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{{Short description|Application of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[discrete trial training]], a teaching method that is a form of the broader science of applied behavior analysis (ABA)}}
{{Unbalanced|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
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{{Psychology sidebar|applied}}
'''Applied behavior analysis''' ('''ABA'''), also referred to as '''behavioral engineering''',<ref name=behavioranalysislearning>{{cite book| vauthors= Pierce WD, Cheney CD| date= June 16, 2017| orig-date= 1995| title= Behavior Analysis and Learning: A Biobehavioral Approach| url= https://www.routledge.com/Behavior-Analysis-and-Learning-A-Biobehavioral-Approach-Sixth-Edition/Pierce-Cheney/p/book/9781138898585| edition= 6| ___location= New York| publisher= [[Routledge]]| pages= 1–622| isbn= 978-1138898585| access-date= 1 December 2018| archive-date= 3 June 2021| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210603031001/https://www.routledge.com/Behavior-Analysis-and-Learning-A-Biobehavioral-Approach-Sixth-Edition/Pierce-Cheney/p/book/9781138898585| url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name=behavioralpsychiatricnurse/> is a psychological discipline that uses [[respondent conditioning|respondent]] and [[operant conditioning]] to change human and animal behavior. ABA is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two are: [[radical behaviorism]] (or the philosophy of the science) and [[experimental analysis of behavior]], which focuses on basic experimental research.<ref name="Baer_1968">{{cite journal | vauthors = Baer DM, Wolf MM, Risley TR | title = Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 91–97 | date = 1968 | pmid = 16795165 | pmc = 1310980 | doi = 10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91 }}</ref>
The term ''applied behavior analysis'' has replaced [[behavior modification]] because the latter approach suggested changing behavior without clarifying the relevant behavior-environment interactions.<ref name="JEAB"/><ref name=Mace1994>{{cite journal|author=Mace, FC|title=The significance and future of functional analysis methodologies|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=27|issue=2|pages=385–392|date=1994|pmid=16795830|pmc=1297814|doi=10.1901/jaba.1994.27-385}}</ref><ref name=PeliosEtAl1999>{{cite journal|author=Pelios, L, Morren, J, Tesch, D, Axelrod, S|title=The impact of functional analysis methodology on treatment choice for self-injurious and aggressive behavior|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=32|issue=2|pages=185–195|date=1999|pmid=10396771|pmc=1284177|doi=10.1901/jaba.1999.32-185}}</ref> In contrast, ABA changes behavior by first assessing the functional relationship between a targeted behavior and the environment, a process known as a [[Functional analysis (psychology)|functional behavior assessment]]. Further, the approach seeks to develop socially acceptable alternatives for maladaptive behaviors, often through
Although ABA is most commonly associated with [[Autism therapies|autism intervention]], it has been
ABA is
==Definition==
ABA is an applied science devoted to developing procedures
It is to be distinguished from the [[experimental analysis of behavior]], which focuses on [[basic Behavior analysts emphasize that the science of behavior must be a [[natural science]] as opposed to a [[social science]]. As such, behavior analysts focus on the observable relationship of behavior with the environment, including [[antecedent (behavioral psychology)|antecedents]] and consequences, without resort to "hypothetical constructs".<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1037/h0054367 | title=Are theories of learning necessary? | date=1950 | last1=Skinner | first1=B. F. | journal=Psychological Review | volume=57 | issue=4 | pages=193–216 | pmid=15440996 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Marr M |title=The natural selection: behavior analysis as a natural science |journal=European Journal of Behavior Analysis |date=2009 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=103–118 |url=http://www.ejoba.org/PDF/2009_2/Marr_2009.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034739/http://www.ejoba.org/PDF/2009_2/Marr_2009.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2014 |doi=10.1080/15021149.2009.11434313 |s2cid=218768283 }}</ref>
==History==
The field of behaviorism originated in 1913 by [[John B. Watson]] with his seminal work "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it."
In the 1930s, [[B. F. Skinner]] established the concept of radical behaviorism which extended Watson's theory to encompass private events that are unobservable to others, such as thoughts and emotions.<ref name="A study in the founding of applied">{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=EK |last2=Altus |first2=DE |last3=Smith |first3=NG |title=A study in the founding of applied behavior analysis through its publications |journal=The Behavior Analyst |date=2013 |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=73–107 |doi=10.1007/BF03392293 |pmid=25729133|pmc=3640891 }}</ref>
The initial experiments studying the effectiveness of behavior analysis on human subjects were published in the 1940s and '50s, including Paul Fuller's "Operant conditioning of a vegetative human organism" (1949).
