Principal Investigator, Extramural Fellow
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Experimental analysis of behavior (M.S.)

I developed my penchant for basic research in a laboratory investigating the experimental analysis of human behavior, using an undergraduate student pool for research subjects. I was involved in apparatus construction and maintenance, subject recruitment, interviewing, testing, data collection and analysis, and management of laboratory operations. We conducted a variety of experiments investigating the nature of stimulus equivalence class formation, using a physiological component (Skin Conductance Response, or SCR; also known as Galvanic Skin Response). Known as a component of the lie detector test, SCR is a measure of skin conductivity. That is, SCR is indicative of the amount a person is perspiring. Therefore, SCR can also be used as a more generalized measure of anticipatory fear.

For my master's thesis, I focused on the particulars surrounding how people learn through inference (Markham & Markham, 2002). At the time, much was known about the nature of reversals in stimulus equivalence class formation. It was as yet unknown, however, whether covarying the functions of stimulus classes was necessary for stimulus class formation. Further, much research was still required to understand interactions between respondent (i.e., classically conditioned) and operant functions. In this experiment, human participants learned classically conditioned stimulus classes. Skin conductance response measurement to stimuli indicated that respondent stimulus classes did not form. However, transfer of voluntary responses did occur across stimulus classes. We interpreted these results to indicate that reversing the classically conditioned functions (shock / no shock) of the stimuli was not necessary for stimulus class formation. Moreover, some (probably) neurally-mediated behavior other than SCR facilitated the formation of the stimulus classes. This research was not only an important initiation to the field of learning, it also made me eager to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying behavior.

During this time, I also performed therapeutic interventions with children diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (Not Otherwise Specified) both in-home and in a treatment facility. It is through this experience that I developed a keen interest in and eye for the nuances of early developmental disability. The temporal contiguity of my applied and theoretical knowledge and experience about behavior served to mutually bolster learning in the two environments.