Association for Behavior Analysis International

This talk will provide a brief overview of procedures used in the behavioral pharmacology of learning and remembering with a focus on prescription drugs used to treat clients with intellectual disabilities. The talk will also provide a more detailed analysis of research using novel procedures that vary the number of stimuli to remember as well as the retention interval. We will briefly review findings from the animal laboratory on drugs that impair learning and memory as well as the search for “cognitive enhancers.” Factors that have made it difficult to translate findings from the animal behavioral pharmacology laboratory to improvements in human learning and remembering will be discussed and we will consider the implications of these difficulties for the treatment of clients with intellectual disabilities.

Researchers and practitioners interested in the behavioral pharmacology of learning and remembering.

As with scientists and technicians in many fields, we applied behavior scientists use precise language and we value our language highly. In addition, we often value detail and complexity because they illustrate the depth of our analysis of behavior and of the variables that influence it. But when we attempt to engage clients, parents, colleagues in other disciplines, and others not schooled in our science, our language and the complexity of our analyses and models often become barriers. We must not be simplistic in our communication with others, but we need to learn how to be simple. We can accelerate our impact by using language, models, and concepts that make sense to ordinary people and are relatively intuitive for them. We want people to "get it," and simplicity can help. Carl Binder has spent the 47 years since he first studied with B.F. Skinner learning from masters in the field of behavior science and performance engineering, and attempting to pass on what he learns to others. He has consulted with, trained and coached educators, parents, clients, business people, training and process professionals, and others not schooled in behavior science. In this lecture he will trace a path from Skinner's elegant measurement technology through his own work in precision teaching, behavioral fluency, sales and marketing enablement, organizational performance consulting, leadership and management, and talent development with examples of how simplicity and plain language have enabled "viral" diffusion of models and methods in organizations and communities. Key takeaways will include the forewarning that things get complicated before they get simple, and that we need to develop intermediate vocabularies that link our science with the vocabularies and experience of ordinary people who can benefit from what we can provide.

Anyone who communicates about our science or application to people outside our field.

With behavior analytic laboratories closing and many of the second generation of scientists reaching retirement age, basic behavior analysis is at a crossroads. The applied area is strong, because behavioral methods have achieved recognition as the treatment of choice for autism spectrum disorders and because professional certification programs and state regulatory requirements have further solidified applied behavior analysis as an established therapy. But the future of the basic area is unclear. Furthermore, because basic science provides much of the theoretical underpinning for the applied area, the future positioning of the applied area as an academic discipline is also somewhat uncertain. Constructed as an imaginary presidential address, this presentation will offer an assessment of the current status of the wider field of behavioral science and make suggestions for the future role of behavior analysis within that wider field. In "Changing Course," a recent essay in The Behavior Analyst (Vyse, 2013), I outlined personal reasons for turning my attentions away from the field of behavior analysis. The current presentation will take a different tack, imaging a new course for basic behavioral analysis (with implications for the applied area) that might help ensure the field's continued contribution to behavioral science. Among the topics considered will be: (a) the role of theory in behavioral science, (b) the limitations of a field so tightly bound to a distinct set of research methodologies, (c) future directions for graduate training, (d) the role of ABAI, and (e) the prospect of behavior analytic contributions in as yet unexplored areas. Basic behavior analysis is not alone in facing existential challenges. The "reproducibility crisis" has had profound effects on psychology and other social and biological sciences. At this moment of flux, there are new opportunities for innovation and collaboration that could strengthen our field.

Basic and applied researchers who are interested in the future of the field.

Skinner argued that behavior analysis was part of the larger field of evolutionary approaches. Advances in evolution science and in a contextual behavioral account of human language suggest that human beings have common motivations that needed to be taking into account when dealing with possible reinforcers for human behavior. In this talk I will argue that a small set of typical human yearnings emerge from this way of thinking, and surprisingly, that these connect behavioral thinking to some ideas often seen as oppositional to behavioral thinking.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Life is full of choices between moderate-value rewards and risky higher-valued rewards (e.g., a decent restaurant that always has room versus a fabulous restaurant that is often full). One factor that influences risk preference is how these options are presented. When choices are described (common in behavioral economics), people are typically more risk seeking when choices involve losses (e.g., -$20 vs a 50/50 chance of -$40) than when they involve gains (e.g., +$20 vs. a 50/50 chance of +$40). In contrast, if outcomes are learned through experience (typical in operant research), people tend to be more risk seeking for relative gains that for relative losses. We proposed an extreme-outcome hypothesis, in which the best and worst outcomes have more impact than moderate outcomes on experience-based choices and on self-reported memory. In several studies, we have shown that outcomes at the ends of a distribution are weighted more, leading to biases in choice behavior and over-estimations in memory; moreover, these effects on choice and memory are correlated. The effects are also context dependent—outcomes are overweighted only when they are the best or worst outcomes in the current context. The fluidity of risky choice has implications for understanding risky behaviors such as gambling.