In 1957, the Society for Experimental Analysis of Behavior (SEAB) was founded by a group of behavioral psychologists, including Skinner and [[Charles Ferster]], to publish a journal that focused on operant conditioning, and the following year, the first edition of the ''[[Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior]]'' was published.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Laties |first1=Victor G. |title=''THE'' JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR ''AT FIFTY'' |journal=Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior |date=January 2008 |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=95–109 |doi=10.1901/jeab.2008.89-95 |pmid=18338677 |pmc=2211445 }}</ref>
Teodoro Ayllon and [[Jack Michael]]'s study "The
</ref> The successful results from this study led researchers at the [[University of Kansas]] to start the ''[[Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis]]'' (JABA) in 1968.<ref name=lovaas>{{cite journal | vauthors = Eikeseth S, Smith T, Jahr E, Eldevik S | title = Outcome for children with autism who began intensive behavioral treatment between ages 4 and 7: a comparison controlled study | journal = Behavior Modification | volume = 31 | issue = 3 | pages = 264–278 | date = May 2007 | pmid = 17438342 | pmc = 3089401 | doi = 10.1007/BF03392239 }}
</ref><ref name=CooperHeron2007/>
A group of researchers at the [[University of Washington]], including [[Donald M. Baer|Donald Baer]], [[Sidney W. Bijou]], Bill Hopkins, Jay Birnbrauer, [[Todd Risley]], and [[Montrose Wolf]],<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lovitt TC | title = A brief history of applied behavior analysis at the University of Washington | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 26 | issue = 4 | pages = 563–567 | date = 1993 | pmid = 16795814 | pmc = 1297893 | doi = 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-563 }}</ref><ref name=apba>{{cite web|url=http://www.apbahome.net/resource/collection/1FDDBDD2-5CAF-4B2A-AB3F-DAE5E72111BF/APBAwhitepaperABAinterventions.pdf|title=Identifying applied behavior analysis interventions|work= Association of Professional Behavior Analysts |date=July 25, 2016|access-date=December 3, 2018}}</ref> applied the principles of behavior analysis to treat autism, manage the behavior of children and adolescents in juvenile detention centers, and [[organizational behavior management|organize employees who required proper structure and management in businesses]]. In 1968, Baer, Bijou, Risley, Birnbrauer, Wolf, and James Sherman joined the Department of Human Development and Family Life at the University of Kansas, where they founded the ''Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis''.<ref name=HistoryofJABAResearchFaculty>{{cite journal | vauthors = Baer DM | title = A brief, selective history of the Department of Human Development and Family Life at the University of Kansas: The early years | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 26 | issue = 4 | pages = 569–572 | date = 1993 | pmid = 16795815 | pmc = 1297894 | doi = 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-569 }}</ref>
From 1960 through 1997, [[Ivar Lovaas]] researched the efficacy of ABA techniques on autistic children. While Lovaas is often considered a pioneer in the field of ABA<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Tristram |last2=Eikeseth |first2=Svein |date=March 2011 |title=O. Ivar lovaas: pioneer of applied behavior analysis and
During the 1960s and 70s, researchers began experimenting on the use of ABA techniques in the form of gay [[conversion therapy]]. These methodologies often involved the use of punishment procedures.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |last1=Conine |first1=Daniel E. |last2=Campau |first2=Sarah C. |last3=Petronelli |first3=Abigail K. |title=LGBTQ + conversion therapy and applied behavior analysis: A call to action |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=February 2022 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=6–18 |doi=10.1002/jaba.876|pmid=34407211 }}</ref> Lovaas and his doctoral student [[George Rekers]] published an article titled "Behavioral treatment of deviant sex-role behaviors in a male child" in 1974.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rekers |first1=George A. |last2=Lovaas |first2=O. Ivar |date=June 1974 |title=Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-Role Behaviors in a Male Child1 |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=173–190 |doi=10.1901/jaba.1974.7-173 |pmc=1311956 |pmid=4436165}}{{Expression of Concern|doi=10.1002/jaba.781|pmid=33084123|http://retractionwatch.com/2020/10/22/journal-flags-but-does-not-retract-decades-old-paper-on-correcting-gender-identity/ ''Retraction Watch''|intentional=yes}}</ref> Several of Lovaas's contemporaries published criticisms of the article shortly after its publication, and conversion therapy has been condemned by ABAI in modern times.