Scholarly publications
Includes peer reviewed journals within and adjacent to behavior analysis
(Starred journals available to BCBAs through the BACB portal)
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis *
9/15 Lee, H., Gunning, C., Leow, J., & Holloway, J. (2024). An evaluation of delivery of the parent Preschool Life Skills program via telehealth. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.2914
(Open access) Parents implemented the PLS curriculum (available here) during telehealth meetings; their children had more skills and fewer problem behaviors, and the parents acquired the teaching skills
Behavior Analysis in Practice
9/17 Colón, C.L., Blackman, A.L. & LoVullo, S. Procedural Integrity in Applied Settings: A Survey of Training, Practices, and Barriers. Behav Analysis Practice (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-024-00974-6
According to a survey, BCBAs often observe therapists and provide feedback, but do not collect data on procedural integrity due to a lack of training, a lack of systems, and various competing contingencies
9/18 Patil, P.A., Juanico, J.F. The Effectiveness of Khan Academy in Teaching Elementary Math. Behav Analysis Practice (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-024-00982-6
Khan Academy was effective in teaching math skills to 3 children. I would like to see it compared to Headsprout or something next
9/19 Frampton, S.E., Davis, C.R., Meleshkevich, O. et al. A Clinical Tutorial on Methods to Capture and Contrive Establishing Operations to Teach Mands. Behav Analysis Practice (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-024-00985-3
Details 3 ways to contrive mands: incidental teaching, interrupted chain, and programmed restriction
Frampton, S.E., Axe, J.B., Davis, C.R. et al. A Tutorial on Indicating Responses and Their Importance in Mand Training. Behav Analysis Practice (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-024-00965-7
It may not be possible to directly observe some EOs (e.g., "thirst"), but it may be possible to observe "indicating responses" -- such as reaching, pointing, or eye gaze. The authors define the topographies and discuss evidence
Rosales, R., Gayman, C.M., Jimenez, S.T. et al. 20 Years of Interteaching Research and Practice: A Tutorial for its Use in the Classroom. Behav Analysis Practice (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-024-00986-2
Interteaching, a strategy wherein a small group discusses topics and reports back to a teacher, is discussed as a classroom strategy
9/20 Austin, J.L., Rajaraman, A. & Beaulieu, L. Facilitating Greater Understanding of Trauma-Informed Care in Applied Behavior Analysis: An Introduction to the Special Issue. Behav Analysis Practice (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-024-00988-0
Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice
9/18 Morris, S. L., Gallagher, M. L., & Pizarro, E. M. (2024). On the identification and use of social versus nonsocial reinforcers: Clinical and educational practices. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/bar0000294
In a survey, 362 BCBAs reported how likely they would be to use various categories of reinforcers and how they evaluate them. Nonsocial reinforcers are more readily utilized than social, and found that training on selecting social reinforcers is brief or nonexistent
Behavioral Interventions *
9/17 White, R., Miltenberger, R., & Concepcion, A. (2024). Evaluating video feedback to improve eSports performance in Street Fighter V. Behavioral Interventions, e2056. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.2056 Video feedback improved Street Fighter V anti-air attacks
Morris, C., Zarcaro, E.A., Perrin, J. and Ellsworth, M.E. (2024), Discrepancies between treatment preference and effectiveness. Behavioral Interventions e2057. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.2057
Treatment preference may not align with effectiveness; when this is the case, the authors recommend modifications, presenting data of effectiveness, other considerations, and future areas of research
Perspectives on Behavior Science Volume 47, Issue 3 (9 articles, 5 open access)
Most intriguing: Recent Developments in RFT Encourage Interbehavioral Field-Based Views of Human Language and Cognition: A Preliminary Analysis
June 2023 issue now free to read
9/19 Benvenuti, M.F., Bernardy, J.L., de Toledo, T.N. et al. The role of schedules of reinforcement in the experimental analysis of social behavior. Perspect Behav Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-024-00421-5
The authors discuss social group contingencies when they conflict with individual contingencies. The authors argue that "leader and follower" (or perhaps initiator and responder) behaviors are a separate contingency from reinforcement
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior *
9/16 Wright, J. E., & Reed, P. (2024). Influence of amount and delay of reward on choice and response rate: A free-operant, multiple-schedule analogue of a discrete-trial procedure. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.4213
(Open access) In a basic study meant to compare free-operant with discrete trial (e.g., reinforcer choice vs. no choice), the authors found that magnitude of reinforcement controlled choice more than immediacy of reinforcement during the free-operant procedure. When looking at response rate as a measure of choice, immediacy controlled choice more than magnitude
Education and Treatment of Children
9/17 Ennis, R.P., Lee, E.O. Mindfulness- and Relationship-Based Interventions: Which Break is Better for Improving Classroom Behavior?. Educ. Treat. Child. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43494-024-00128-x
During academic breaks, 3 children participated in either mindfulness breaks or a getting-to-know-you social game. 1/3 participants had better academic engagement with mindfulness, with 2/3 showing no difference
Journal of Behavioral Education
