Toward an Understanding of Emergent Responding Procedures in Practice Preliminary Investigations

Research has demonstrated the utility of instructive feedback (IF) as a method to produce emergent verbal behavior. Instructive feedback is a teaching strategy in which nontarget stimuli are presented in learning trials to increase the efficiency of instruction (Carroll & Kodak, 2015). Researchers have investigated differences in secondary target acquisition when inserting the secondary targets in different configurations of the learning trial (e.g., antecedent, consequence). Findings have shown minimal differences in efficacy irrespective of the configuration (e.g., Vladescu & Kodak, 2013). However, no studies to date have evaluated participants’ preference for feedback delivery. As such, the current study replicated previous research by comparing the efficacy and efficiency of IF when presented as antecedent or consequence feedback and included a preference measure for feedback delivery for 2-3 children with autism spectrum disorder. We included some procedural modifications such as incorporating probes throughout intervention to attempt to determine when secondary targets were acquired and measured participants’ echoic behavior to evaluate its role in the emergence of the secondary targets. Preliminary findings indicated that neither participant demonstrated acquisition of the secondary target; thus, we made individualized procedural modifications which resulted in increases in the secondary target for both participants compared to baseline levels. We discuss the clinical implications of our results related to past research, emergent verbal behavior, and participant choice.
Objectives:
Participants will learn about the utility of incorporating secondary targets into feedback when teaching verbal behavior.
Participants will be able to identify some potential barriers to measuring or acquiring secondary targets during instruction.
Participants will learn about the role that client preference plays when designing teaching procedures.
Authorship: Valerie Boyer, Grace Lafo, Denise Croft, Lesley Shawler, Yeni Ramos, and Karli Wright
Recorded April 22, 2024