ABA - Applied Behavior Analysis

Applied Behavior Analysis is the natural science approach to the study of human behavior for purposes of informing interventions that produce socially significant change. In this course, students learn the foundational concepts and principles of behavior analysis in the context of the tenets of science. Students learn about behavior and learning through an analysis of the field’s seminal basic and applied research with both humans and nonhumans.

Applied Behavior Analysis requires behavior to first be explicitly defined and measured prior to systematically manipulating variables in order to assess the effects of those variables on behavior within research or practice. In this course, students learn how to operationally define and measure behavior, create graphical displays for analysis, and utilize single-subject research designs for purposes of demonstrating functional relations.

Teaching new behaviors first requires assessment of a learner’s pre-requisite skills and other relevant environmental variables followed by the systematic design of instructional programs and evaluation of learning outcomes. In this course, students learn how to assess an individual’s current repertoire, conduct reinforcer and preference assessments, and design behavior-analytic instructional programs for purposes of teaching new behaviors.

In order to effectively treat problematic behaviors, behavior analysts must first assess the environmental variables to determine the function of the problematic behavior. In this course, students learn how to conduct functional behavior assessments and design comprehensive function-based behavior reduction programs in order to produce socially significant changes in behavior.

In Applied Behavior Analysis, language, otherwise known as verbal behavior, is studied in the context of the same concepts and principles as all other behavior. In this course, students learn about Skinner’s elementary verbal operants and the application of behavioral principles to the emergence of verbal behavior in humans. Students also learn Skinner’s initial theoretical contributions and examine this theory in the context of more recently proposed theories, such as Relational Frame Theory and emergent responding.

Behavior analyst practitioners and researchers are bound by an ethical code of conduct. In this course, students review the certifying board’s ethical code of conduct, evaluate and respond to scenarios involving ethical violations, and practice problem solving strategies to maintain ethical behavior over the course of one’s career.

Radical behaviorism is the philosophy of the science of behavior, pioneered by B.F. Skinner. In this course, students learn about radical behaviorism and the history of its inception in comparison to other types of behaviorism and learning theories. Students are expected to critically analyze seminal readings and discuss these readings in the context of complex individual and group behavior, accounting for phylogenic, ontogenic, and cultural levels of selection.

The concepts and principles of behavior analysis were originally discovered through animal laboratory research. In this course, students review and critique seminal basic research articles and analyze how subsequent translational and applied studies extended from them. Students are also expected to generalize findings from basic and translational studies to the design of applied behavior analytic programming.

In addition to direct client-facing clinical work, behavior analysts are tasked with the training and supervision of others in the implementation of behavior analytic programming. In this course, students learn how to assess performance deficits, how to design behavior-analytic training programs, and how to supervise others in accordance with best practices and ethical guidelines.

This course provides an in-depth study of a special topic in applied behavior analysis not fully covered in one of the other program courses. Topics offered may be chosen based on professional and/or research interests of students and faculty, special faculty expertise, or areas of current debate and emerging interest in the field. This course may be taken for credit multiple times, provided that different topics are covered in each course.

In this course, students work with a faculty advisor to develop an experimental question and proposal for their applied thesis research. Students are expected to conduct a literature review, design an experiment to answer their experimental question using single-subject research design, and propose their study to the Institutional Research Review Board.

In his course, which is a continuation of ABA 599A, upon approval from the Institutional Research Review Board, students are expected to conduct their thesis research, meeting with their faculty advisor regularly to analyze and discuss data and treatment integrity.

In this course, which is a continuation of ABA 599B, students are expected to finish any remaining experimental sessions, analyze the results, and discuss any conclusions and implications as indicated by results of their research.

In this course, which is a continuation of ABA 599C, students are expected to conclude their experiment, finalize their thesis manuscript, and present their research to faculty for evaluation. Students also have the opportunity to prepare and submit their manuscript for publication, should they choose to do so.

Teaching new behaviors first requires assessment of a learner’s pre-requisite skills and other relevant environmental variables followed by the systematic design of instructional programs and evaluation of learning outcomes. In this course, students learn how to assess an individual’s current repertoire, conduct reinforcer and preference assessments, and design behavior-analytic instructional programs for purposes of teaching new behaviors.

In order to effectively treat problematic behaviors, behavior analysts must first assess the environmental variables to determine the function of the problematic behavior. In this course, students learn how to conduct functional behavior assessments and design comprehensive function-based behavior reduction programs in order to produce socially significant changes in behavior.

In addition to direct client-facing clinical work, behavior analysts are tasked with the training and supervision of others in the implementation of behavior analytic programming. In this course, students learn how to assess performance deficits, how to design behavior-analytic training programs, and how to supervise others in accordance with best practices and ethical guidelines.

This course provides an in-depth study of a special topic in applied behavior analysis not fully covered in one of the other program courses. Topics offered may be chosen based on professional and/or research interests of students and faculty, special faculty expertise, or areas of current debate and emerging interest in the field. This course may be taken for credit multiple times, provided that different topics are covered in each course.