Behavior Analysis in Practice最新文献

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) released the third iteration of ethical practice guidelines for certificants, which went into effect on January 1, 2022. This Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (hereafter Ethics Code) is streamlined and more enforceable than its predecessors, with the continued overarching directive to improve consumer protection. In the decades after the BACB was founded, the internet and social media have become ubiquitous in daily life, including within applied behavior analysis (ABA). Social media can benefit ABA stakeholders by providing access to enhanced professional networks, practitioner resources, and study guides or social support for behavior analysis students. However, the use of social media leads to a potentially increased risk of ethical concerns. Therefore, the authors of this article sought to explore how behavioral products in ABA social media forums on Reddit align with the Ethics Code. Findings suggest that most user engagement in ABA subreddit is ethical, but users also engage in ways that potentially misalign with the Ethics Code. Finally, the authors describe implications for future research and practice to promote ethical user engagement online by ABA practitioners.

The field has made significant strides in establishing applied behavior analysis (ABA) interventions as evidenced-based practices in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder; however, treatment delivery has been criticized as lacking compassion. Based on research in other fields, approaching caregiver collaboration with compassion may foster collaborative relationships between clinicians and caregivers, who play a vital role in their child’s treatment, and may bolster treatment adherence, satisfaction, and outcomes. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the impact of a compassionate care training for clinicians to support therapeutic relationships with caregivers. Participants included nine clinical supervisors employed at a community-based behavioral health agency. Clinical supervisors were randomly assigned to either an immediate-treatment group or delayed-treatment control group. Clinicians participated in a 5-week training program, which involved didactic instruction, behavior skills training, and acceptance and commitment training. At baseline, postdelay, and posttreatment, caregiver collaboration sessions were recorded, and the clinicians’ use of compassionate care was evaluated using a measure developed for the study. A statistically significant difference in clinicians’ use of compassionate care strategies following intervention was observed. Variability observed in pretreatment compassionate care scores for a single clinician across different caregivers appeared to normalize posttreatment for several clinicians. In addition, marked increases were seen in compassionate care scores for clinicians with lower initial ratings. Although limited to a small sample size, the results of the pilot study demonstrated feasibility of the compassionate care training and revealed an overall positive improvement posttreatment.

The current case study investigated the use of a picture prompt and teacher proximity with an adult learner with significant disabilities during a postsecondary classroom management class and generalization setting. Results indicated that the learner had a higher percentage of intervals of on-task behavior during intervention than baseline. Teacher and learner satisfaction ratings suggested that the intervention was an acceptable strategy. A discussion of study limitations, implications, and future research directions are included.

• A simple low tech instructional strategy can improve student on-task behavior.

• Teachers can use an antecedent strategy to improve student behavior.

• Strategies used in K–12 environments may work in higher education settings.

• Successful applied behavior analysis strategies help include students in group participation.

Abstract

Several prior publications have described the development of the field of behavior analysis in Latin American countries, such as Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Despite there being a similarly strong tradition of behavior analytic training and research in Venezuela, little has been written and disseminated about this history in international outlets. The purpose of this article was to document the history of behavior analysis in Venezuela using historiographic methods and interviewing members of the behavior analytic community in Venezuela. By analyzing and synthesizing these various sources, we describe the historical and cultural context in which behavior analytic laboratories and training programs were established, the influence of international scholars, the work of Venezuelan professors and students highlighting important women, the height of scholarly productivity, and the current state of the field. In this article, we explore the impact of environmental variables, such as the sociopolitical context and funding availability on the behavior analytic training and research in Venezuela.

Ensuring high levels of procedural fidelity during behavior-analytic interventions is a crucial component of providing effective behavior-analytic services. However, few resources are available to help guide practitioners through measuring procedural fidelity. In fact, most published behavior-analytic research on procedural fidelity analyzes a single treatment procedure, which might not completely reflect the process of monitoring and addressing the procedural fidelity of a robust treatment package that might be necessary in clinical settings. The purpose of this article is to guide behavior analysts through the process of creating and using procedural fidelity measurement systems, with a focus on direct observation of implementation as a means of fidelity data collection. This process consists of six steps: (1) task analyze treatment procedures into measurable units; (2) assign measures to each treatment component; (3) plan the direct observation; (4) collect procedural fidelity data; (5) analyze and interpret procedural fidelity data; and (6) take action to improve procedural fidelity. Each step is described and discussed in the article.