---

BAAM Updates and News

Severtson, J.M., Carr, J.E., Lepper, T. L. (2008, in press). Noncontingent reinforcement is an empirically supported treatment for problem behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities, Research in Developmental Disabilities. (Note, online full text will be unavailable after article is published.)

*NCR works by adding reinforcers to the behavioral context, thereby making the rate of reinforcement for the problem behavior proportionally less than it had been. The probability of the problem behavior is thus reduced. When reinforcement for the problem behavior is also eliminated, the problem behavior is further reduced in probability.

• A. Charles Catania--"B. F. Skinner's Science and Human Behavior: Its Antecedents and Its Consequences"
• M. Jackson Marr--"A Still Great Voice: The Golden Sovereignty of Science and Human Behavior"
• Jack Michael--"Science and Human Behavior: A Tutorial in Behavior Analysis"
• Carol Pilgrim--"Science and Human Behavior at Fifty"
• João Claudio Todorov--"Science and Human Behavior translated into Portuguese: Ciência e Comportamento Humano"
• G. E. Zuriff--"Science and Human Behavior, Dualism, and Conceptual Modification"

• Eikeseth, S (2008, in press). Outcome of comprehensive psycho-educational interventions for young children with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities. (Note, online full text will be unavailable after article is published.)

Reference Miner 3.0 simplifies PubMed searches for behavior analysts.
Behavior News 05-05-2008

Free Reference Miner 3.0 from Sonny Software searches PubMed, Library of Congress, Amazon, and other sources for scientific and book information.   The current release includes drag-and-drop download of PDFs, web page display for PubMed and Amazon.  Those interested in behavior anaysis will find Reference Miner's PubMed search feature especially helpful for finding articles in back issues of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA).  Access to full-text JEAB and JABA back issues is free. Reference Miner 3.0 is only available for Macintosh OS X.  An institutional subscription may be required for access to paid reference services.

Search Results in Browser View		Search results in Text View

Police scandal revealed in dismissed FC abuse case. Coercion and deception improperly used in interrogation of 13-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome.
Behavior News 03-16-2008; updated 03-17-2008

Recent Developments

• Detroit Free Press editorial: Interrogation abuses justice, and a child (3-20-2008)
• Sex abuse case was legal horror show (3-17-2008)
• lmproper deception, coercion used in interrogation of 13-year-old with Asperger's (3-16-2008)
• All charges dropped in FC abuse case (3-12-08)

Highlights & Details

• Lies and coercion used by police interrogator against 13-year-old brother with Asperger's.
• Boy told of non-existent tapes of sexual activity during questioning
• Police question Asperger's brother without parents or attorney present.
• Judge dismisses all charges against both parents.
• Prosecutors move to dismiss all charges; do not inform defense.
• Prosecution claims girl says, through facilitation, that she will not testify.
• FC completely fails two in-court tests.
• All experts, including FC advocate, agree accusations unreliable.
• Police ignore warnings to guard against facilitator influence during questioning.
• Judge rejects a hearing on the scientific admissibility of FC testimony.
• Paper: Prosecution conducting "witchhunt."

Just days following the dismissal of all charges against parents accused of sexually abusing their daughter, news sources are revealing previously unreported details of the coercive interrogation of the girl's brother with Asperger's syndrome.

• Interrogation abuses justice, and a child (Detroit Free Press, 3-20-2008)
• "A legal horror show tears Oakland Co. family apart" (Detroit Free Press, 03-17-08)
• Free Press Special Report:"A legal horror show tears Oakland Co. family apart" (Detroit Free Press, 03-17-08)
• Free Press Special Report: How to Wreck a Boy's Life (Detroit Free Press, 03-16-08)
• Prosecutor moves to drop all charges (Detroit Free Press. 03-11-08)
• Father in FC case stays free on bond (Detroit Free Press. 02-25-08)
• Father in FC case released on personal bond (Detroit Free Press. 02-23-08)
• Defense appeals facilitated statements (Detroit Free Press, 02-19-2008)
• Crying Rape through a Ouija Board (Detroit Free Press, 02-06-2008)
• Autistic girl...can stay in school (Detroit Free Press, 02-06-2008)
• Defense: School sways girl (Detroit Free Press, 02-04-2008)
• Mother...allowed to see son (Detroit Free Press, 02-04-2008)
• Judge allows autistic girl's testimony (Detroit Free Press, 01-30-2008)
• Judge to hear more testimony on autistic girl testifying (Detroit Free Press, 01-29-2008)

Information and commentary on FC:

It is BAAM's official position that the accumulated scientific evidence has convincingly demonstrated that facilitated communication does not work as its advocates say it does, and that output from FC should never be used to support allegations of sexual abuse.