9/18 Demchak, M., Sutter, C. Using Constant Time Delay to Teach Sight Words to Students Identified as Deafblind. J Behav Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-024-09565-5
Constant time delay resulted in acquisition of all targeted words for two deafblind students, one in elementary and one in middle school. An instructive feedback condition did not improve acquisition
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
9/17 Third Wave Interventions for Adolescents with Mental Health Disorders: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
In a meta-analysis, the authors found that the only "third wave intervention" represented for adolescents with mental health disorders, and which met inclusion criteria, were 13 studies using dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). In all cases, DBT had large effects (though less so with RCTs)
Book publications
Textbooks, handbooks, manuals, or mass-market
Elsevier
Training Human Service Staff: Evidence-Based Strategies for Promoting Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Trainee Acceptance, Reid & Green
A Practical Guide to Functional Assessment and Treatment for Severe Problem Behavior, Jessel & Sturmey (Available 11/1)
Routledge
Handbook of Organizational Performance, Volume I: Foundations and Advances, Edited by Douglas Johnson & C Merle Johnson
Psychology Essentials for Behavior Analysts, Edited by Toby & Ranade
Writing Skills for Behavior Analysts: A Practical Guide for Students and Clinicians, Edited by Reinecke, Knihtila, Papazian, Heyman & Bratton
Behavior Modification: What It Is and How To Do It, Martin & Pear
Sloan publishing
When Text Speaks: Learning to Read & Reading to Learn, Ross & Greer
Reflections on Behaviorism and Society: Extended Edition, 2024, B. F. Skinner
Ethics: Proactive and Practical Decision Making for Behavior Analysts, LeBlanc & Karsten
Perspectives on Neurodiversity and Belonging: Reflections for Behavior Analysts, Dyer, Weiss, Tereshko, & Linnehan (eds.)
2023: A list here
Podcasts
ABA Inside Track
Episode 288 - (SUPERVISION) Remote Supervision
Behavior Analysis in Practice BAPCast
S7E2: Behavior Analysts’ Use of Treatments for Individuals with Autism: Trends within the Field with Kimberly Marshall and Kristin Bowman
Blogs
Generally these are produced by professionals
ABAI
A Life of Contrasting Experiences
Hart and Risley Are Still Right, Even if Fetuses “Cry in the Accent of Their Parents”
Apparently the “don’t play with your kids” thing reached critical saturation on the internet because Tom Critchfield and I both wrote about it this week
OAR
Considerations Before Accepting a Job
Behavior/Brain Magazine
Behavior/Brain Sept 2024 issue
I want to be supportive but
Licensing & professional organizations
APBA
Call for papers and upcoming conference
BF Skinner Foundation
Skinner session on 10/25
Includes conversations from top behaviorists
BACB
The Call for Nominations for the 2025 Michael Hemingway Behavior Analysis Award is Now Open
ASAT
A review of Bx Blueprint: A Video Library of ABA Fundamentals from How to ABA
They like it
ASAN
Take action for better jobs and fair pay for disabled workers
Profound Autism Alliance
Autism CARES Act of 2024: House overwhelmingly passes Smith’s new legislation to provide robust funding and enhanced support for Americans with autism
Business world
Autism services, behavioral health, etc.
Why private equity-linked sales of physician groups have slowed
Could you guess that the answer to this question is: because the profits don't continually rise each quarter ad infinitum? In any case, the medical field is generally a few steps ahead of ABA, and soon there will be articles about "a seller's market," and perhaps this will improve the delivery of services.
Accidentally behavior analysis
A mainstream news article that relates to behavior analysis
The Air Force Is Researching a ‘MAD.AI’ That Would Adapt Drones to New Environments, 404 Media
(You're supposed to sign up to read this, and you should -- 404 Media does great reporting on tech issues) The US government is paying for an AI system to improve drones. I'm going to stake the bold claim that I am not, generally speaking, pro-drone...but if the government is planning to kill people with the same tech that makes up citations, at least they could save some money by using pigeons. Also, since our government is mostly boomers still, are they just excited to be using Shrimp Jesus technology? Amen.
Continuing education
UPCOMING:
BehaviorLive has a list of events, some of which are free: 9/25
Flashback
Nim Chimpsky was a chimp raised by humans in an incredibly sloppy “scientific” study to see if chimps can acquire language. Most “serious” scientists concluded that, no, he simply used language to get things (what a Skinnerian might call a mand). This was not “language.”
The Chinese room analogy is an argument first established by John Searle (though previous thinkers had established similar arguments). Suppose an English-speaking man in a room receives written Chinese characters underneath the door, refers to a sheet of paper listing inputs and outputs, and in turn slides an output Chinese character back under the door, which was actually an entire conversational exchange – the man cannot be said to “understand Chinese” any more than a computer can be said to “understand” anything. (How does Searle suppose he “understands”? I’m not sure)
Noam Chomsky, at points a linguist and aspiring political commentator (?), strongly asserted that babies are born with knowledge of grammar. This presupposes that all languages are at least grammatically similar, and that children have a special inborn grammar capacity:
“The fact that all normal children acquire essentially comparable grammars of great complexity with remarkable rapidity suggests that human beings are somehow specially designed to do this, with data-handling or “hypothesis-formulating” ability of unknown character and complexity.”
Despite the computer analogy of the human brain that he apparently favored, Chomsky thinks that AI cannot think. Can Noam Chomsky think?