Behavior Analytic Conceptualization Research Articles

Beyond Checking: A Behavior-Analytic Conceptualization of Privilege as a Manipulable Aspect of Context

Beyond Checking: A Behavior-Analytic Conceptualization of Privilege as a Manipulable Aspect of Context

(I Think) You Are Pretty: a Behavior Analytic Conceptualization of Flirtation.

Much research in flirtation has been approached from a socio-cognitive perspective and has overemphasized subjective self-reports rather than overt behavior. Existing work pertinent to flirtation is reviewed here in addition to proposing a behavior-analytic perspective on the topic with a conception that includes both rule-governed and contingency-shaped behavior. Of particular interest within a verbal behavior conception of flirtation is the importance of autoclitics-features of a verbal response that affect the listener's reaction to the rest of the verbal response. Applications of a behavior analytic conception of flirtation and future directions relevant to research on interpersonal relationships are discussed.

Motivation and Complex Verbal Phenomena: Implications for Organizational Research and Practice

ABSTRACTThe concept of motivation has attracted the attention of scholars in the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) over the last two decades. In this paper, we revisit the behavior analytic conceptualization of motivation and highlight recent developments that may contribute to further research and application in OBM. This paper includes a proposed consideration of verbal stimuli (e.g., rules, goals, and values) as potential intervening variables to motivate performance in organizational settings.

Social Referencing and Children with Autism.

During social referencing, infants as young as 6months of age look to others when confronted with unfamiliar or unexpected events in the environment and then respond to these events based on affective cues of the parent or caregiver (e.g., smiling and frowning). Social referencing is important for early communication and language development. Unfortunately, social referencing repertoires are limited or completely lacking in children with autism. Despite these documented social deficits, little research has focused on ameliorating social referencing deficits. The purpose of this paper is to present a behavior-analytic conceptualization of social referencing and the implications for ameliorating social referencing deficits of children with autism.

A behavior-analytic conceptualization of the side effects of psychotropic medication

A range of behavior-much deemed problematic by society-is treated with behavioral methods or psychotropic medications. Although the processes associated with behavioral interventions have been investigated using conceptual, experimental, and applied analyses, less is known about the behavioral processes associated with the use of psychotropic medication. Psychotropic drugs produce at least two types of effects of behavioral interest: (a) primary effects of drug action on target behaviors and (b) side effects that change the target or other behavior. Although an empirical literature exists regarding the former effects, little attention has been given to the latter topic. In this paper we offer a conceptual analysis of the side effects of psychotropic medication. We propose that the side effects of various drugs can influence behavior by functioning as motivating operations, conditional or discriminative stimuli, or by establishing new response-reinforcer relations. This conceptualization may facilitate the empirical analysis of how psychotropic drugs change behavior.

Behavior analytic conceptualization and treatment of depression: Traditional models and recent advances.

