Association for Behavior Analysis International

Among the multiple actions of cocaine, evidence has suggested that the inhibition of dopamine uptake is the primary action underlying the behavioral effects of cocaine. This hypothesis indicates that drugs that inhibit the transport of dopamine will have behavioral effects, and abuse liability, similar to cocaine. Despite the evidence supporting the hypothesis, compounds exist that selectively bind to the dopamine transporter with high affinity and inhibit dopamine uptake, but have behavioral effects that differ from those of cocaine. These compounds generally show a decreased efficacy in stimulating locomotor activity, reduced or no efficacy in producing cocaine-like discriminative-stimulus effects, and are marginally effective as reinforcers in primates trained to self administer cocaine. These findings indicate important limitations to the dopamine transporter hypothesis of the behavioral effects of cocaine. Further, the delineation of differences in the pharmacology of various dopamine uptake inhibitors will provide insight into dopamine transporter function, the neurobiological substrates involved in cocaine abuse, and may provide leads for the discovery of medical treatments for cocaine abuse.

Historically, cognitive-developmental, and behavior analytic approaches to the study of human behavior and development have been viewed as incompatible with alternative theoretical and methodological perspectives. This presumed incompatibility has itself generally been understood as arising from divergent sets of metatheoretical assumptions that take the form of ontological and epistemological principles and, as coherent wholes, constitute worldviews. Classically cognitive-developmental approaches have been cast as deriving from an organismic worldview and behavior analytic approaches from a contextualist worldview. Previous attempts at uniting the two approaches have entailed privileging one and radically modifying the other. A more meaningful move toward integration requires a set of metatheoretical assumptions that transcends both worldviews, and, while maintaining their distinct qualities, unites them. Such a metatheoretical framework constitutes the base for a true rapprochement of cognitive-developmental and behavior analytic approaches. The integrative metatheoretical frame presented here has been termed relational metatheory. Relational metatheory entailing four basic principles of holism, the identity of opposites, the opposites of identity, and the synthesis of wholes identifies the process by which classically fundamental dichotomies can be transformed into co-equal indissociable complementarities, and how these complementarities can serve as relatively stable platforms for launching diverse forms of scientific inquiry.

This presentation will address the problem of unintentional injury and death of children from firearms and risk factors that contribute to this problem. Two paths to prevention of childhood injury and death from firearms will be discussed: changing parent behavior and teaching prevention skills to children to prevent gun play. As most childhood firearm injuries and deaths occur as a result of gun play, my research has focused on teaching skills to prevent gun play. A series of studies will be presented in which procedures for teaching prevention skills to children are evaluated. These studies investigated the effectiveness of educational approaches and behavioral skills training approaches to teach young children a set of safety skills to use upon finding a firearm. An emphasis in the research was an evaluation of procedures for promoting generalization of the skills from the training setting to the natural environment. The findings from these studies will be presented and implications for future research and practice will be discussed. Learning Objectives Describe the behavioral skills training approach to teaching safety skills to children to prevent gun play. Describe the results of research comparing educational approaches and behavioral skills training approaches for teaching safety skills to children to prevent gun play.

Noam Chomskys followers claimed that the discovery of the FOXP2 language gene showed that human brain had a genetically transmitted, innate Universal Grammar that specified the syntax of all human languages. The real facts refute this claim. A syndrome a set of behavioral deficits that transcends language characterizes the deficits of the members of the extended family KE who have an anomalous version of this gene. These individuals are unable to sequence simple tongue and lip maneuvers, repeat two word sequences, comprehend sentences that have complex syntax, and many display cognitive inflexibility. Studies of mice and humans show that FOXP2 and similar genes govern the development of neural structures that play a critical role in regulating motor control, language and cognition. There can be no difference in the physiologic activity of these neural structures when a person acquires a complex motor act such as shifting the gears of a car, or the linguistic rules for English passive sentences. Neurophysiologic data show that we and other animals acquire motor skills by means of general cognitive processes such as associative learning and imitation. Syntax must be learned by the same means. Universal Grammar is a fable it has the same status as an innate capacity for driving a car.