Philosophical Foundations of Behavior Analysis and Introductory Concepts

Catalog description

This course covers the philosophical underpinnings of behavior analysis including the goals of behavior analysis as a science (i.e., description, prediction, control), philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism), and the radical behaviorism perspective. Students will distinguish among behaviorism, experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and professional practice guided by the science of behavior analysis. Introductory concepts will be introduced including the dimensions of applied behavior analysis (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968) along with definitions and examples of behavior, response, response class, stimulus, stimulus class, respondent conditioning, operant conditioning, and positive and negative reinforcement contingencies. EdS students will complete a reflection that communicates the influence and potential of behavior analysis in relation to: a larger context such as educational policy, laws and the legal system, client/student rights and advocacy, or fad/pseudoscientific treatments. This reflection must be uploaded to Foliotek and is the key assessment of Standard 6 QI 1-3. This course covers Section 1 A1-5 and Section 1 B 1-4 of the BACB Fifth Edition Task List.