The Potential of a Relational Training Intervention to Improve Older Adults’ Cognition
Try short AARR drills with older clients; the idea is backed by early lab work but still needs real-world proof.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kelly (2020) wrote a theory paper. He asked: can we use AARR drills to keep older minds sharp? AARR means deriving new links without direct teaching. The paper lays out how stimulus-equivalence lessons might boost executive skills like planning and memory.
What they found
No new data here. The author maps a plan: train B↔C, C↔D, and hope the client later solves B↔D on the spot. He says this flexing of relational muscles could slow cognitive decline.
How this fits with other research
Camara et al. (2017) tested the idea for real. They ran identity-matching lessons with adults 65-plus. Most clients learned to match new pictures, but they still failed exclusion trials. The small gain gives Kelly's big claim its first reality check.
Preston (1994) showed rapid equivalence years earlier. College students formed untrained symmetrical and transitive relations after one conditional-discrimination set. That lab proof is the brick Kelly wants to move into senior centers.
Chock et al. (1983) and Burgio et al. (1986) reviews already argued behavior methods help older adults. Kelly narrows the focus to AARR drills, updating the older broad calls.
Why it matters
You now have a blueprint. Add brief relational-flex blocks to your senior programs: teach A=B and B=C, then probe A=C. Track if self-ordering, memory, or problem-solving improve. Start small, one client at a time, and share your data.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Behavioral gerontology rarely focuses on improving older adults’ cognitive function. This gap in the literature should be addressed, as our aging population means that greater numbers of older adults are experiencing cognitive decline and reduced functional independence. If cognitive training interventions are to be socially significant, they should target improvements in core executive functions (EFs) that are critical for everyday cognition and functioning independence. Evidence from the cognitive sciences suggests that a cognitive training intervention targeting “relational knowledge” and “cognitive flexibility,” which are core EFs, could translate to improvements in cognition and functioning for older adults. Behavioral researchers, interested in the effects of relational training on cognition, have shown a relationship between complex and flexible arbitrarily applicable relational responding (AARRing) and improved performance on measures of intelligence in children and young adults. However, data examining the impact of AARRing on the cognition of older adults are lacking. This article suggests that complex and flexible AARRing may be synonymous with the aforementioned EFs of relational knowledge and cognitive flexibility, and that a behaviorally oriented relational training intervention might improve cognition and functioning for healthy older adults or those experiencing cognitive decline. The article initially presents a brief overview of research in behavioral gerontology and older adult cognition, followed by a detailed explanation of how training complexity and flexibility in AARRing could result in improvements in core EFs. Specific suggestions for designing a relational training intervention and assessing relevant outcomes are provided. The online version of this article (10.1007/s40617-020-00415-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00415-0