Dissertation Defenses

Doctoral Dissertation Announcement

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Candidate: Rachael A. Sautter

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: The Role of Problem-solving in Complex Intraverbal Repertoires

Committee:
Dr. Linda LeBlanc, Chair
Dr. James Carr
Dr. Eric Fox
Dr. David Palmer

Date: Friday, May 11, 2007 11:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
1509 Wood Hall

Abstract:
Skinner defined intraverbal behavior as verbal behavior with no point-to-point correspondence between the evoking stimulus and the response.  This verbal operant encompasses a wide range of response topographies ranging from answering simple questions to complex conversational exchanges.  Previous interventions have focused primarily on transfer of stimulus control procedures to teach specific intraverbal responses.  These procedures have proven effective at establishing basic intraverbal repertoires but have produced small and restricted repertoires with limited generalization or novel responding.  These findings suggest a need for more complex teaching procedures that address failures to develop complex and novel intraverbal responses.    Theoreticians have hypothesized that effective use of problem-solving strategies rather than simple stimulus control may account for the performance of individuals with advanced intraverbal repertoires.  The current study examined the use of covert and overt mediating strategies in the context of intraverbal categorization with typically developing preschool children.