the dark, getting lonely getting -- can you hear me? Per Holth

Tact (Skinner, 1957) SD  R  SRGEN. COND "a verbal operant in which a given response form is evoked (or at least strengthened) by a particular object or event or a property of an object or event.” SD  R  SRGEN. COND The unique relation to a discriminative stimulus, rather than to a specific establishing operation, is obtained by (i) many different reinforcers or (ii) generalized reinforcers. Per Holth

Generalized reinforcement Skinner (1957) Instead of using a great variety of reinforcements, each of which is relevant to a given state of deprivation or aversive stimulation a contingency is arranged between a verbal response and a generalized conditioned reinforcer. Any event which characteristically precedes many different reinforcers can be used as a reinforcer to bring behavior under the control of all appropriate conditions of deprivation and aversive stimulation. (p. 53) Per Holth

Establishing conditioned reinforcers • correlate with primary reinforcer (blocking) or • establish as SD for responses that produce a primary reinforcer Per Holth

Generalized reinforcer: ”Approval” A common generalized conditioned reinforcer is “approval.” It is often difficult to specify its physical dimensions. It may be little more than a nod or a smile on the part of someone who characteristically supplies a variety of reinforcements. Sometimes . . . it has a verbal form: Right! or Good!” (p. 54) Per Holth

Typical generalized ‘conditioned’ reinforcers 1 To what extent are they typically conditioned in the first place in normally developing children? (Combine Fantz with deCasper et al.) Per Holth

Typical generalized ‘conditioned’ reinforcers 2 Autocatalytic process? Additional sources of reinforcement? Observe Novel event Monitor smile, nod gaze Lower frequency of SAs and Ss Higher frequency of mand reinf. Report Novel event Per Holth

Typical generalized ‘conditioned’ reinforcers 3 When generalized reinforcers are only established through contrived contingencies, can they be maintained as reinforcers at near-normal rates of back-up (primary) reinforcement? Per Holth

An extended verbal episode Novel event TACT (ROBS) SD1 RV SRGEN. Looking for novel event LISTENER’S look, smile, nod, “yes,” “m-hmm,” relevant comments ROBS. SDSOC. Looking for (potential) attention Attention Per Holth

Joint attention: A triade Per Holth

The concept of JA From ‘Gaze following’ (Scaife & Bruner, 1975) to ‘Theory of mind’ (e.g., Baron-Cohen, 1991) Per Holth

Joint Attention in ‘social-cognitive development’ normative patterns of emergence (e.g., Corkum & Moore, 1995) relation to later developing skills: ‘symbolic abilities’ (Hobson, 1993; Mundy, Sigman, & Kasari, 1993), ‘language abilities’ (Baldwin, 1995; Bates et al., 1979; Bruner, 1975; Tomasello, 1988) and ‘general social-cognitive processes’ (Baron-Cohen, 1995; Bruner, 1975; Mundy, 1995; Tomasello, 1995). a syndrom-specific deficit in autism (e.g., Baron-Cohen, 1989, Mundy & Crowson, 1997; Sigman & Kasari, 1995; Sigman, Kasari, Kwon, & Yirmiya, 1992). Per Holth

Definitions “the simultaneous engagement of two or more individuals in mental focus on one and the same external thing” (Baldwin, 1995, p. 132) (a) narrow version: “looking where someone else is looking” (b) broad version includes: “responsive and initiating behaviors as well as the checking of another person’s face. . .” (Sigman & Kasari, 1995, p. 189) “knowing that another is looking at and experiencing something in the visual world” (Bruner, 1995, p. 7) “both participants are monitoring the other’s attention to the outside entity . . . [and] the coordination that takes place in joint attentional interactions is accomplished by means of an understanding that the other participant has a focus of attention to the same entity as the self” (Tomasello, 1995, pp. 105-107) although JA “. . . typically refers to coordination of visual attention, . . .[it] may be achieved through other sensory modalities” (Sarria, Gomez & Tamarit, 1996, p. 49) Per Holth

