Training and Generalization of Affective Behavior Displayed by Youth With Autism

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to teach contextually appropriate affective behavior to 4 youths with autism. Treatment consisted of modeling, prompting, and reinforcement introduced in a multiple baseline design across response categories of affective behavior. During treatment, verbal praise and tokens were delivered contingent on appropriate affective responding during training trials. Modeling and verbal prompting were used as correction procedures. Each youth received treatment in either three or four response categories. Treatment systematically increased responding within the response categories for all 4 participants, with effects being specific to the affective response categories under treatment. Treatment effects occurred across untrained scenarios, therapists, time, and settings, suggesting that generalization had occurred.

Acquisition and Generalization of Complex Empathetic Responses Among Children with Autism

“…The procedures resulted in the participants' use of contextually appropriate affective responses that generalized to untaught stimuli and settings. Gena, Couloura, and Kymissis (2005) extended upon and received similar results as Gena et al (1996) by teaching similar responses using similar procedures but also compared the use of in vivo and video modeling procedures as error correction procedures. The results from Gena et al (2005) suggested that both types of models were equally effective error-correction procedures to teach affective responses and might be able to be used interchangeably with individuals with ASD in these circumstances.…”

“…The results suggest that individuals with ASD may be able to identify and discriminate between the necessary characteristics of affective stimuli. Consequently, reduced empathetic behavior by individuals with ASD may instead be due to untaught relations between affective stimuli and appropriate empathetic responses as has been suggested by Gena et al (1996).…”

“…Gena, Krantz, McClannahan, and Poulson (1996) identified empathy as consisting of three components: a verbal statement, a contextually appropriate facial expression, and a gesture that corresponds to the affect displayed. Buffington, Krantz, McClannahan, and Poulson (1998) included gestures and verbal statements in their discussion of empathetic responses and Daou, Vener, and Poulson (2014) discuss the importance of appropriate statements, intonation, and facial expressions for sustainable social interactions.…”

“…In one of the first empirical studies on this topic, Gena et al (1996) successfully increased the use of contextually appropriate verbal statements, facial expressions, and gestures by youths with ASD. In that study, participants with ASD were provided reinforcement for emitting a contextually appropriate response that matched the affect of a brief stimulus presented by the experimenter.…”

“…Building upon Gena et al (1996), Buffington et al (1998) taught children with ASD to differentially respond using gestures and verbal statements. Similar to Gena et al (1996), experimenters provided reinforcement for appropriate affective responses and used an error correction procedure of modeling and physical/verbal prompting procedures if the participants did not emit the correct response.…”