Applied Behavior Analysis
Applied behavior analysis is a movement that began in the late 1950s within the field of experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) and was based on B. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning principles. As the applied orientation began to develop, it focused on practical interventions and applied topics relevant to socially significant behavior. This focus represented an incongruity with the criteria and research questions representing basic theoretical research and analysis in the field of contemporary applied psychology. This incongruity grew enough to demonstrate a need for a journal focused on the increasingly popular applied orientation.
In 1967, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) was launched to address the need. The editors of the journal included Donald Baer, Montrose M. Wolf, and Todd Risley, who in the first issue of the JABA journal contributed an article that proposed criteria that would come to inform the application of concepts of applied behavior analysis. It also served to provide guidance to researchers seeking to be published in the journal. As indicated by the title of their seminal 1968 article, “Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis,” Baer, Wolf, and Risley proposed seven criteria, or dimensions, of applied behavior analysis (Baer et al., 1968).
For this Discussion, you will reflect on the seminal article by Baer et al. (1968), located in this week’s Learning Resources, and evaluate the relevance of the seven dimensions of behavior analysis in the article to the practice of behavior analysis today. You will also identify your most important takeaway from the article.
Reference:
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97.
Post what makes the information in the Baer, Wolf, and Risley article relevant to the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis today, more than 50 years later as well as what is the most important thing you learned from this article and how might this information impact your future professional work as a behavior analyst.
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson.
Chapter 1, “Definition and Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis” (pp. 2–24)
(Previously read in Week 1)
Rogue ABA, LLC. (2022). The rogue ABA manual -5th edition task list. Rogue ABA, LLC.
A-5 (pp. 29–35)
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis Download Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91
Credit Line: Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis by Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R., in Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Vol. 1/ Issue 1. Copyright 1968 by Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Reprinted by permission of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior via the Copyright Clearance Center. Licensed in 2021.
Answer preview for Applied Behavior Analysis
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