In this article, we briefly consider the phenomenon of depression from a behavior analytic perspective. Then, we describe the history of behavior analytic conceptualizations and treatments for depression with an emphasis on how these conceptualizations and treatments may have failed due to a lack of adherence to two basic behavior analytic principles: (I) Idiographic, functional assessment, and (II) In-vivo application of interventions. Finally, we discuss more two recent conceptualizations--Behavioral Activation by Martell, Addis & Jacobson (2001) and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy by Kohlenberg & Tsai (1991)--that we see as improvements over earlier models in terms of basic principles and may hold promise for the future. Keywords: depression; Functional Analytic Psychotherapy; Behavior Analytic Conceptualization ********** Behavior analysis purports to provide a scientific philosophy and methodology that should maximize our ability to understand (predict) and change (control) behavior (Skinner, 1953). It is the only system of psychology that was built from the ground up to change behavior. Other systems, such as psychoanalysis and cognitive theory, were derived first and foremost as explanations of behavior that were then applied to change behavior. As such, behavior analysis should hold an advantage in the behavior change arena. Of course, this is ultimately an empirical matter, and empirical evidence suggests such an advantage is held in several clinical fields, notably developmental disabilities and autism. Despite great advances, however, the field has yet to offer a satisfying conceptualization of the most common presenting problem in the adult outpatient population (Kessler et al., 1994)--depression. Likewise, behavior analysis has only recently, and tentatively, demonstrated that it can develop treatment interventions for depression that improve on and outperform those developed by our nonbehavioral colleagues. In this article, we will briefly consider the phenomenon of depression from a behavior analytic perspective. Then, we will describe the history of behavior analytic conceptualizations and treatments for depression with an emphasis on how these conceptualizations and treatments may have failed due to a lack of adherence to two basic behavior analytic principles. Finally, we discuss more two recent conceptualizations, Behavioral Activation by Martell, Addis & Jacobson (2001) and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy by Kohlenberg & Tsai (1991). These treatments are best described as reformulations and reinventions of original material and basic principles rather than as thoroughly new conceptualizations. These new treatments represent a radical, radical behaviorism, returning radical behaviorism to its roots after efforts to abandon them failed, and are part of a third wave of behavior therapy (Naugle & O'Donohue, 1998; Hayes, in press). The Phenomenon of Depression Depression is a strange and unwieldy beast to behavior analysts for several reasons. First, depression evidences substantial heterogeneity of etiology, time course (e.g., depression may appear episodically or chronically), and functional impairment. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) attempts to address the complexity by proposing an increasing number of diagnostic categories of depressive disorders or problems involving sad or irritable affect, in addition to Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder. This solution seems to only add to the complexity rather than reduce it. In Appendix B of DSM-IV-TR, the authors have proposed seventeen disorders for further study. Six of these new diagnostic categories (approximately 35%) deal with disorders of mood. Four of those six have several criteria that overlap with those of Major Depressive Disorder, differing only in the duration or number of symptoms necessary to meet criteria. …

Inconspicuous sources of behavioral control: The case of gendered practices.

Until recently, behavior analysts have remained conspicuously silent on the topic of gender. Understood as a case of socially constructed knowledge maintained by social contingencies in verbal communities, gender related processes are a pervasive aspect of our cultural fabric. Yet, the control exerted by gendered practices is subtle and typically defies detection. A deeper understanding of the control exerted by gendered cultural practices would enrich the field of behavior analysis. At the same time, a behavior analytic approach brought to bear on the analysis of gender related social processes would represent a fresh and unique perspective particularly as it might apply to the analysis of social contingencies and reinforcement patterns within verbal communities. ********** Gender is a topic about which behavior analysts have historically remained conspicuously silent. Recent treatments of the topic by behavior analysts (Biglan, 1995 Guerin, 1984, Ruiz, 1995, 1998, Vogeltanz, Sigmon and Vickers, 1998) are promising evidence that our field is beginning to join an important conversation that has been taking place for quite some time. A behavior analytic perspective applied to the study of gender as a case of socially constructed knowledge shaped and maintained by social contingencies and reinforcement patterns within the verbal community may contribute unique insights to the current literature. At the same time, exploring the rich an complex issues involved in the study of gender related process could potentially enrich our discipline's understanding of sources of control that impact the behavior of those we work with as well as our own. There is an extensive literature that raises important and challenging questions about sex and gender that could be of interest to many behavior analysts. In this paper I offer a behavior analytic conceptualization of gender, and discuss several findings of interest including: the discriminative control of gendered practices and the interaction of sex, gendered practices and interpretive repertoires. I conclude with a discussion of some of implications of this work for behavior analysts. When We Speak of Gender Sociologists Candace West and Don Zimmerman (1987) coined the phrase 'doing gender'. Many feminist psychologists favor this phrase over plain 'gender' and use it to designate how sex is a salient social and cognitive category through which information is filtered, selectively processed, and differentially acted upon to produce self-fulfilling prophecies about men and (Crawford, 1995 p. 2). The cognitive slant notwithstanding, feminist psychologists want to emphasize that gender is not a personal attribute, but rather that gender organizes people into groups categorically, and characterizes social relations. Behavior analysts would agree that gender should not be construed as a characteristic of the individual. We might also find the phrase 'doing gender' to be more useful, though for different reasons. From a behavioral perspective 'doing gender' or gendering may be a reasonable way of speaking about a class of cultural practices that have come to be associated with sex as a biological category. How the two come to be conflated is worth elaborating if only briefly. The foundation of the conceptual framework at work in our culture includes a series of important dualisms. The person environment split is a dualism that is foundational to our culture's belief in individualism and the self as locus or agent of action. A second dualism at work in our culture is based on sexual designations as separate and distinct biological categories. Thus individuals are characterized as women or men by virtue of their sex. The biological designations have given rise to the development and elaboration of complex cultural practices associated with sexual status. It is this collective of cultural practices, including and perhaps most importantly verbal practices, that we tact when we speak of 'doing gender' or gendering. …

