Anna Ingeborg Pétursdóttir |
![[picture]](anna.jpg) |
I study child behavior and language from an operant learning perspective. My major research interests pertain to translating advances in basic research and theory into intervention strategies (e.g., language interventions for children with autism). In spite of my background in applied behavior analysis, most of my research is not strictly applied. For example, I have tested analog models of language instruction, often involving arbitrary stimuli and nonsense words, on young children without language impairments, to investigate how the establishment of specific behavior-environment relations may result in the emergence of novel behavior. In this work, I have drawn upon B.F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior and recent extensions of it, as well as upon basic behavior-analytic research on derived stimulus relations. In my experimental preparations, I emphasize the training and testing of vocal behavior, as opposed to using a match-to-sample format. Other language-related interests of mine include methods for increasing vocal play among non-speaking children, and the development of effective stimulus control technology for teaching purposes. Besides language, I am interested in various aspects of children's performance on basic reinforcement schedules, and its implications for treating maladaptive behavior.
Selected Publications:
Petursdottir, A. I., Carr, J. E., Lechago, S. A., & Almason, S. M. (in press). An evaluation of intraverbal training and listener training for teaching categorization skills. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
Miguel, C. F., Petursdottir, A. I., Carr, J. E., & Michael, J. (in press). The role of naming in stimulus categorization by preschool children. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
Petursdottir, A. I., Carr, J. E., & Michael, J. (2005). Emergence of mands and tacts of novel objects among preschool children. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 21, 59-74.
Miguel, C. F., Petursdottir, A. I., & Carr, J. E. (2005). The effects of multiple-tact and receptive-discrimination training on the acquisition of intraverbal behavior. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 21, 27-41.