Applied Behavior Analyst
Order Description
Question 1: Read and Discuss
Use your Applied Behavior Analysis text to read the following:
• Chapter 11, “Positive Reinforcement,” pages 256–290.
• Chapter 12, “Negative Reinforcement,” pages 291–303.
• Chapter 13, “Schedules of Reinforcement,” pages 304–323.
• Read the following PowerPoint presentations in preparation for ICS Part 1 and 2 in this unit:
? Chapter 11, “Positive Reinforcement.”
? Chapter 12, “Negative Reinforcement.”
? Chapter 13, “Schedules of Reinforcement.”
Use the Library to read the following:
• Gable’s 1999 article, “Functional Assessment in School Settings,” in Behavioral Disorders, volume 24, number 3, pages 246–248.
• Bae’s 2002 article, “Using Functional Assessments to Develop Effective Behavioral Interventions,” in Reclaiming Children and Youth, volume 10, number 4, pages 213–215.

Question 2: Discuss one of the research-based methods for conducting preference assessment. Why are preference assessments conducted in ABA interventions?

Question 3: Describe the stimuli and explain how each could be instrumental both in a negative reinforcement scenario and a punishment scenario. Try to provide an example of how negative reinforcement could be ethically used to increase an appropriate behavior.
Question 4: Read and Discuss
Use your Applied Behavior Analysis text to read the following:
• Chapter 14, “Punishment by Stimulus Presentation,” pages 326–355.
• Chapter 15, “Punishment by Removal of a Stimulus,” pages 356–371.
• Read the following PowerPoint presentations in preparation for ICS Part 1 and 2 in this unit:
? Chapter 14, “Punishment by Stimulus Presentation.”
? Chapter 15, “Punishment by Removal of a Stimulus.”
Use the Library to read the following:
• Weiss and Knoster’s 2008 article, “It May Be Nonaversive, but Is It a Positive Approach? Relevant Questions to Ask Throughout the Process of Behavioral Assessment and Intervention,” in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, volume 10, number 1, pages 72–78.
• Scott, Liaupsin, Nelson, and Jolivette’s 2003 article, “Ensuring Student Success Through Team-Based Functional Behavioral Assessment,” in Teaching Exceptional Children, volume 35, number 5, pages 16–21.
• Conroy, Clark, Gable, and Fox’s 1999 article, “Building Competence in the Use of Functional Behavioral Assessment,” in Preventing School Failure, volume 43, number 4, pages 140–144.

Question 5: Explain what is meant by positive and negative punishment and provide examples of each from your own environment or experience. Discuss some potential side effects of using punishment procedures. Identify the ethical issues to be considered when using punishment as an intervention and explain the guidelines for using punishment.

Question 6: What are some ways to use reinforcement-based procedures instead of punishment to replace problem behaviors in schools or similar settings?
Question 7 (Please note this answer should be 3 pages itself):
Some schools employ punishment procedures on a regular basis and have done so for decades. Other schools exert overly controlling, contrived, and coercive disciplinary practices. For this assignment, you should reflect on your own experiences and describe a personal encounter when you witnessed or experienced overly restrictive, or harsh, punitive, and/or ineffective punitive methods in a school setting.
Based on the assigned readings for this unit, as well as the BACB Content Area 1 of the Task List (referenced in Unit 1), describe and discuss three use of reinforcement-based procedures that could be used to reduce problem behaviors in a school. In your assignment, you must also identify and describe the potential side effects of overly restrictive or harsh punitive methods in a school setting. In addition, discuss potential ethical considerations for the use of punishment in schools.
Book for Course:
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. ISBN: 9780131421134.

Topic: Applied Behavior Analyst

Order Description
Question 1: Mentalism and Behaviorism

Your Unit 1 readings address the behavior analytic perspectives on what behaviorists refer to as the “mentalistic” approach to analyzing and solving human problems. Discuss the difference between the mentalist’s and the radical behaviorist’s perspectives regarding feelings, “states of mind,” and unobservable “mental” events. Is there a special thing called “the mind”? In your response, describe the radical behaviorist’s perspective regarding feelings, states of mind, and mental (covert or private) events. Then provide a recent example of a situation where you were exposed to or considered a mentalistic explanation for your own or someone else’s behavior.

New learners of ABA often have difficulty with changing their perspectives about the causes of behavior. Explain how you will reconcile your past experiences with using mentalistic explanations and shift to a behavior analytic perspective.

Question 2: Core Principles of Applied Behavior

Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) discuss the following core principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in their groundbreaking JABA article: Applied, Behavioral, Analytic, Technological, Conceptually systematic, Effective, and Generality. Please be prepared to discuss the definitions of these terms and provide examples of (or ask questions about) how they might affect clinical or educational applications of ABA.

Reference
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. R., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97.

Question 3: Read and Discuss:

Read the following PowerPoint presentations in preparation:
Chapter 1, “Definition and Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis.”
Chapter 2, “Basic Concepts.”
Use your Psychology of B. F. Skinner text to read the following:
Chapter 4, “Skinner’s Philosophy of a Science of Human Behavior—Radical Behaviorism,” pages 55–72.

Reference:
O’Donohue, W., & Ferguson, K. E. (2001). The psychology of B. F. Skinner. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN: 9780761917595.