Read and sign the BAAM Resolution on Facilitated Communication

Other FC Resolutions and Statements

• EBCAI Aims and Scope
• EBCAI Issues List
• EBCAI Latest Issue
• EBCAI Forthcoming Articles
• EBCAI Editor Ralf Schosser site
• EBCAI Editor Jeff Sigafoos site
• Autism or ABA-Related Structured Abstracts in EBCAI

• Iceland Association for Behavior Analysis.
• BAAM Facilitated Communication Resolution in Icelandic
• Yfirlýsing Samtaka um atferlisgreiningu í Michigan um "Liðkuð boðskipti
• Information on Behavior Analysis in Iceland

Todd R. Risley, behavior analysis pioneer, dies of heart surgery complications.
November 7, 2006--Behavior News

Todd R. Risley, behavior analysis pioneer, died Friday November 2 of complications following bypass and pacemaker surgery. He had recently been released from the Mayo Clinic when he collapsed suddenly in his home in Palmer, Alaska, near Anchorage. Risley received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1966, spent many years in the Department of Human Development and Family Life at the University of Kansas, and was Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

Risley contributed to the field of behavior analysis in many different ways. He was best known for his collaboration with Montrose Wolf and Hayden Mess in 1964 on the behavioral treatment of problems associated with autism, "Application of Operant Conditioning Procedures to the Behavior Problems of an Autistic Child--sometimes called the "Dicky Article"--and for the seminal 1968 JABA article, "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis," with Donald Baer and Montrose Wolf.

It is accurate to say that Wolf, Risley, and Mees's work with Dicky, using reinforcement principles to establish functional independent living skills in a child who probably would not have had them otherwise, set the stage for virtually all systematic applied behavior analytic interventions with autism to follow. The 1968 Baer, Wolf, and Risley article, "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis," literally defined an entire field.

Although Risley will be sorely missed by all those who knew him, his enduring contributions to the science of behavior will continue to benefit untold numbers of people with disabilities.

Behavior Analysis Certification Board programs now nationally accredited

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board's BCBA and BCABA credentialing programs are now accredited by the National Council for Certifying Agencies in Washington, DC. The NCCA is the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance.

According to Gerald Shook, Chief Exective Officer of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board,

We believe that attaining this accreditation verifies the high quality of BACB programs and will be instrumental in increasing the recognition of BACB credentials by governmental agencies, insurance carriers, and the public.

Links:

• Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB)
• National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA)

The Michigan Psychology Licensing Board decreases requirements for full psychology license applicants and increases requirements for applicants for limited licensure. Other changes made.
December 7, 2006--Behavior News; revised June 1, 2007, September 11, 2007.

The Michigan Psychology Licensing Board has enacted a sweeping list of changes to licensure requirements and other rules for licensed and limited-license psychologists. The new provisions were made effective August 14, 2007, with various provisions becoming active on future dates.

The most important changes are:

• reducing the number of post-doctoral hours required for full licensure from 4000 to 2000 .
• requiring that applicants for limited licensure pass the EPPP psychology examination with a score of at least 450. An examination is not now required for limited license psychologists, although continuous doctoral-level supervision is.

The changes enacted for full licensure primarily affect doctoral-level psychologists while the changes enacted for the limited license affect mostly masters-level psychologists.

The effect of the new regulations is to relax the requirements for gaining full licensure and increase the requirements for acquiring limited licensure. There is no increase in privileges for limited-license psychologists or practice-parity with other mental health professionals with similar or less training in psychological assessment and treatment.

