Evaluating the Effectiveness of Stimulus Pairing Observation Procedure and Multiple Exemplar Instruction: Establishing Listener and Tact relations with Children with Developmental Disabilities

Author

Brittany Byrne, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

8-1-2013

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Behavior Analysis and Therapy

First Advisor

Rehfeldt, Ruth Anne

Abstract

SPOP paired with multiple exemplar instruction has been shown to be effective with typically developing preschoolers in establishing the joint stimulus control required for the development of naming (Rosales et al., 2012). The purpose of the current investigation is to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the stimulus pairing observation procedure in establishing speaker and listener responses with children with developmental disabilities. Participants were presented with pairings of an auditory and visual stimulus. Testing was conducted after the instructional phase to assess if the participant could tact the item when presented with the picture as well as select the object from an array when given the name of the object. If the participants did not meet mastery criteria during posttests, a multiple exemplar procedure (MEI) was implemented to examine its efficacy in establishing the joint stimulus control of the speaker and listener responses. Following multiple exemplar instruction, testing was conducted. The results of the current investigation show that the SPOP in combination with MEI was effective in establishing both the listener and tact relations for all three participants.