Artificial Intelligence Assignment Report 1

THE TOWARD TUTORING SYSTEMS INSPIRED BY APPLIED

BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ASSIGNMENT REPORT

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Introduction

According to the Toward Tutoring Systems Inspired by Applied Behavioral Analysis

paper, there is a plan to design and develop an innovative family for tutoring systems that are

based on Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). ABA symbolizes the application branch of the

study of behavior, whose main objective is to explain the link between behaviors shown by

living things and the variables that affect them. ABA performs the following tasks:

 It allows supporting the possession of new behaviors by an individual who is helped

by a behavioral technician.

 It is a structured program that helps and directs learning processes toward easily

modified results.

 Treatment of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder allows them to reduce

problematic behaviors and form informative language.

The ABA approach to tutoring systems can be linked to the problem of adapting the

frequency of prompts, which is a live vein in the Intelligent Tutoring Systems study (ITS). It

is investigated whether it is using metacognitive strategies that can be enhanced by variations

in prompts-based learners’ self-regulatory behaviors and the results indicate that the

frequency of prompting has a relevant effect to promote learning (Bouchet et al. [2]). The

approach of ABA is going to be evident later, focusing prompts, while fetching the attention

on stimuli association without considering examination of metacognitive. ABA is most fit for

the most basic kinds of training that are critical in clinical problems like Autistic Spectrum

Disorder.
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Literature Review

The main reasons for the innovation of ABA are such as learning theory, the law of

effect, and operant conditioning. Inside the ABA framework, the behavior is like an operant

because it produces effects and consequences in the environment. The concepts of ABA

Behaviorism are applied via the following core procedures:

 Indeed prompts (hints) are provided to the trainee to facilitate the individuation of the

target stimulus.

 Fading is based on the action that reinforces the responses in presence of little

changes in the target stimulus.

 Shaping is a procedure that is used to build a behavior that doesn’t belong to the usual

behavior repertoire of a species.

 Chaining- this a useful procedure to teach or train long behavioral sequences whose

training is easier to understand if divided into small behaviors.

The ABA tutoring system has two different modules as shown in Fig.1. The first module

is the prompting module which can predict and give hints to the learner. The module offers

two options such as prompting and without prompting depending on the state that it is in like

active or inactive. The stimuli exposure is the second module which controls the presentation

of the different stimuli to the learner. The second module can function in two ways; by

randomly selecting stimuli or by following probabilistic rules.

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Fig.1. The ABA tutoring system module

The Sniff system is the starting point for the multisensory applications which put

together digital tools and physical materials, thus fostering motivation and engagement by

users. It has some features that give it remarkable peculiarities for learning, such as the strong

connection between olfactory stimuli and emotions. Odor data is transmitted directly to the

limbic system, associated with memory and emotional processes. This can influence mood,

acquisition of new information, and the use of information in many different contexts like

social interactions that affect the learning process.

The Sniff tool or software is used to assess and train the sense of smell. SNIFF is a

game that has 50 attempts at the moment, each consisting of a smell with the corresponding

image that is proposed by the application program. The activity helps to refine olfactory

sense in children and adults. It allows to design and implement learning materials based on

artificial intelligence and tangible interfaces.

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Results
The prompting module is implemented as follows: to facilitate recognition, jars are

segregated into 5 groups of 6 odors, identified by a colored jar. The system asks for the

selection of a specific smell, within a reduced group of jars, identified with the chromatic

categorization.

The stimuli exposure module is implemented by the modification of the game in

response to the learner’s selection. Like, if the player fails to recognize a certain stimulus, the

associated probability to be proposed increases, else if the odor is correctly recognized, it

decreases. This procedure works, adapting to the player's abilities in two ways:

 If the player fails the recognition, SNIFF decreases the difficulty level reducing the

numerosity of the groups to look for the odor within, and if the player can recognize

the stimulus, in the next trial the level will become higher hence widening the group.

 If the player fails the recognition of a certain odor, the associated probability to be

proposed increases, or if the odor is correctly recognized it decreases.

From the experiment, the participants recognize an average of 20.27 stimuli on 30

attempts ranging from a minimum of 8 to a maximum of 29. When we consider the correct

response at 50 attempts, the average recognition is 29.53, minimum of 14 to a maximum of

46. The experimental condition in which the participants can rely on the adaptive tutor and

the color prompts T – P leads to performing better on stimuli recognition.

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Conclusion

The ABA has enabled success in many different contexts such as modification of

human behavior: for the case of children with autism spectrum disorder, it helps children with

a chance to build a behavioral repertoire assuring a better-quality life. The ABA technicians

help to find the own personal inside each child. The ABA technician cannot be replaced by

the ABA artificial tutor, but the ABA tutor can enter this process as a valid complement to

the technician's work. The ABA experts shall focus on the maieutical process while the ABA

tutor helps in dealing with the technical aspects, recording and tracing the interaction,

offering personal profiles, they highlight the strength and weaknesses.

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References

Applied Behavior Analysis. Prentice hall, Upper Saddle River (Cooper J.O., & Heron, 2007)

Gamez, A.M., Rosas, J.M.: Associations in human instrumental conditioning. Learn. Motiv.

38, 242–261 (2007)

Firestein, S.: How the olfactory system makes sense of scents. Nature 413(6852), 211 (2001)

Granpeesheh, D., Tarbox, J., Dixon, D.R.: Applied behavior analytic interventions for

children with autism: a description and review of treatment research. Ann. Clin.

Psychiatr. 21(3), 162–173 (2009)