Among the changes which would go into effect in 2009 and 2010 are to:

• require an applicant for licensure as a limited licensed psychologist to take and pass a national licensing examination, as of June 30, 2010. Limited license applicants must earn a score of at least 450 on the psychology exam; applicants for full licensure must earn a score of at least 500 (R 338.2505a)
• revise ethics training requirements for individuals who apply for licensure at either the master s degree or doctorate level. Effective June 30, 2009, one graduate course of 3 semester hours (or 5 quarter hours) in scientific and professional ethics would be required (R 338.2506).
• reduce the number of hours of postdoctoral experience that an applicant for licensure as a psychologist must obtain. Applicants for full licensure would be required to have 2000 hours of post-doctoral experience, one-half of the 4000 hours currently required. the number of post-degree hours for limited license applicants remains unchanged at 2000 hours. The 2000 hours must be completed in two years (R 338.2506)
• permit a limited licensed psychologist to request from the Board of Psychology a variance from the supervision requirements. In cases of hardship, extensions of time periods for post-degree hours may be considered by the the Licensing Board.
• adopt designation criteria of the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology for doctoral programs.
• clarify and update regulations pertaining to advertising. Simplifies some rules with respect to advertising and specifies how limited license psychologists might be identified in advertising (R 338.2514).
• Add a new rule to specify activities between a licensee and a client that will be considered prohibited conduct in a professional relationship. Attempts to clarify prohibited conduct, especially with reference to multiple relationships (R 338.2515)
• Add a new rule to address the retention, disposition, and confidentiality of client records. Client records must be preserved for a minimum of seven years. Confidentiality must be assured unless provided by law or following a client's written authorization (R 338.2516).

Related References:

• Notice of public hearing (PDF)
• Michigan Public Health Code for Psychologists

 
Albert Ellis, developer of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) dies at age 93.
July 24, 2007--www.albertellis.org

Albert Ellis (September 27, 1913 - July 24, 2007) died today of natural causes related to age (obituary). Ellis is known for developing "Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy" (REBT), an approach in which certain psychological problems are attributed to faulty thinking and emotional responses to life events. By therapeutically altering the troublesome thinking and emotions, the client may subsequently respond in more effective ways. In this view, Ellis considered thinking and feelings as private events that could be aversive to experience in themselves or lead, as links in a chain of behaviors, to dysfunctional overt behavior.

Ellis's basic philosophy, that the past cannot be changed but our responses to it can be, bears similarities to the philosophy of Stoicism. Ellis also recognized certain similarities between REBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), viewing ACT with apparently more favor than ACT practitioners viewed REBT. In a 2005 article, "Can Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Resolve Their Differences and Be Integrated?" (abstract), Ellis disagreed with ACT founder Steven C. Hayes (abstract) and stated:

My own view is that ACT and REBT significantly overlap in their theory and practice and that they can be successfully integrated if both therapies make some changes. (Abstract)

Links:

• Albert Ellis Obituary (Ellis Institute)
• Psychology Giant Albert Ellis Dies (Associated Press/Forbes)
• The Albert Ellis Institute
• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: How It Works
• Stoicism from the International Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
• "The Stoic Warrior's Triad" by James B. Stockdale
• "Master of My Fate" by James B. Stockdale
• Can Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Resolve Their Differences and Be Integrated? (Abstract)
• Stability and Change in Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Considering the Implications of ACT and RFT (Abstract)
• What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Web site

Spanish language version of "ABCs of ABA" released as a two-DVD freeware-set by FEAT-Houston and TXABA
July 10, 2007--www.feathouston.org

Families for Effective Autism Treatment-Houston (FEAT-Houston) has partnered with the Texas Association of Behavior Analysts Autism Special Interest Group (TxABA-SIG) to offer a low cost, high quality, six hour intensive, hands-on training for parents, teachers, and therapists interested in learning the basic principles of applied behavior analysis for use with their children with autism or other disabilities.

FEAT-Houston invited Dr. Carlos Fernando Aparicio Naranjo to present the "ABC's" workshop in Spanish. Dr. Aparicio received his doctorate in psychology from the University of New Hampshire. He is a professor at the University of Guadalajara where he works at the Research Center for Behavioral Studies. The two set DVD is the professional recording of that ABC's workshop he presented.

Cost

The DVDs are free, but FEAT-Houston suggests a $20 donation so that we may reprint the DVDs when they have all been distributed.http://udgserv.cencar.udg.mx/~ceip/Aparicio.htmrders may be placed through the FEAT-Houston website. www.feathouston.org.

Software giant Microsoft, building supplier Home Depot, cover costs of behavioral treatments for autism.
May 11, 2007--SmartMoney.com

Microsoft, which sells the Windows operating system, and Home Depot, the familiar "big box" hardware and building supplies outlet, cover the costs of intensive behavior therapy for their employees' dependents with autism. Persuaded by the documented success of applied behavior analysis-based treatments for autism, these employers started providing substantial treatment benefits several years ago. They are among the few major employers that provide such benefits to their employees.

