The Role Of Punishment In The Field Of Applied Behavior Analysis

According to behaviorist principles, adults can increase their capacity for modifying the behavior of children by:

Thank you for your considering my application to the Applied Behavior analysis program. For all of my life I have known that I was going to help people. It could be said that it is in my DNA. I just never suspected what the capacity would be. On December 15thI graduated from Albright college, I began working at Melmark on December 16th. My first thought, on that first day was “Oh no, I can’t do this, I need to quit” That was over two years ago, and I have gone to work every day, with a smile on my face. While working at my first position, out of college, I discovered my passion. My passion, I find, is working with children and adults with autism and with people who suffer from addiction. Watching the smiles on their faces, the determination when they work to complete a goal, and just the progress makes every hardship worth it, I love it. Each day, in my position as an ABA, I run behavior support plans, IEPs, teaching plans and other protocols, and each day I truly wish that I could have contributed to these plans, protocols, and IEPs. I ponder the recommendations that I could come up with, I wonder that if I had been able to participate in these conversations to create these plans could I have brought something else to the table, a different viewpoint. Affecting the way that the plans are written and in turn ran, I feel that I could make a big difference in the lives of the children and their families also. Every two weeks each child’s team meets to discuss his or her

On the contrary, negative punishment is a method that also contributes to weakening a behavior though it lessens or eliminates something pleasant. It involves taking away something desirable or good from an individual in order to discourage him/her from engaging in a particular behavior. For instance, one of my classmate’s phone rang in class despite being told by teachers not to bring our phones to class. Consequently, the teacher took away the phone from my classmate in order to discourage that behavior. The ethical concern that may emerge from using negative punishment is that it does not teach the victim of undesired behavior how to change his/her behavior.

Punishment-Based interventions are types of treatment that is sometime used in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis to modify or change behaviors. There is a quite a bit of controversy and misunderstanding related to use of punishment. Punishment-based interventions have been proven to be one of the most controversial treatments used by behavior analyst and found in behavior analyst literature (e.g. Johnston, 1991; Matson & Kazdin, 1981; Repp & Singh, 1990) (DiGennaro Reed, & Lovett, 2008). The definition itself is many times confused or lack understanding. Cooper, Heron, and Heward (2006) explain that punishment frequently misunderstood, misapplied and quite controversial. There are some therapists or behavior analysts, parents, caregivers, teachers, and people in general who support punishment and some who do not (Hall, 2013). Although there is a lot of controversy about whether to use punishment or not, punishment is indeed still sometimes used in the field of applied behavior analysis, but there are special guidelines for using punishment based procedures in the field. Before a behavior analyst can decide whether or not they want to use punishment in an intervention, they must clearly understand the definition

Positive behaviour support (PBS) is an approach to providing services to individuals who exhibit challenging behaviour. Since the early 1990s, PBS has received increasing attention from the behaviour-analytic community. Some behaviour analysts have embraced this approach, but others have voiced questions and concerns. Over the past dozen years, an approach to delivery of behavioral services known as positive behavior support has emerged as a highly visible movement. Although PBS has been substantially influenced by applied behavior analysis, other factors are also part of its

4. Why it is important to you to study this discipline in a school that emphasizes cultural awareness, competence, and understanding of diversity (see our Commitment to Diversity Statement).

Punishment is a form of reprimand that is meant to suppress or decrease a behavior by adding a consequence or removing the stimulus.

According to the professional and ethical compliance code for behavior analysts, behavior analysts must rely on scientific knowledge (1.01) and clients have a right to effective treatment (2.09). This undoubtedly goes against ethics code because scientists don’t recommend FC and have proven that other methods such as Applied Behavior Analysis are more effective. Because of the popularity of FC in the 90’s, proponents continued their adherence to the technique and dismissed evidence investigations as flawed and unnecessary, characterizing FC as an “effective and legitimate intervention” in pro-FC literature (?). They refused to change their minds or admit their mistakes. The FC movement retained some of its popularity and is still being used as of today, controversially. Its use has caused issues for families especially in terms of abuse

Conceptually consistent programs within behavior analysis are those programs that use the principles of operant learning theory. Sensory integration and mindfulness therapies are not conceptually consistent with the principles of behavior analysis.

Applied Behavior Analysis analysts are required to know the steps that are needed and necessary for behavior modification. This type of modification requires a clear definition of the behavior needing modification (target behavior), how this will benefit the individual in need of the modification, a clear plan of modification, and consistent data gathering to determine the effectiveness of the proposed behavior modification plan. In order to achieve a successful modification plan, the ABA professional first needs to gather information about the individual either by direct or indirect means. The modification must always been in the best interest of the individual, or those closest to the individual, and it must be a functional modification that can be carried out in the absence of the analyst. The ABA professional needs to understand the needs of each client. In order to do this, the professional will have to assess the behavior, gather data, identify a target behavior, propose a hypothesis about an intervention, implement the modification program, gather more data about the effectiveness of the program, and report about the outcome.

MacDonald, R., Sacramone, S., Mansfield, R., Wiltz, K., & Ahearn, W. H. (2009). Using video modeling to teach reciprocal pretend play to children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(1), 43-55.

There are no specific treatment options that work for all students with ASD. However, researchers have found that the associated symptoms of ASD can be lessened when treatment is customized according to a child’s needs (Bailey, 2014). Further research, has found that early intervention in speech and behavior can greatly increase autistic students functioning (Bailey, 2014). Bailey (2014) points out that one of the most effective treatment of ASD is applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA is a scientific approach to understanding behavior and how the environment effects said behavior (Bailey, 2014). ABA uses the analysis of behaviors to change a student’s inappropriate behaviors in a real and meaningful way. One of the principles of ABA

As a working behavior analyst, some challenges that can be faced is selecting the appropriate and successful intervention for a client and their environment. Behavior analyst should be knowledgeable of each treatment and be able to choose the best treatment possible for their client. All behavior analyst at one point in their career will come across treating a client for an escape maintained problem behavior. Geiger, Carr, and LeBlanc’s (2010) article describes researched based treatments that can be used for escape maintained problem behaviors. These treatments are activity choice, curricular and instructional revision, demand fading, differential reinforcement, including functional communication training, differential negative reinforcement of zero rates of responding, and differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior, as well as, escape extinction, and non-contingent escape. The article states that clinical decision making models were researched for the selection of the most appropriate treatment based on the client and their environment (Geiger, Carr, & LeBlanc, 2010). The article also goes on to state the advantages and disadvantages of each appropriate treatment.

Applied Behavioral Analysis is a natural science that aims to systematically apply intervention processes using the behavior learning theory in order to remove or change undesirable socially significant behaviors (Cooper, Heron, Heward, 2007). Applied behavioral analysis can be applied in many setting and situations and the intervention process and techniques depend on those settings and individual situations. Applied behavioral analysis is used to modify target behaviors that can occur in

Kazdin states that applied behavior analysis is used to aid in training individuals to engage in a specific and/or desired behavior. There are quite a few ways to change an undesired behavior within children. One way to achieve a desired behavior is by using classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a learning process that allows two stimuli to be paired repeatedly and the first stimuli fades in order for the child to do the desired behavior. (Kazdin, 2013) For instance, when teaching your child how to use the toilet, as a parent you would use a training toilet. Later, you would pair the child’s unconditioned response, having to use the bathroom with a conditioned response, the training potty. The text refers to classical