Using Concealed Public Accompaniments to Teach Individuals to Tact Intensity

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Using Concealed Public Accompaniments to Teach Individuals to Tact Intensity
Language: English
Authors: Sandhya Rajagopal (ORCID 0000-0002-9326-0359), Katie Nicholson (ORCID 0000-0001-8671-2305), Marlene Hernandez (ORCID 0000-0003-2705-0633), Breaunna Odume
Source: Analysis of Verbal Behavior. 2025 41(2):235-261.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Tests/Questionnaires
Descriptors: Pain, Rating Scales, Accuracy, Tactual Perception, Stimuli, Human Body, Novelty (Stimulus Dimension), Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness, Verbal Operant Conditioning
DOI: 10.1007/s40616-025-00222-0
ISSN: 0889-9401
2196-8926
Abstract: Healthcare professionals frequently ask individuals to use numerical rating scales to rate their pain intensity, yet individuals often find it challenging to accurately report sensations. The present study explored the efficacy of procedures to teach adults to report the intensity of tactile sensations--rough, heavy, and temperature (hot/cold)--on a numerical rating scale within a multiple baseline design across stimulus sets. The participants felt the stimuli, which were concealed from the participants' view, by inserting their hands into a stimulus box. The participants mastered the taught intensity tacts and generalized the tacts to novel body parts. One participant also generalized tacts to untaught intensities, and the other participant generalized responding to novel stimuli, untaught intensities, and untaught intensities in novel stimulus sets. These findings are discussed in the context of Skinner's analysis of how humans learn to talk about private events.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1500136
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Healthcare professionals frequently ask individuals to use numerical rating scales to rate their pain intensity, yet individuals often find it challenging to accurately report sensations. The present study explored the efficacy of procedures to teach adults to report the intensity of tactile sensations--rough, heavy, and temperature (hot/cold)--on a numerical rating scale within a multiple baseline design across stimulus sets. The participants felt the stimuli, which were concealed from the participants' view, by inserting their hands into a stimulus box. The participants mastered the taught intensity tacts and generalized the tacts to novel body parts. One participant also generalized tacts to untaught intensities, and the other participant generalized responding to novel stimuli, untaught intensities, and untaught intensities in novel stimulus sets. These findings are discussed in the context of Skinner's analysis of how humans learn to talk about private events.
ISSN:0889-9401
2196-8926
DOI:10.1007/s40616-025-00222-0