Parent advocacy was instrumental in getting the ball rolling. Behavior analysts at the University of Washington, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Marcus Institute provided expertise for program development. The stories at Microsoft and Home Depot are similar. As reported on May 8, 2007 on the SmartMoney.com web site:

"[Microsoft] worked extensively with the University of Washington's autism center to get an understanding of the condition, the types of treatment available, which showed the most promise"...The university provided background on Applied Behavioral Analysis, a type of behavior therapy for autism that has proven successful in many clinical studies. Once Microsoft decided ABA would be worth covering, the school helped the company design a benefit plan around the treatment.

Home Depot eventually was persuaded by unhappy employees to look more deeply into the issue of autism. Connally and her staff consulted various research centers that specialize in the treatment of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities...Home Depot eventually fashioned a package of autism benefits that was essentially written by medical experts from the Marcus Institute and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, a treatment and research center in Baltimore. (SmartMoney.com, May 8, 2007)

Few other companies or insurers provide the kind of support for effective autism treatments that Microsoft and Home Depot do. These examples suggest that this situation can be changed by strong advocacy within the corporation along with the assistance of knowledgeable behavior analysts. From the perspective of the company, support for well-done early intensive therapy has significant long-term financial benefits, can reduce employee absenteeism, and has significant social benefits (cost-benefit analysis).

Related links:

• Families Changed Microsoft's View of Autism (May 8, 2007, Smartmoney.com)
• Cost-Benefit Estimates for Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism (Jacobson, Mulick, & Green, 1998)
• Microsoft
• Home Depot
• Kennedy Krieger Institute
• Marcus Institute

Your Blackberry: Conditioned social reinforcement dispenser.
April 22, 2007--New York Timers

According to James E. Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Computing at Rutgers University , the almost obsessive addiction exhibited by some PDA users results from the device being a source of variable-interval conditioned social reinforcement:

Mr. Katz argues that participation gives people a sense of belonging, one traceable to the atavistic desire to congregate and cooperate for safety and survival. In addition, he said, the constant checking is an exercise in optimism, like being an explorer or a gambler. Eternal hope delivered in tiny bits while you’re on the go.

“It’s random reinforcement,” Mr. Katz said. The fact that you don’t know when important news will come, he said, “means you will quickly engage in obsessive compulsive behavior.” (New York Times ; registration required)

A variable-interval schedule, in which reinforcement becomes available at unpredictable intervals, maintains a steady rate of responding. There is nothing in the schedule to indicate when reinforcement might become more available or less available, so responding occurs at an even pace. Responding will continue even during long periods of non-reinforcement. On fixed schedule, such as a fixed-ratio schedule (where the reinforcer comes after a specific number of reinforcers), the delivery of a reinforcer will cause a pause in responding because the reinforcer indicates that another reinforcer is not immediately forthcoming. The high predictability of fixed schedules means that responding will stop fairly soon after reinforcers stop.

Relevant Articles:

• "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Ping" (New York Times ; registration required)
• Reinforcement Schedules (About.com)

Arthur Snapper (1934-2007), computer pioneer and retired Western Michigan University professor, dies.
March 14, 2007--Behavior News

Dr. Arthur (Art) Snapper, a pioneer in the use of computers to run operant labs and a retired professor at Western Michigan University, died on March 12, 2007 after a long fight with cancer. Snapper was known for developing "SKED" software in the 1960s for controlling behavioral experiments based on "state notation." Originally designed for Digital Equipment Company's PDP line of minicomputers, SKED has been adapted for use by modern microcomputers. Elements of SKED can still be seen in Med Associates MED-PC systems and Coulborn Instrument's Graphic State 2 .

There will be a public visitation at Langelands West Side Chapel , 3926 South 9th Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Friday from 5 - 8 pm (Langelands obituary ).