Pediatric feeding problems: A behavior analytic approach to assessment and treatment.

Although eating is considered an automatic physiologic process, many children experience feeding difficulties. The purpose of this article is to present a behavior analytic conceptualization of feeding problems and to summarize the empirically supported behavioral interventions for these problems. While negative reinforcement appears to maintain food refusal, classical conditioning may contribute to its initiation. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior with escape extinction is an empirically supported intervention for feeding problems and has been successfully implemented by trained staff or parents, in multiple settings, with maintained gains over time and generalization to new foods for many children. While the efficacy of behavioral interventions has been established, future research should investigate the individual components of these interventions. Alex is a three-year old boy who eats a total of six foods as his entire diet: Burger King chicken nuggets, McDonald's French fries, macaroni and cheese, pudding, applesauce, and crackers. His parents are not sure whether to be worried about his eating or not; Alex is gaining weight and getting taller. His pediatrician tells them it is typical for children Alex's age to be picky eaters, and she advises them to continue to offer Alex healthier foods. They keep trying to offer him different, healthier foods, but he pushes the new food away and screams no. If his parents persist in offering the food and get a taste to his lips, Alex often gags uncontrollably for two to three seconds. During some of these gagging episodes, Alex has turned bright red alarming his parents. Does Alex have a feeding problem? This paper will address issues in defining what is a feeding problem, conceptualization of the origins and maintenance of feeding problems from principles of classical and operant conditioning, behavioral treatment, and future areas of research. What is a feeding problem? Severe and persistent feeding problems, which are experienced by 3-10% of children (Dahl & Sundelin, 1992; Jenkins, Owen, Bax, & Hart, 1984; Lindberg, Bohlin, & Hagekull, 1991; Reau, Senturia, Lebailly, & Christoffel, 1996), tend to persist and worsen over time (Lindberg et al., 1991; Marcontell, Laster, & Johnson, 2002; Nicholls, Christie, Randall, & Lask, 2001). Severe feeding problems are more prevalent in children with physical disabilities (26%-90%); mental retardation (23%-43%); medical illness, prematurity, and low birth weight (10%-49%) (Crist et al., 1994; Douglas & Bryon, 1996; Palmer, Thompson, & Linscheid, 1975; Reilly, Skuse, & Poblete, 1996; Thommessen, Heiberg, Kase, Larsen, & Riis, 1991). One way to determine if a behavior is a problem is to assess its impact on functioning. Some children experience severe feeding problems that place the child at risk for aspiration, malnutrition, invasive medical procedures (i.e., placement of a nasogastric or gastrostomy tube), admission to an inpatient unit for treatment of the feeding problem, and/or limitations in social, emotional, and educational functioning and development (Whitten, Pettit, & Fischhoff, 1969; Skuse, 1993). However, other children experience feeding difficulties that may not result in obvious functional limitations. So does Alex have a feeding problem? At first blush, the answer to this question may appear to be obvious; however, Alex's eating behavior poses an array of unanswered questions about the criteria for defining feeding problems. From a medical perspective, Alex is gain ing weight and growing so his eating is not a problem. From a nutrition perspective, Alex may not be getting all his vitamins and minerals; however, this might be addressed with a daily comprehensive mulitvitamin. From an educational perspective, Alex is able to attend school. He eats what his parents pack him for lunch. Although the teacher worries about his possible boredom with the same foods, she has not noticed any problems with his attention during academic tasks. …

