Target Terms: Generality, Effective, Technological, Applied, Conceptually Systematic, Analytic, Behavioral
Generality Definition: Behavior change that lasts over time, appears in environments other than the environment which it was taught and/or spreads to other behaviors not targeted by the intervention. Example in everyday context: As a child, you learned how to use the microwave (and the toilet, and the sink, and the doorknob, and the remote control…). Throughout the years, you have used different microwaves (and other items) in various locations without being taught again. This represents generality, since you were not explicitly taught how to use every microwave you have ever encountered.
Example in supervision/consultation context: You teach a paraprofessional how to run manding sessions with Client A. Without further instruction, the paraprofessional then demonstrates the ability to run manding sessions with Client B. This behavior change demonstrates generality because the paraprofessional was able to perform the behavior outside of the original learning parameters. Why it matters: Generality is an important outcome of behavior programs because it demonstrates additional dividends in terms of behavioral improvements. The more generality a behavior program has the more successful a person can be across environments and over time. A great deal of our day-to-day success relies on our ability to apply skills we have learned in related, but different, circumstances. Effective Definition: Behavior that changes in a practical manner that result in clinical or social significance.
Example in supervision/consultation context: You begin supervising a new trainee, and decide to implement the same supervision curriculum as you have been using with former trainees. In the past, this curriculum has yielded 100% pass rates on the board exam, and your trainees in the past quickly demonstrated skill increases. However, after two weeks, you review your new trainee’s progress and find that their skills have not significantly changed. Guided by ABA’s commitment to being effective, you must investigate the problem further and make changes to ensure that your supervision services are effective. Why it matters: Behaviors targeted for intervention must be meaningful, significant and promote long term, positive changes in the participant. The goal is to improve the quality of life of individuals across settings. The great emphasis placed on effective treatment for each individual client is sometimes at odds with the philosophies of other professional disciplines with whom we collaborate. Technological Definition: All procedures of an intervention, data and results of an experiment or study are clearly outlined in detail so they can be understood, replicated and implemented by anyone with the prerequisite skills. Example in everyday context: You find a recipe for a cake on the internet. The recipe lists the ingredients and how to use them to make a cake. This recipe is technological because it includes the information needed to complete the task.
Example in supervision context: A behavioral consultant is training a newly hired paraprofessional on a student’s behavior plan. The behavioral consultant outlines each step with sufficient detail and clarity for the paraprofessional. The paraprofessional acts out the implementation of the behavior plan without making any mistakes. This demonstrates that the behavioral consultant wrote the plan out technologically since it was clearly understood and performed by another person. Why it matters: Behavior changes methods will not be effective if practitioners cannot replicate them. Therefore, descriptions of procedures must be teachable and easy to understand by others so they can be implemented with fidelity. Applied Definition: The commitment to supporting improvements in people’s behaviors to enhance their quality of life.
Example in supervision context: You are a new consultant in a classroom for children with challenging behaviors. You make sure to assess the skills and needs of the teacher, and then provide skill-building sessions for the teacher, based on what they need to be able to do in order to do their job more effectively. Why it matters: The applied dimension of applied behavior analysis must target to improve the social, academic, language, daily living skills and day to day experiences of the client and other stakeholders. In other words, we should often ask, “Is this meaningful?” Conceptually Systematic Definition: All procedures used in practice should be related to the basic behavioral principles of behavior analysis from which they were derived.
Example in supervision context: A teacher tells you that their 10-year-old client “Isn’t repeating many words yet, because they’re not there developmentally.” You suggest that a closer look at the specifics of the problem, rather than assuming that the skill will eventually happen in time, would be appropriate. After your coaching, the teacher uses shaping procedures to systematically enhance the student’s echoic repertoire. This teacher is now demonstrating the use of conceptual systems in their teaching of echoic behavior. Why it matters: Relating specific behavioral procedures to basic principles enables the practitioner or researcher to derive other similar procedures from the same principles. These systems of behavioral procedures become an integrated discipline rather than a collection of “behavioral tricks”, with the ability to lend themselves to systematic expansion. Analytic Definition: The demonstration of a reliable functional relationship between environmental changes (assessment/intervention) and target behavior changes. Most basically, being analytical means making data-driven decisions.
Why it matters: In order to do our work, we need to know if there is a reliable functional relationship between our interventions and the client’s behavior change (skill acquisition or behavior reduction). Behavioral Definition: Observable and measurable behavior should be the focus of our work.
Example in supervision/consultation context: You assign your supervisee to collect data on a student’s out of seat behavior during instructional time. The supervisee comes back and reports they did not observe the target behavior, but instead recorded every instance the student appeared to be daydreaming. You explain to your supervisee that “daydreaming” means different things to different people, and is not an observable or measurable behavior. You encourage your supervisee to continue to observe the student and to collect data on the target behavior.
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