Relevant Articles:

• Snapper, A.G. & Kadden, R.M. (1973). Time-sharing in a small computer based on a behavioral notation system.  In B. Weiss (Ed.), Digital Computers in the Behavior Laboratory.  New York:  Appleton-Century-Crofts.
• Stephens, K.R. & van Haaren, F.P. The origins and development of state notation and SKED. Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation, 1977, 9, 72-74.
• Wilson, W. J. (2004). Media Review: A Comparison of Two Programs for the Control of Behavioral Experiments. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 2(2):R3-R5 (PDF)

Los Alamos scientists train bees to detect bombs.
November 28, 2006--Los Alamos Laboratory Newsletter

Scientists working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have used basic behavioral techniques to train bees to detect explosives. By using Pavlovian training techniques, pairing the scent of a bomb with sugar, Tim Haarman and his team trained each bee to extend its proboscis when it encountered the odor of a bomb. The proboscis is the long tube through which bees feed. The researchers report that the bees are easier to train than dogs, and are more effective at detecting odors than wasps.

From the Los Alamos Laboratory Newsletter:

By studying and training bees, Haarmann and members of the Los Alamos Stealthy Insect Sensor Project team has been able to harness the honeybees exceptional olfactory sense by using the bees natural reaction to nectar, a proboscis extension reflex (sticking out their tongue) to record an unmistakable response to a scent. Using Pavlovian techniques, researchers were able to train the bees to give a positive detection (full text PDF )

Related Links:

• New Homeland Security Buzz:Bomb Sniffing Bees (CNN)
• Clicker-trained dogs taught to detect lung cancer. (Behavior News )
• Sniffer dogs used to detect bombs in London subways. (Behavior News Archive )
• Clicker trained rats sniff out land mines and tuberculosis in Africa (Behavior News )
• Drug sniffing dogs mistakenly trained using talcum powder instead of cocaine.
  (Behavior News Archive )

Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) introduces online abstract search feature.
November 26, 2006--Behavior News

The Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) has introduced an online abstract search feature for its journals, The Behavior Analyst and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior . Users may search by keyword, author name, year, and other parameters. Students, scholars, and others should find the search feature of great value in locating classic articles from these important, hard-to-locate journals.

BAAM upgrades its web server.
October 31, 2006--Behavior News

BAAM has moderninzed and upgraded its webserver. Server speed has been increased 40%, and the speed of server-side processing of forms has been doubled or tripled. Users of high-speed internet services should find the BAAM website more responsive. Other enhancements should improve the transfer of video material and other non-text resources.

Google's Book Search offers full text of classic behavioral books and indexed contents of recent volumes.
August 30, 2006; updated August 31, 2006--Behavior News

Google's new Book Search feature offers full text views and PDF format downloads of thousands of classic books in public domain as well as indexed searches of newer works (CNET Coverage). Contents are viewable in most standard web browsers with Adobe Reader (download).

Readers may view and download the full text of rare volumes such John B. Watson's doctoral dissertation Animal Education (full text ) and his 1914 classic, Behavior: An Introduction to Comparative Psychology (full text ). Other works that were influential in the history of behavior analysis include Edward Thorndike's 1911, Animal Intelligence (full text ) and Jacques Loeb's 1916 Organism as a Whole (full text ).

The contents of many modern works have been indexed and may be searched. For instance, a interested in the behavioral view of private events such as "thinking" and "feeling" can enter the search terms, "behaviorism" and "private events" and see a list of works that contain those terms and read the relevant passages (search results ). A parent interested in works on using applied behavior analysis with autism can enter those terms and see a list of books that contain information on ABA (search results ).

Google's project to digitize works is in its early stages. Searches are not comprehensive because many books have yet to be digitized. Care must be exorcised to distinguish between works that have substantive content about the search terms and those that merely include them somewhere in the text. Entering the terms "behaviorism private events thinking feeling" returns a series of mostly relevant books on the behavior analytic view of private events --but not the two most important classic texts: Skinner's 1953 Science and Human Behavior and 1974 About Behaviorism. Entering "verbal behavior" does not return Skinner's Verbal Behavior . Some technical glitches remain in the system. Even though the system is generally compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems, full text downloads did not work properly using the Safari browser on some Macintosh computers. Even with the early problems, Google's effort should prove very useful to students, parents, academics, and others who previously did not have easy access to the classic works of psychology.

Link: Behaviorists' Bookshelf Behavior Classics

BAAM 2007 Call for Papers announced
(BAAM News Archive)
August 29, 2006--Behavior News

Help with the dentist: New study shows benefits of "non-contingent escape" for children with behavior problems at the dentist .
(BAAM News Archive)
August 29, 2006--Behavior News

The Western Michigan University Clinical Psychology and Industrial Psychology Programs have been spared from proposed program cuts.
July 8, 2006--Behavior News

The Western Michigan University programs in Clinical Psychology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology have been spared from planned program cuts following an appeals process. Both programs had been slated for elimination by Western Michigan University's President and Provost. Outcry over the proposed cuts led to the creation of an appeals process ( coverage ) and the resignation of the Provost ( coverage ).