Explaining the Effects of Child Sexual Abuse: A Behavior Analytic Conceptualization

ABSTRACT In the last two decades, several authors have proposed conceptual models to explain the adverse effects of child sexual abuse (CSA). Although conceptual models have been proposed from broadly behavioral perspectives (e.g., cognitive behavioral), as yet there is no comprehensive behavior analytic conceptualization of the effect of CSA. In this article, the behavior analytic mechanisms used to explain the development and maintenance of behavior are described, with specific reference to how the mechanisms provide a comprehensive means of accounting for adverse reactions following CSA.

Why behavior analysts should study emotion: the example of anxiety.

Historically, anxiety has been a dominant subject in mainstream psychology but an incidental or even insignificant one in behavior analysis. We discuss several reasons for this discrepancy. We follow with a behavior-analytic conceptualization of anxiety that could just as easily be applied to emotion in general. Its primary points are (a) that languageable humans have an extraordinary capacity to derive relations between events and that it is a simple matter to show that neutral stimuli can acquire discriminative functions indirectly with no direct training; (b) that private events can readily acquire discriminative functions; (c) that anxiety disorders seem to occur with little apparent direct learning or that the amount of direct learning is extraordinarily out of proportion with the amount of responding; and (d) that the primary function of anxious behavior is experiential avoidance. We conclude that the most interesting aspects of anxiety disorders may occur as a function of derived rather than direct relations between public events and overt and private responses with avoidance functions. Implicit in this conclusion and explicit in the paper is the assertion that anxiety is a suitable subject for behavior-analytic study.

The Integrated Field: An Alternative to the Behavior-Analytic Conceptualization of Behavioral Units

Behavior is a continuous process from prior to birth until death. For purposes of investigation, however, it becomes useful to analyze this “behavior stream” into behavioral units, the description and definition of which have concerned behavioral scientists for many years. The present paper extends this topic further by presenting the integrated field as an appropriate behavioral unit, especially in contrast to the behavior-analytic units of respondent and operant behavior. We begin by providing some historical background on behavioral units as addressed by B. F. Skinner and the behavior-analytic community, and then we propose the integrated field as a more suitable unit in the context of three long-standing false dichotomies—organism vs. response as the subject matter, internal vs. external causation, and explanatory vs. descriptive analysis. In these matters, the integrated field emphasizes, respectively, a holistic, as opposed to organism- or response-based, subject matter; a systemic, as opposed to internally or externally oriented, description of causation; and a purely descriptive, as opposed to reductive-explanatory, analysis of behavior. We conclude with related comments regarding the relationship between an integrated-field perspective on the problem of behavioral units and research methodology in psychology.

The Role of Evaluative Self-Schemata in Self-Talk: Some Predictions and Explorations

Abstract The role of cognitive schemata in the processing of behavioral events has received considerable attention in recent cognitive-behavioral research. In the context of our behavior-analytic conceptualization of complex disorders, evaluative self-schemata were proposed as a salient factor in the organization of behaviors. The purpose of this study was to test the predictive role of evaluative self-schemata for self-talk occurring during a coping/achievement task. In addition, the relationship of self-talk to both subjective anxiety and performance outcome as measured by test scores was examined. Results indicated that individuals holding a negative self-schema engage consistently in significantly more self-defeating and less facilitative self-talk as compared to high self-schema subjects across 3 experimental trials. In addition, a significant group x trials interaction for debilitative statements was detected, suggesting that negative self-talk differentiates more clearly than positive self-talk bet...