Examples Gaze following Monitoring Social referencing Protoimperative Protodeclarative Per Holth

Gaze following 1 Per Holth

Gaze following 2 Per Holth

Gaze following 3 Per Holth

Gaze following 4 Per Holth

Monitoring Per Holth

Monitoring 1 Per Holth

Monitoring 2 Per Holth

Monitoring 3 Per Holth

Social referencing 1 Per Holth

Social referencing 2 Per Holth

Social referencing 3 Per Holth

Protoimperative 1 Per Holth

Protoimperative 2 Per Holth

Protoimperative 3 Per Holth

Protoimperative 4 Per Holth

Protoimperative 5 Per Holth

Protoimperative 6 Per Holth

Protoimperative 7 Per Holth

Protoimperative 8 Per Holth

Protoimperative 9 Per Holth

Protoimperative 10 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 1 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 2 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 3 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 4 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 5 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 6 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 7 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 8 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 9 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 10 Per Holth

Protodeclarative 11 Per Holth

Why behavior analysts should study joint attention Autism-specific deficit -- yet early intervention studies lack JA measures Cognitive psychologists have insisted that JA skills are not learned Lacking JA skills may be directly related to specific language deficits Per Holth

A letter to the ME list Does anyone have any ideas on how to develop a program on teaching a child to comment?  My son . . . does not make comments.  A purple cow could walk by and he wouldn't mention it. Per Holth

Why joint attention phenomena are important in verbal and listening skills Consider what happens in their absence listening skills ”Look at that!” ”There’s a horse with three legs!” MANDS TACTS Per Holth

Mand with no joint attention Per Holth

Mand with no joint attention Per Holth

Tact with no joint attention ? Per Holth

Operant analysis of JA skills Discrimination Conditioned reinforcement Conditional discrimination Conjugate reinforcement Continuous repertoires Observing responses Per Holth

Establish other’s looking, smiling and nodding as SD -- 1 Per Holth

Establish other’s looking, smiling and nodding as SD -- 2 Per Holth

Observing responses Dinsmoor (1983) MULT R R VR MIX Ext. Per Holth

Observing responses Dinsmoor (1983) Reinf. Per Holth

Observing responses Dinsmoor (1983) Ext. Per Holth

Observing responses: Mother’s look as SD Reinf. MIX Ext. Per Holth

Observing responses: Mother’s look as S SD S R R Reinf. MIX Ext. Per Holth

More on operant principles and JA skills Behavior is very fluid; it isn’t made up of lots of little responses packed together. I hope I will live to see a formulation which will take this fluidity into account. (Skinner, 1968, pp. 20-21) Conjugate reinforcement Continuous repertoires Per Holth

Conjugate reinforcement In conjugate reinforcement, the intensity of a continuously available reinforcing consequence is directly controlled by the subject’s rate of responding. (Morgan & Lindsley, 1966) Attention-maintaining responses Per Holth

Continuous repertoires Control of a continuous response dimension by a continuous stimulus dimension. (Wildemann & Holland, 1972) Gaze following Imitation Per Holth

Research questions Typical generalized ‘conditioned’ reinforcers (a) Can they be maintained as such at near-normal rates of back-up (primary) reinforcement? (b) To what extent are they typically conditioned in the first place? (Combine Fantz with deCasper & Fifer) Continuous repertoires Is multiple exemplar training sufficient, or are there additional prerequisites (pivotal skills)? Observing responses Can they be prevented/removed by a preponderance of attention as S? Per Holth

Establishing TACTS in tactless manders establishing normal tact-consequences as reinforcers establishing simple joint attention skills producing high-rate tact responses in the natural environment discrimination training with respect to objects and events worth talking about vs. those not worth talking about Per Holth

1. Establishing normal tact-consequences as reinforcers Nods, smiles, ’attention,’ etc. as SDs for responses that produce reinforcers Different reinforcers, using tokens Stretching the ratio Fading the tokens Per Holth