After successful appeals, the Clinical Psychology program was retained without condition ( summary ). The Industrial-Organizational program was retained with conditions ( summary ). In a July 8, 2006 story announcing the appeals decisions, the Kalamazoo Gazette noted the very strong support for their programs by the students and faculty of the Western Michigan University Psychology Department.

Professors and students in the psychology department were among the most active in contending that based on research productivity, reputation and financial and other factors, their programs -- clinical psychology and industrial/organizational psychology, particularly -- should not have been cut in the first place. (Gazette Article )

Full coverage of the proposal to cut the Clinical and Industrial/Organizational Psychology programs at Western Michigan University and the successful appeals of those cuts can be found at wmupsy.com

Related News

• WMU President Judith Bailey Fired
• President Bailey's statement to the WMU Trustees
• WMU Trustees call special meeting
• President Bailey announces appeals decisions
• Program-by-Program Summary of Appeals Decisions
• Kalamazoo Gazette Coverage
• See the online petition to save WMU psychology

Colombian Association for the Advancement of the Science of Behavior and The Colombian Association for the Welfare of the Family announce new journal: 
June 29, 2006--Behavior News

Behavior analysis continues its strong growth in Latin America as evidenced by the announcement of a new Spanish language journal with English language abstracts, Infancia Adolescencia y Familia (Infancy, Adolescence, and the Family ).  This new journal is jointly published by the Colombian Association for the Advancement of the Science of Behavior (ABA Colombia) and the Colombian Association for the Welfare of the Family (ICBF Spanish ; ICBF English).   From the journal announcement:

It is with great pleasure that we present the premier issue of the new journal, Infancy, Adolescence, and Family, which is jointly published by the Colombian Association Association for the Advancement of the Science of Behavior (Colombian ABA) and the Colombian Institute for the Welfare of the Family (ICBF).  We invite you to visit our website where you will find the complete journal contents available for free in PDF format, as well as information about subscriptions and manuscript submissions: http://www.revistaiaf.abacolombia.org.co/

If you wish to continue to receive information about the journal (e.g., future issues, notices, etc.) please write at: 



Wilson López López
Editor

(Translation: J. Todd)

Update: Fake New Jersey behavior therapist is indicted for impersonating nurse.
May 14, 2006; updated May 17--Behavior News

Nancy Fisher of Manahawkin and Stafford New Jersey, who had been previously charged for theft by deception for claiming false behavior analysis credentials, has now been indicted for impersonating a licensed nurse. Fisher, who sometimes used the name, "Chatsko," provided personal services to a man with paraplegia and fraudulently collected over $215,000 for her work as a nurse, eventually rising to the position of supervisor. She was also charged for collecting over $14,000 to send her child to an out-of-district school.

BAAM has previously reported on Fisher's claims to hold a Ph.D. and credentials from the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. (Behavior News )

Related Links:

• Jury indicts alleged nurse impersonator (Asbury Park Press )
• Woman faces theft charges over autism advocacy role (Asbury Park Press )
• Autistic kids' nurse was fake, indictment reads (Ocean County Observer )

March 23, 2006 proclaimed "Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan 20th Anniversary Day" by Mayor of Ypsilanti.
(Behavior News Archive)
March 23, 2006--Behavior News

New study shows importance of giving reinforcer choices to children.
March 18, 2006--Behavior News

A new research study published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis shows that giving a choice between potential reinforcers is itself reinforcing for children.

In "An Evaluation of the Value of Choice with Preschool Children," Jeffery Tiger, Gregory Hanley, and Emma Hernandez of the University of Kansas used a concurrent-chains procedure to answer three questions about choice making: (1) Is the opportunity to make a choice more reinforcing than not having the opportunity to make a choice? (2) Does increasing the number of choices increase the reinforcing value of the choice? And (3), how reinforcing is choice relative to response effort, as tested by increasing the amount of work required to make the choice?