Graduate students and researchers interested in behavioral analysis, choice behavior, or gambling.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning to be "your own best therapist" may be essential to becoming a competent and joyful practitioner. An informed self-care repertoire often leads to satisfying ways to manage stress and deal with emotional issues; and, importantly, it prepares the practitioner to help other analysts take care of themselves and their clients. To accomplish such results, we suggest a self-care approach that draws from basic learning principles and self-management strategies, combined with the values, attitudes, and practices of mindfulness meditation. Using this approach, I'll describe how I revamped my daily life for a more satisfying and productive existence. Initially, the aim was to address health and emotional issues; later, the focus turned to maintenance and elaboration of skills learned. My procedures targeted both public and private events and included: direct and indirect measures, journaling, formal and informal practices, and social networking. Recent variants of the program use neurofeedback and experience sampling technologies to monitor and evaluate formal and informal practices, respectively. The outcomes have been remarkably satisfying, "cusp like" in nature, and impactful across several key personal values: health and wellness, relationships, professional and personal growth. Colleagues have conducted similar investigations and achieved satisfying results. College students have responded favorably to a program designed expressly for emerging adults, and selected graduates are being groomed as peer facilitators in the program. Our hope is to offer the program college-wide to help address growing concerns about students' health and wellness.

Anyone interested in the topic.

This panel discussion will provide a dialog on the potential schism between basic and applied behavior analysis. Panelists will discuss their experiences in the conduct of translational research that informs basic process or applied technologies. Panelists will also share their interpretations on what constitutes "translational" research, the role of translational research in bridging divides between basic and applied sciences, and how researchers might arrange translational research programs in ways that advance both basic and applied science. Finally, panelists will suggest potential fruitful avenues for future translational research.

Researchers or consumers of behavior-analytic research.

Stimulus functions are transferred or transformed across relational networks. Studies in our laboratory, for instance, have shown that evaluative functions of meaningful stimuli, such as facial emotional expressions, transfer to abstract stimuli equivalent to them. These abstract stimuli become symbols of the emotional expressions. However, stimuli related by opposition to happy facial expressions are subsequently rated as sad. This has been confirmed with several measurement procedures, such as Semantic Differential ratings, IRAP, Semantic Priming, and Event-Related Potentials. The influential cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz has characterized cultures as sets of symbolic devices that control behavior. Transfer and transformation of stimulus functions across relational networks may be the foundation of a behavioral account of how symbolic devices control behavior. In this presentation we will focus on cultural phenomena such as attitudes, values, and aesthetic responses, interpreting them on the basis of transformation of evaluative, consequential and discriminative functions in complex stimulus networks. Thus, the concept of attitude, in mainstream Psychology, although not precisely defined, points toward evaluative responses to stimuli. These evaluations may often originate in direct conditioning experiences with the stimuli. They may also be based on experience with stimuli related by equivalence or other types of relations. Similar analyses will be advanced for values and aesthetic responses. Skinner defined values in terms of reinforcers, and studies have confirmed that reinforcing (and punishing) functions are also transformed in relational networks, so that humans may value stimuli based on their experience with related stimuli. Works of art constitute complex packages of stimuli that participate in complex relational networks. Although responses to art may, to some extent, involve phylogenic dispositions, personal histories will shape individual responses to a work of art.

Researchers or students interested in basic and translational research on stimulus equivalence and transfer of functions and social and cultural implications.

The successful dissemination of ABA methodologies into public school classrooms requires efficient, low-cost staff training models. In this presentation, I will describe a line of research on an intensive, five-day training program for public school teachers and paraprofessionals that covers foundational skills in ABA. Highlights from a line of research spanning more than 20 years will be described, along with the implications of working with teachers and paraprofessionals in public school settings.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

How is it that the best businesses in Peru and even the Congress hire people with autism and developmental disorders, some who have worked for 22 years continuously? Because they have found that they are good workers, don't gossip, ask for more work, and are loyal to the business where they work. Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru (CASP) has more than 100 students working in 46 businesses; 60% of them have autism. All receive the same pay and benefits as other employees and are included in all social activities in their work places. Many help their families economically by paying for utilities like water and electricity, paying for the medication of their parents, or even starting the construction of their own home. CASP students/workers receive the same social benefits as all Peruvian workers. It is important that persons with developmental disorders, especially those from extreme poverty, work in a supported employment program because it leads to including them in all aspects of society and because it leads to poverty reduction.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

When we set out to educate the whole child, we must design academic goals, provide instruction in self-management and self-instruction, teach problem solving, and promote expansion of the child's community of reinforcers (Greer, 2002). Often overlooked, but essential to each of these facets of instruction is the use of self-dialogue. Children talk to themselves at an early age in environments that recruit problem solving; self-dialogue occurs naturally (Berk, 1994). However, in the school environment the effective use of self-dialogue, which is essential to the development of reasoning skills, must often be taught. This is particularly true for children with special needs. This presentation will describe the need, and effective procedures for establishing reasoning skills. Two strategies presented include Talk Aloud Problem Solving (TAPS) and Question Generating. When equipped with these repertoires learners can tackle a range of academic and social problems that may otherwise occasion avoidance. A healthy educational environment fosters talking out loud, provides challenging problems, and values self-instruction.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.