Type of evaluation and temporary delay in correspondence say-do-report in adults

Resumen

Background: Correspondence implies the relationship between say and do in temporarily differentiated moments (contiguous or delayed); usually the work in the area is focused on the direct evaluation of correspondence. Thus, most of the experiments use continuous reinforcement procedures in the training of the Say-Do chain with no delay between the correspondence moments, showing high percentages of correspondence. In the present study we assessed the effect of the type of evaluation (direct, explicit target behavior both in Say and Report moments, correspondent to the behavior measured in the Do moment, or indirect) on the correspondence establishment, as well as the delay (0 or 24 hours) between the correspondence moments (Say-Do, Do- Report, Say-Report). Methods: 8 adults participated in each experiment. Task was divided in three moments: 1) Say (answer questions), 2) Do (perform different actions) and, 3) Report (answer a question about the previous moment). Experiment 1 had 2 groups (n = 4) differentiated by the values of the type of evaluation (direct or indirect) without delay between moments. In Experiment 2, we included a delay between moments (24 hours). Comparisons were made between individuals of each group thru nonparametric test for two independent groups (U Mann-Whitney). Findings: The data was analyzed in terms of: a) relationship between the type of evaluation and the correspondence at the different moments and, b) the relationship between the delay and the establishment of correspondence. In general, it is observed: a) lower percentage of correspondence with an indirect evaluation and, b) less correspondence with higher delay between moments. Discussion: Data suggest that the type of evaluation (direct or indirect) could be one of the factors that promote the high percentages of correspondence observed in typical procedures of the area, where there is a direct evaluation, unlike what is found in applied areas of therapy in which there is an indirect evaluation (i.e. no relation between Say and Report moments related to the Do moment). The low correspondence showed when delay between moments was introduced, suggest that this variable could modulate the break of correspondence. These findings are relevant in applied scenarios, as therapeutic procedures.