The study included six preschool children between 2.5 and 5.5 years old, one with autism. The reinforcers consisted of a variety of small sweet and salty snack items. In various phases of the study, the children were given the opportunity to choose from a selection of reinforcers or just a single reinforcer. With few exceptions, (1) a choice of reinforcers was more reinforcing than no choice, (2) including more choices was more reinforcing than fewer choices, and (3) choice was preferred over no-choice even when much more effort was required to gain again access to the choice. According to the researchers:

Regarding the practical implications of this study, the results suggest that providing the opportunity to choose reinforcers is a means of increasing the effectiveness of differential reinforcement. Along with restricting access to programmed reinforcers items outside treatment times (Vollmer & Iwata, 1991) and varying the delivery of items (Bowman, Piazza, Fisher, Hagopian, & Kogan, 1997; Egel, 1981), providing a choice among multiple reinforcers is a simple, quick, and inexpensive means of further increasing the effectiveness of reinforcers. (p. 15)

Several previous studies have shown the reinforcing effectiveness of choice in both humans and non-humans. The classic study in non-humans is Catania and Sagvolden's 1980 study, "Preference for Free Choice Over Forced Choice in Pigeons," in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (BAAM Behavior Q & A ). An important early study in children is Brigham and Sherman's 1973, "Effects of Choice and Immediacy of Reinforcement on Single Response and Switching Behavior of Children" (also in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior; full text, pdf ). As a practical matter, the importance of reinforcer variation and choice has been emphasized by applied behavior analysts for decades (e.g., the "Reinforcer Variation Rule from Allyon and Azrin's The Token Economy; BAAM Behavioral Essentials ). However, studies using humans have not been as carefully controlled as those with non-humans. This new study is important in that it carefully controlled the variables involved in choice making in children. By doing so, this study demonstrated how an important behavioral process operates across species and showed the importance of giving choices between different kinds of reinforcers when working with children.

Reference:

Tiger, J.H., Hanley, G.P., & Hernandez, E. (2006). An evaluation of the value of choice with preschool children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 39, 1-16.(full text, pdf )

Related references:

• Bannerman, D. J., Sheldon, J. B., Sherman, J. A., & Harchik, A. E. (1990). Balancing the right to habilitation with the right to personal liberties: The rights of people with developmental disabilities to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23 , 79-89. (full text, pdf )
• Bowman, L. G., Piazza, C. C., Fisher, W. W., Hagopian, L. P., & Kogan, J. S. (1997). Assessment of preference for varied versus constant reinforcers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30, 451c458.(full text, pdf )
• Brigham, T. A., & Sherman, J. A. (1973). Effects of choice and immediacy of reinforcement on single response and switching behavior of children. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 19, 425c435.(full text, pdf )
• Catania, A. C., & Sagvolden, T. (1980). Preference for free choice over forced choice in pigeons. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 34 , 77c86. (full text, pdf )
• Dunlap, G., dePerczel, M., Clarke, S., Wilson, D.,Wright, S., White, R., et al. (1994). Choice making to promote adaptive behaviors for students with emotional and behavioral challenges. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27 , 505c518.(full text, pdf )
• Dyer, K., Dunlap, G., & Winterling, V. (1990). The effects of choice making on the problem behaviors of students with severe handicaps. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 515c524.(full text, pdf )
• Egel, A. L. (1981). Reinforcer variation: Implications for motivating developmentally disabled children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 14, 345c350.(full text, pdf )
• Powell, S., & Nelson, B. (1997). Effects of choosing academic assignments on a student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30 , 181c183.(full text, pdf )
• Vollmer, T. R., & Iwata, B. A. (1991). Establishing operations and reinforcement effects. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 279c291.(full text, pdf )

Michigan psychology licensing and practice rules and regulations now available on the BAAM website.
March 4, 2006--Behavior news

Links to Michigan licensing, practice, and supervision rules and regulations have been collected on a single page on the BAAM website (Michigan rules and regulations ).

All those providing psychological services in Michigan should be familiar with these rules and regulations. "Behavior modification" procedures are among the many techniques considered to be psychological services in Michigan.

BAAM introduces online reinforcement schedule demonstrations.
March 4, 2006--Behavior news

BAAM has developed and posted a series of web-based demonstrations of simple reinforcement schedules. Available immediately are demonstrations of five different reinforcement schedules: fixed-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-ratio, variable-interval, and progressive-ratio. All schedules have user-settable parameters and produce a real-time cumulative recording of responding.