Perspectives on Behavior Science最新文献

A neurodiversity movement (NDM) has gained momentum, mainly driven by autistic self-advocates. The main argument of the NDM is that neurodivergent people experience discrimination that is on par with the historical discrimination of other minority groups. In this article, we propose a behavior analyst's perspective on the NDM. We first explore the history and emergence of the concept of neurodiversity and its neurological as well as psychological basis. We consider its potential for generating what some consider a zero-sum game, in which one group makes all the gains potentially at the expense of another group. We finish with the suggestion that a win-win situation is possible if the focus shifts proactively to advocacy for all persons with autism, including those with very high support needs who often are not able to advocate actively for themselves and who tend to benefit greatly from evidence-based behavior-analytic interventions.

Over the last decade, behavior analysts have become increasingly interested in relapse and have used the term to describe the reemergence of problem behavior following successful reductions achieved during clinical intervention. Nonetheless, some elements of the current terminology may interfere with behavior analysts' efforts to examine, predict, and mitigate the conditions that lead to the reemergence of severe problem behavior in clinical settings. The current article (1) describes how the term "relapse" has been used in the field of behavior analysis and fails to capture more nuanced effects observed in the reemergence of problem behavior; (2) suggests use of the terms "lapse" and "relapse" to capture these distinct effects; and (3) outlines the positive impact enhanced technological distinction between the concept of "lapse" and "relapse" could have on clinical research and practice.

B. F. Skinner described countercontrol as a response to socially mediated aversive consequences that is primarily reinforced through negative reinforcement (i.e., removal or weakening of aversive stimuli) and may be strengthened further through positive reinforcement (e.g., peer approval or other attention). Skinner considered the empirical analysis of the phenomenon to be essential for a complete understanding of human behavior and recognized countercontrol as a necessary but complex aspect of treatment in vulnerable populations. Residential treatment settings are inherently restrictive, potentially aversive to consumers, and thus may evoke countercontrol by clients, especially when assent/consent is withheld or provided by someone other than the individual receiving treatment (e.g., guardian, conservator, or substituted judgement). We identify treatment challenges presented by countercontrol and considerations associated with: (1) setting events; (2) conditioned aversive stimuli; (3) topographies and other dimensions of behavior; (4) competing contingencies of reinforcement; and (5) functional behavior assessments. We conclude with a call to action for the long overdue experimental analysis of countercontrol in residential treatment settings and society at large.

Access to quality education is a fundamental human right, deeply connected to an individual's overall well-being and quality of life. This article explores how effectively transferring behavior-analytic principles can improve educational outcomes and re-engineer educational systems. Drawing on Dr. Henry S. Pennypacker's work on technology transfer and cultural concerns, it examines the research-to-practice gap in K-12 education. An iterative continuum for translating research into practice is proposed and applied to school improvement. The process of technology transfer in education is analyzed, highlighting successful examples and identifying barriers to widespread adoption of behavior-analytic techniques. Barriers include implementation fidelity, teacher training, resource allocation, and school culture. Deliberate strategies to advance behavior-analytic practices in education are shared, emphasizing the potential of behavior analysis to significantly improvement educational outcomes and broader societal progress.

In some domains of behavior analysis, summarizing data as a percentage is nearly ubiquitous. This is certainly the case when behavior analysts report data about procedural fidelity (the extent to which procedures are implemented as designed); fidelity data were reported solely as percentage in 423 of 425 recent studies published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. In this article, we critically examine the use of percentage, especially in the context of analyzing procedural-fidelity data. We demonstrate how exclusive reliance on percentage can obscure important nuances in fidelity data and how adding response rate as a metric offers a more precise understanding. To illustrate our points, we include reanalyzed data from a recent evaluation of procedural fidelity in public schools. We conclude with practical recommendations for adopting rate as a metric in the analysis of procedural-fidelity data, thereby building on contributions of notable behavior analysts like Henry Pennypacker, who prioritized continuous, dimensional approaches to measurement.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40614-025-00433-9.

In behavior analysis, replication is one of the most fundamental strategies used to establish generality of results. However, replication is not restricted to just repeating an experiment, whether directly or systematically. Replication is also a defining component of many procedures used in individual experiments in behavior analysis. For example, some methods, such as single-stimulus discrimination procedures, exhibit direct control over behavior with a series of mini-AB designs (trial and intertrial periods) repeated multiple times within a single session. Once stimulus control is acquired, replication is demonstrated each time stimulus presentation is followed by the appropriate response. Conditional discrimination methods have the same structure with more trial types or stimuli that control response selections. So, replication is built in not only across experiments but also in within-session experimental designs. This will be illustrated by examples showing fine-grained data analysis. The illustrations will confirm Pennypacker's emphasis that moment-to-moment analyses of behavior are essential to successful replication.

Research on human language started to change when Murray Sidman and colleagues demonstrated that a participant was able to derive unreinforced stimulus relations after conditional discrimination training. This work provided the basis for a novel approach to research on symbolic behavior and fostered the development of three main theoretical accounts: stimulus equivalence (SE), relational frame theory (RFT), and naming theory (NT). These accounts unfolded in the last decades of the twentieth century, promoting intense debate and discussion within behavior analysis. Although experimental research emerging from these three accounts is still highly active today, the theoretical discussions have, to a large extent, faded. Considering the importance of rekindling a dialogue, this article aims to describe the differences among the three accounts, but focus on their common points. We conclude by arguing that developing a more complete behavior-analytic account of human language would be served best by considering both research and theoretical analyses of SE, RFT and NT. Finally, we provide examples of two successful research groups that adopted this approach and in doing so have advanced our understanding of language within behavior analysis.

The multiple-baseline design is a predominant experimental design in applied behavior-analytic research. Despite its strengths, when baseline lengths are assigned a priori, it is possible that the independent variable may be implemented when baseline data are trending in the same direction that is anticipated for positive treatment outcomes, thus threatening experimental control. A partial solution to this problem is to modify the traditional multiple-baseline design and stagger baselines across more than one dimension (e.g., across both individuals and settings). The purpose of this article is to describe the historical underpinnings of this approach, to highlight more recent uses of the design, and to emphasize possible areas suitable for application.

Starting in the early 1970s, Henry S. Pennypacker and collaborators developed and validated a technology for assessing and training breast self-exam (BSE) skills that was eventually commercialized and widely disseminated. This article provides a brief synopsis of Pennypacker's research and highlights the connections among BSE, stimulus discrimination training, and signal detection theory. It also describes the role played by breast simulation models as a research tool that contributed to the identification and validation of effective BSE search strategies and eventually to the dissemination of a behaviorally based BSE training program to women and health-care workers. Commentary is provided on the impact of this research on the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. Finally, the focus on early detection skills is placed in the context of a larger body of research on the role of behavior and the application of behavior analytic interventions in improving health.