7711 PSY
The Case of Bob
In this unit, you read Carr, Newsom, and Binkoff ‘s 1980 article, “Escape As a Factor in the Aggressive Behavior of Two Retarded Children,” which shows the effect of a teacher’s demands on Bob’s aggressive behavior, as well as on another student named Sam. Figure 1 in the journal article provides the ABAB graphs for both Bob and Sam. For this discussion:
- Compare and contrast these two graphs in terms of baseline and treatment phases. Include a description of the type of baselines (for example, stable, ascending, descending, or variable) that were obtained for each child.
- State your conclusion about the baselines presented.
- Provide recommendations about improving the design, if appropriate.
Response Guidelines TO YOUR PEERS
Read the posts of your peers and respond to one. Your response should be substantive and demonstrate your understanding of the material. What aspects of the post do you like or agree with? Are there areas that are not clear? Did the post spark questions that you would like to ask your peer? In this, and in all of your courseroom posts, be sure to keep your tone scholarly, respectful, and professional.
Sophia Augedahl Unit 6 Discussion
The two graphs provided for Bob and Sam depicting both baseline and treatment phases can be compared and contrasted in the study by Carr et al. (1980). The data collected in the baseline phase for Bob, as in demands being placed, show an ascending data path over time. In the treatment phase, where no demands were placed, a stable baseline is demonstrated in the two phases. Bob demonstrated an increase in the number of aggressive behaviors during the baseline phases, increasing from 60-180 occurrences in the five minute sessions where data was collected. Similarly, the baseline phases for Sam, where demands were present, depict a variable baseline in the three phases. The data did not demonstrate a clear path and showed variability in the number of aggressive responses recorded. However, a stable baseline was gathered in treatment phase, with no demands placed, in the 10 minute sessions for Sam. These figures and subjects differ in the data gathered, length of sessions, demands placed, and type of baseline in treatment phases (Carr et al., 1980). The data suggest that the aggression might be motivated by escape and serve to attempt to end demands (Carr et al., 1980). Occurrences of aggressive responses varied for the subjects and decreased in number across all treatment phases and sessions when compared with baseline phases. Because of this, it can be concluded that a situation where demands are occurring can be predictive of higher rates of aggressive behavior. I do not have any noteworthy recommendations for improving the design. It would be interesting to see if Experiment 1 were continued, in which the number of aggressive responses in baseline and treatment phases were measured, if the trends shown here depicting stable, ascending, and variable types of baselines would continue over more sessions.
Reference
Carr, E. G., Newsom, C. D., & Binkoff, J. A. (1980). Escape as a factor in the aggressive behavior of two retarded children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13(1), 101117
7710 PSY
Behavior Change for a Sustainable World
There are so many ways to use Applied Behavior Analysis. To name a few, working with individuals with autism and developmental disabilities, OBM, ACT, and even sustainability. Dr. William Heward presented Behavior Change for a Sustainable World to the Capella Society of ABA. Please watch the recording, linked in the Resources. Then, answer the following:
- How can you disseminate our science to promote application in sustainability?
- Share ideas on how you can make use ABA to have a positive impact on society.
Response Guidelines TO YOUR PEERS
Review the posts of other learners and respond to at least one. Provide feedback regarding their positions and whether they appear to be supported by the presentation cited. Whether you agree or disagree with their positions, please be sure that your feedback is respectful and professional.
13 hours ago
The field of Applied Behavior Analysis is growing, as more and more people are discovering how useful the science can be. However, there are still some who have no idea what ABA is or why it could be useful to areas other than developmental disabilities. If we want to disseminate the science of ABA, we need to get out information out to multiple companies/causes and explain how our science works. The science of ABA focuses on reinforcement and motivation to increase behavior. As stated by Dr. Heward in the seminar, behavior consists of both knowing and doing, and feelings and motivations need to be considered. As with clients in therapy, a person has to first know about the need for change before change can happen, which is why therapists explain each contingency fully to the client. Knowing that change needs to happen is not enough, however, as people need to have a reason or motivation for acting to cause change. ABA uses motivating operations to prompt behaviors, and the same can be done for acts that elicit change. If groups demanding change would find what motivates people and use it as reinforcement, the needed behaviors would be more likely to occur in the future. Spreading this information with the public could have a positive impact on multiple causes around the world.
Emily Foster
Master of Science in Psychology, Specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis
