Behavior Analysis in Practice最新文献

Behavioral interventions are highly efficacious in reducing elopement. However, few studies explicitly examine elopement during transitions, and they typically do not discuss distance traveled during the transition. We report on a successful treatment consisting of functional communication to “go see” stimuli during transitions along with blocking and competing stimuli during reinforcer delays for a young boy whose elopement occurred during transitions and was maintained by positive reinforcement in the form of access to tangibles. During generalization, the distance of the transitions was gradually increased while maintaining low levels of elopement.

Active and empathic listening skills are considered crucial to the success of behavior analytic practitioners; however, minimal feasible, technological, and generalizable training methods and outcome data are available to guide the development of these skills in trainees. The current study evaluated the effects of a novel, peer-led behavioral skills training on increasing active and empathic listening skills in six behavior analytic trainees split into three dyads. A concurrent multiple baseline across participants design demonstrated the positive and generalized effects of this training across four of the six participants (i.e., two dyads). One additional, expert-led rehearsal and performance feedback session led to the immediate acquisition and generalization of the skills in the final two participants (i.e., one dyad). Results are discussed in terms of trainer feasibility and trainee acceptability, considerations when using peer-led BST, and the importance to the field of explicitly teaching socially valid interpersonal skills in various environments.

This pre/post-group design examined the efficacy of using competency-based assessments to teach students of behavior analysis to engage in ethical decision making. Students in the experimental group received feedback on identifying potential, ethical scenarios in quizzes and Behavior Skills Training (BST) on identifying all components of and developing potential action plans for the 11-step decision-making model (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2020) and for role plays that simulated meetings that people would encounter in practice to review concerns, gain additional information, and develop solutions-based plans with relevant parties. Students in the control group received treatment as usual. The findings were not statistically significant, and students only met criteria for role plays. The content was iterated, and Study 2 was developed. In Study 2, two students received feedback on the identification of examples and nonexamples of ethical dilemmas and behavior analyst’s best course of action in the situation and BST on identifying and creating actions plans of the decision-making model. Both students met criteria for mastery. Implications, based on this preliminary research, for evidence-based practice and future research are discussed.

We reviewed publications in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB), Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), Perspectives on Behavior Science (PBS), and Behavior Analysis in Practice (BAP) to identify Latina researchers. We analyzed journal articles based on the authors’ institutional affiliation—for the purpose of identifying researchers with Latin American affiliations—and separately conducted a surname analysis. The data show an increase in the number of Latina researchers who have contributed to JEAB, JABA, PBS (1997–2022), and BAP (2008–2022). The increases varied across journals, with JABA and BAP having the highest number of Latina researchers. These analyses are important because they provide data reflecting the participation of Latinas in four leading journals.

Behavior analysis arrived in Brazil in the 1960s with Fred Keller's teachings. His demonstrations of the basic principles of behavior and their applications influenced undergraduate and graduate students who were instrumental in consolidating behavior analysis as a line of study and practice in Brazilian universities. Keller's followers spread across the country to different geographic regions of Brazil. In the South, the Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL) established its undergraduate psychology program rooted in behavior theory and the experimental analysis of behavior. As one of the first university programs formed by behavior analyst in Brazil, UEL was instrumental in the dissemination and consolidation of the science of behavior in the country. In Brazil, psychology programs often have a high representation of women, with 75% of students being female. This significant presence of women in the field emphasizes their influential role in the dissemination of behavior analysis. This article is an overview of the role of women faculty in developing and advancing the behavior analysis program at UEL. It provides a historical account from the establishment of UEL until the graduate programs in behavior analysis within the psychology program. The contribution of crucial women behavior analysts to the maintenance of the program and their efforts in training students are highlighted.

The training of behavior analysts emphasizes scientific knowledge and expertise in implementing the principles of behavior analysis. Although knowledge of and skills in the implementation of behavior analysis are important, we argue that the way in which behavior analysis is practiced may be equally important. In many other helping professions (e.g., psychology, medicine), trainees are explicitly taught the skills needed to build a therapeutic alliance and a frequently used training modality is motivational interviewing. Originally developed for, and still used as an intervention component to facilitate client engagement in intervention, motivational interviewing has been demonstrated to be both highly effective in enhancing intervention outcomes and for strengthening rapport between a clinician and a client. We argue that motivational interviewing has relevance to the practice of behavior analysis and should be adopted within training programs.

