The referential nature of rules and instructions: A response to instructions, rules, and abstraction: A misconstrued relation by Emilio Ribes-Inesta

Rules have been defined, within behavior analysis and without, as stimuli that “refer to” or “specify” contingencies or environmental events (e.g., “Hold the base firmly and turn the top to the right,” Skinner, 1969, p. 139). Ribes-Inesta 1 (2000) suggests that the approach to rules and rule-governed behavior that developed from Skinner’s (1969) work leads to conceptual confusion. Specifically, he proposes that confusion results from the lack of a distinction between rules as stimuli and rules as outcomes. Although such a distinction may be necessary, Ribes-Inesta does not address the referential or specifying nature of rules and, consequently, fails to provide useful definitions of rules as either verbal stimuli or responses. In the first part of this response, we will outline the approach to rules and instructions provided by Ribes-Inesta’s article. In the latter half, we will point out the limitations of the definitions of rules and instructions that Ribes-Inesta proposes and, more specifically, how the inadequate definitions of rules and instructions result from the failure to address the referential nature of rules as verbal stimuli or responses. Finally, we suggest that a consideration of RibesInesta’s article draws attention to reference as a critical property of rules and rulegoverned behavior. Ribes-Inesta’s Proposed Redefinition of Rules and Instructions Ribes-Inesta suggests that the approach to rules suggested by Skinner is not clear. More specifically, he points out that a distinction must be made between “rules” that are “constructed as verbal stimuli that describe consequences” and “rules” as “instructions to be followed to cope with a set of already specified

Local Dynamics in Decision Making: The Evolution of Preference within and across Decisions

Within decisions, perceived alternatives compete until one is preferred. Across decisions, the playing field on which these alternatives compete evolves to favor certain alternatives. Mouse cursor trajectories provide rich continuous information related to such cognitive processes during decision making. In three experiments, participants learned to choose symbols to earn points in a discrimination learning paradigm and the cursor trajectories of their responses were recorded. Decisions between two choices that earned equally high-point rewards exhibited far less competition than decisions between choices that earned equally low-point rewards. Using positional coordinates in the trajectories, it was possible to infer a potential field in which the choice locations occupied areas of minimal potential. These decision spaces evolved through the experiments, as participants learned which options to choose. This visualisation approach provides a potential framework for the analysis of local dynamics in decision-making that could help mitigate both theoretical disputes and disparate empirical results.Engineering and Applied Science

Relational frame theory: A new paradigm for the analysis of social behavior

Recent developments in the analysis of derived relational responding, under the rubric of relational frame theory, have brought several complex language and cognitive phenomena within the empirical reach of the experimental analysis of behavior. The current paper provides an outline of relational frame theory as a new approach to the analysis of language, cognition, and complex behavior more generally. Relational frame theory, it is argued, also provides a suitable paradigm for the analysis of a wide variety of social behavior that is mediated by language. Recent empirical evidence and theoretical interpretations are provided in support of the relational frame approach to social behavior

Education, intellectual development, and relational frame theory

There is now considerable evidence to support the Relational Frame Theory (RFT) position that arbitrarily applicable relational responding or relational framing is the core behavior that characterizes human language and cognition across contexts. The capacity to frame relationally correlates with linguistic and cognitive performance more generally and specifically with measures of both intellectual ability and educational attainment. It makes sense therefore, that, by training relational framing, intellectual performance and educational attainment can be enhanced. The current chapter reviews current research in support of this exciting proposition

Comparing the effects of an acute bout of physical exercise with an acute bout of interactive mental and physical exercise on electrophysiology and executive functioning in younger and older adults

Background Physical exercise has been shown to improve cognitive and neural functioning in older adults. Aims and methods The current study compared the effects of an acute bout of physical exercise with a bout of interactive mental and physical exercise (i.e., “exergaming”) on executive (Stroop) task performance and event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes in younger and older adults. Results Results revealed enhanced executive task performance in younger and older adults after exercise, with no differences in performance between exercise conditions. Stroop (RT) performance in older adults improved more than in younger adults from pre- to post-exercise. A significant increase in EEG amplitude from pre- to post-exercise was found at the Cz site from 320 to 700 ms post-stimulus for both younger and older adults, with older adults demonstrating a larger Stroop interference effect. While younger adults exhibited overall greater EEG amplitudes than older adults, they showed no differences between congruent and incongruent trials (i.e., minimal interference). Compared to peers with higher BMI (body mass index), older adults with lower BMI showed a greater reduction in Stroop interference effects from pre- to post-exercise. Discussion and conclusions The beneficial effects of an acute bout of physical exercise on cognitive and neural functioning in younger and older adults were confirmed, with no difference between standard exercise and exergaming. Findings suggest that BMI, sometimes used as a proxy for fitness level, may modulate benefits that older adults derive from an acute bout of exercise. Findings have implications for future research that seeks to investigate unique effects of exergaming when compared to standard physical exercise

A discrete choice experiment exploring farmer preferences for insurance against extreme weather events

peer-reviewedAgriculture represents one of the most vulnerable sectors to extreme weather events that are projected to increase with climate change. Insurance has been advocated as a more efficient means to ensure financial security to farmers, than post-disaster aid for damages. A potential drawback of insurance however, is that unless carefully designed it could dis-incentivise farmers to engage in wider farm adaptation measures or lead to more risk-taking behaviour. This paper analyses the attractiveness of publicly-backed climate risk insurance offerings to farmers and explores their preferences for elements of insurance schemes that do not negatively affect incentives for wider farm adaptation. Specifically, a discrete choice experiment is used to reveal Irish farmers’ preferences for multi-annual insurance contracts and weather-indexed versus traditional indemnity insurance and cost. Results indicate that a majority of farmers are willing to buy publicly-backed insurance for protection from extreme weather events. Younger farmers, farmers who currently have farm insurance, farmers from certain geographical locations and farmers who have been previously affected by extreme weather events are more likely to buy insurance. With respect to the design of insurance schemes, farmers prefer multi-annual coverage versus annual renewal. They also prefer indexed-insurance and have a strong preference for cheaper coverage. Despite the important role that insurance could play in protecting farms financially from damage caused by extreme weather events, few studies have examined preference for weather-indexed insurance within a European context. New evidence on farmer preferences and intended behaviours is therefore critical to inform policy in this area

The Confidence Database

Understanding how people rate their confidence is critical for the characterization of a wide range of perceptual, memory, motor and cognitive processes. To enable the continued exploration of these processes, we created a large database of confidence studies spanning a broad set of paradigms, participant populations and fields of study. The data from each study are structured in a common, easy-to-use format that can be easily imported and analysed using multiple software packages. Each dataset is accompanied by an explanation regarding the nature of the collected data. At the time of publication, the Confidence Database (which is available at https://osf.io/s46pr/) contained 145 datasets with data from more than 8,700 participants and almost 4 million trials. The database will remain open for new submissions indefinitely and is expected to continue to grow. Here we show the usefulness of this large collection of datasets in four different analyses that provide precise estimations of several foundational confidence-related effects