Free-operant reinforcer pretest Response: Hit bell Intrinsic Mix social Sweets 57 2 Response: Put mark across line 67 Relevant comments Intrinsic Sweets 3 Per Holth

Free-operant reinforcer pretest Response: Ball into wall 57 Intrinsic Praise Sweets 57 22 2 Response: Pearls on board 45 Nods & smiles Intrinsic Sweets Per Holth

Establish other’s looking, smiling and nodding as SD -- 1 Per Holth

Establish other’s looking, smiling and nodding as SD -- 2 Per Holth

Remaining problems Potential reinforcers are visible Reinforcement is not generalized Reinforcement is continuous Per Holth

Different reinforcers – using tokens, stretching the ratio and fading the tokens Reverse chaining Prompts faded as soon as possible Diversity of back-up reinforcers Less eye-chatching versions Marks on paper sheets Done by trainers (and others) gradually more often Per Holth

Free-operant reinforcer pretest Response: Hit bell Intrinsic Mix social Sweets 57 2 Response: Put mark across line 67 Relevant comments Intrinsic Sweets 3 Per Holth

Free-operant reinforcer pretest Response: Ball into wall 57 Intrinsic Praise Sweets 57 22 2 Response: Pearls on board 45 Nods & smiles Intrinsic Sweets Per Holth

Free-operant reinforcer posttest Response: Pearls on board Mix social 39 Sweets Intrinsic 27 Response: Mark across line Relevant comments Intrinsic 46 Sweets 22 23 Per Holth

Free-operant reinforcer posttest Response: Ball into basket Intrinsic Praise Sweets 20 14 14 Response: Ball into wall 81 48 Sweets 47 Intrinsic Nod & smile Per Holth

Mean - pretest Per Holth

Mean - posttest Per Holth

2. Joint attention skills: A step-by-step procedure Gaze following Monitoring Attention bids Per Holth

(a) Train Gaze following 1 Per Holth

(a) Train Gaze following 2 Per Holth

(a) Train Gaze following 3 Prompt 1 Per Holth

(a) Train Gaze following 4 Prompt 2 Per Holth

(a) Train Gaze following 5 Per Holth

(b) Train monitoring 1 Per Holth

(b) Train monitoring 2 Per Holth

(b) Train monitoring 3 Per Holth

(b) Train monitoring 4 Per Holth

(b) Train monitoring 5 Per Holth

(b) Train monitoring 6 Stop! Per Holth

(c) Train attention bids Per Holth

(c) Train attention bids Per Holth

(c) Train attention bids Per Holth

(c) Train attention bids Per Holth

(c) Train attention bids Per Holth

(c) Train attention bids Per Holth

(c) Train attention bids Per Holth

3. Producing high-rate tact responses in the natural environment TRAIN ”WHAT’S THAT” AS A MAND Pictures Objects in the room Behavior Objects and events outside Per Holth

Differential generalized reinforcement: Familiar objects loose their control because the community eventually withholds reinforcement except under special conditions. Only objects which are unusual in some respect or which occur in unusual surroundings, are important to the listener and hence provide the occasion for reinforcing the speaker[‘s behavior]. (pp. 89-90) Per Holth

What’s missing /what’s new? What’s changed? 4. Discrimination training with respect to objects and events worth talking about: What’s missing /what’s new? What’s changed? What’s weired/strange in the room/on a person? Arranged continuously  intermittently Reported immediately  delayed  to someone else Per Holth

A letter to the ME list Does anyone have any ideas on how to develop a program on teaching a child to comment?  My son . . . does not make comments.  A purple cow could walk by and he wouldn't mention it. Per Holth

Establishing TACTS in tactless manders Video: 3.05 Reinforcer test 5.20 One prompt (marks) nods 7.00 Nods & smiles 7.36 Toy figurescardsfruitsbehavior 9.50 Destroyed objects 10.24 ??? 11.40 Per Holth