PSY 3400 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Applied Behavior Analysis, Autism Spectrum, Intellectual Disability
19 Sep 2016
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Reading Guide #2
1. What is applied behavior analysis?
a. ABA; the direct application of behaviorism to the improvement of human
behavior.
2. In humans, what kinds of populations have ABA been used with most often?
a. Those with disabilities; mental retardation, autism spectrum, brain injury, etc.
3. Describe the findings of Lovaas (1987) and McEachin (1993), as well as the problems
with these studies.
a. Lovaas conducted a study that with a 40 h/week of early intensive behavior,
involving a curriculum that emphasized language skills, and intensively applied
behavioral procedures.
b. One half of the subjects achieved IQ's exceeding 100. Improvement was shown
in social development as well.
c. McEachin conducting a long-term study of the same children by assessing
intelligence 4.5 years later.
d. PROBLEMS: lack of randomization of participant assignment and control groups.
Not making use of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior.
4. What did Skinner (1974) identify as some of the ways in which behaviorism is
misrepresented in society? How have consumers of ABA since improved the image of
behavior analysis?
a. Ignores consciousness, feelings, states of mind; formulates behavior simply as a
set of responses to stimuli limited to the prediction and control of behavior'
representing a person as a robot, works with pigeons and rats but not people,
dehumanizing picture of human behavior is confined to those features that
human beings share with non-human beings, lab control cannot be duplicated,
concerned with general principles and not the uniqueness of an individual.
b. Consumers of ABA have directly improved its image as a discipline by portraying
practitioners as effective humane teachers.
i. Understanding verbal behavior
ii. Showing importance of early intervention
iii. Recognizing the rightful place of science in human affairs
5. Why haven't ABA techniques been more widely adopted in general education? What
problems has this caused?
a. The standard policies and procedures that general education use, are not
reaching those who might learn in different ways.
i. It is not seen as an "urgent matter"
ii. Overall lack of acceptance
iii. Doesn’t apply to all students, just a select few
b. Drop outs of school, in turn creating problems for the community such as crime
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