We describe the clinical treatment of repetitive, stereotypic hand mouthing in a 7-year old child with severe developmental delay, conducted in the context of center-based autism service. The client’s history included use of mechanical restraint to prevent tissue damage and infection. Prior antecedent- and reinforcement-based interventions were ineffective. Functional analysis results suggested hand mouthing was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) initially did not decrease hand mouthing, but the addition of contingent protective equipment, together with modified RIRD, was followed by reduction to near-zero level, which was maintained following withdrawal of the intervention.

• Repetitive hand mouthing may require treatment due to tissue damage and other health consequences.

• Repetitive hand mouthing is typically maintained in the absence of social contingencies and may be resistant to treatment.

• When reinforcement-based interventions are not sufficient, contingent application of nonrestraining protective equipment may produce lasting reduction in hand mouthing.

• Successful intervention in this case freed the client from mechanical (arm band) restraint and was followed by gains in skill acquisition.

Taylor et al. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12, 654–666, (2019) recommended that applied behavior analysts develop more collaborative relationships with their clients' caregivers by researching, training, and providing compassionate care in applied behavior analysis (ABA). A behavior analytic interpretation of compassionate care could support the development of such training and support collaborative relationships with not only caregivers, but all participants in ABA services (e.g., clients, stakeholders, providers, supervisees, and other professionals). The present article will review a relational frame theory account of compassionate care and discuss the possibility of expanding the concept of compassionate care by discussing its similarities with two other middle level terms: cultural humility and psychological flexibility. Given these similarities and the evidence that Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) supports several self-management skills including psychological flexibility, we will discuss ways practicing ACT could facilitate compassionate care, cultural humility, and collaborative relationships in human service organizations. The ACT Matrix will be presented to elaborate on how ACT, as a viable and comprehensive technology, may support behavior analysts’ training and practice of psychologically flexible skills which might bolster a compassionate care repertoire. Given this review, a possible consilience of compassionate care, including the proposed component of cultural humility, as facilitated by psychological flexibility will be offered. Finally, implications of this approach to practitioners, clients, and ABA as a whole will be discussed in conjunction with recommendations for future research and how ABA leadership can support the development and sustainability of compassionate care in ABA organizations.

Parents of children diagnosed with autism face enormous stressors, which may interfere with achieving personal and family goals. The typical approach for reducing stress is often pathological; the individual attempts to directly eliminate the stress through counseling, behavioral therapy, or medication. As an alternative, the constructional approach builds repertoires for accessing important reinforcers. In this study, a mentoring program based on the constructional approach was used to teach three parents of children diagnosed with autism how to analyze their lives, formulate goals, and implement programs to reach these goals. A mentor’s support was gradually reduced until each participant could implement these steps independently. After the implementation of this program, events that each participant wanted to keep as part of their life encompassed a larger proportion of their total weekly events, as compared to before the program. In addition, time spent working on chosen goals increased as each goal was targeted for intervention. This mentoring program offers a promising approach for teaching people to manage their own lives by cultivating skills that help them get what they want, without dwelling on the problems interfering with their happiness.

Board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) are often called upon to recommend treatments while working with autistic individuals. As practitioners of the science of human behavior, behavior analysts must make recommendations supported by scientific evidence. However, at times, individual practitioners may inadvertently recommend interventions that are not evidence-based. This study sought to examine if the severity level of the present symptoms of autism impacted the recommendations made by behavior analysts. A survey of 122 BCBAs gathered information about how they allocated resources toward interventions across three categories: evidence-based, emergent, and nonevidence-based. The results indicate that up to 62% of BCBAs allocated resources toward nonevidence-based or emergent practices and that these resource allocations were affected by the autism severity of hypothetical client presentations. There were statistically significant differences between allocations to resources between individuals with the lowest symptom severity and those maximally affected for both evidence-based practice (p < 0.0009) and nonevidence practice (p < 0.0011).