Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Applied Behavioral Analysis MS
Major
Education
Date of Defense
4-29-2024
Graduate Advisor
Andresa De Souza
Committee
Danielle Pizzella
Lindsay Athamanah
Abstract
Pairing procedures have been utilized by researchers and in applied practice for many years to establish neutral stimuli as conditioned reinforcers. Recently, pairing procedures, specifically stimulus-stimulus pairing, have been applied to vocalizations. Vocalizations are an essential element for language development because once vocalizations are brought under echoic control, they can be used to further develop a child’s verbal behavior. Results of the research conducted on stimulus-stimulus pairing had varied results, and the effectiveness of stimulus-stimulus pairing on increasing vocalizations is uncertain. Lepper and Petursdottir (2017) conducted a study that compared traditional stimulus-stimulus pairing (or response-independent pairing (RIP)) to response-contingent pairing (RCP) to increase vocalizations in non-vocal children. Response-contingent pairing makes reinforcement contingent on an arbitrary response. The results demonstrated that response-contingent pairing was more effective at increasing vocalizations for all participants. More recently, Harrison (2018) and Chance et al. (2021) studied response-contingent pairing and found that the procedure’s effectiveness varied across participants. Harrison suggested that prerequisite skills may be required before pairing procedures can be effective. Therefore, the present study assessed attending, current vocalization skills, and reinforcer effectiveness before replicating Lepper and Petursdottir’s RIP and RCP procedure. The participants were 3 children with autism and minimal echoic repertoires between 3 and 7 years old. An increase in the rate of target vocalizations was seen in two of three participants, however, best treatment varied between the participants. Results showed that overall, the RCP procedure was the most effective intervention for one participant.
Recommended Citation
Pecoraro, Jacqueline, "Comparison of RIP and RCP Conditioning Procedures on Vocalizations in Children with Autism and Minimal Echoic Repertoire" (2024). Theses. 465.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/465