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Policy Statement on Conversion Therapy and Practices, 2021 - Association for Behavior Analysis International |url=https://www.abainternational.org/about-us/policies-and-positions/policy-statement-on-conversion-therapy-and-practices,-2021.aspx |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=www.abainternational.org}},</ref> The journal of this article also published an Expression of Concern regarding attempts to reduce gender nonconforming behaviors.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2020 |title=Expression of Concern |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jaba.781 |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |language=en |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=1837 |doi=10.1002/jaba.781 |pmid=33084123 |issn=1938-3703|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=John O. |last2=Heron |first2=Timothy E. |last3=Heward |first3=William L. |title=Applied behavior analysis |date=2019 |publisher=Pearson |___location=Hoboken, New Jersey |isbn=978-0134752556 |page=8 |edition=Third}}</ref>
Over the years, "behavior analysis" gradually superseded "behavior modification." Instead of simply attempting to alter maladaptive behavior, behavior analysts sought to understand the function of that behavior, what reinforcement histories (i.e., attention seeking, escape, automatic ([[Stimming|sensory stimulation]]), access to preferred items or activities) promote and maintain it, and how it can be replaced by an alternative, more appropriate behavior.<ref name="JEAB">{{cite journal | vauthors = Mace FC, Critchfield TS | title = Translational research in behavior analysis: historical traditions and imperative for the future | journal = Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior | volume = 93 | issue = 3 | pages = 293–312 | date = May 2010 | pmid = 21119847| pmc = 2861871 | doi = 10.1901/jeab.2010.93-293 }}</ref><ref name=Mace1994/><ref name=PeliosEtAl1999/>
==Characteristics==
[[File:ABA Characteristics.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|7 Characteristics of ABA (also known as 7 dimensions of ABA)]]
Baer, Wolf, and Risley's 1968 article<ref>{{Cite book |title=Applied Behavior Analysis |vauthors= Cooper JO, Heron TE |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2019 |isbn=978-0134752556 |edition=3rd |page=19 }}</ref> is still used as the standard description of ABA.<ref name=CooperHeron2007>{{cite book |vauthors=Cooper JO, Heron TE, Heward WL |title=Applied Behavior Analysis |url=http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_cooper_appliedbeh_2 |edition=2nd |year=2007 |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=978-0-13-142113-4 |access-date=5 August 2017 |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209115909/https://wps.prenhall.com/chet_cooper_appliedbeh_2/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Heron|Heward|1987|p=16}}</ref> It lists the following seven characteristics of ABA. Another resource for the characteristics of applied behavior analysis is the textbook ''Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures''.<ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Miltenberger R, Virues-Ortega J |date=2020-05-01 |title=Modificación de conducta: Principios y Procedimientos | edition = 6th |doi=10.26741/2020/miltenberger6e|s2cid=218936697 }}</ref>
* '''Applied''': ABA focuses on the social significance of the behavior studied and works to improve the lives of those receiving ABA services.
* '''Behavioral''': ABA focuses on behavior, which is defined as the observable and measurable movements of an organism. Definitions of behavior should be written unambiguously so they can be clearly understood by a third party
* '''Analytic''': Behavior analysis is successful when the analyst understands and can manipulate the events that control a target behavior. This may be relatively easy to do in the lab, where a researcher is able to arrange the relevant events, but it is not always easy, or ethical, in an applied situation.<ref name="Baer_1968" /> In order to consider something to fall under the spectrum of analytic, it must demonstrate a functional relationship and it must be provable. Baer et al. outline two methods that may be used in applied settings to demonstrate control while maintaining ethical standards. These are the reversal design and the multiple baseline design. In the reversal design, the experimenter first measures the behavior of choice, introduces an intervention, and then measures the behavior again. Then, the intervention is removed, or reduced, and the behavior is measured yet again. The intervention is effective to the extent that the behavior changes and then changes back in response to these manipulations. The multiple baseline method may be used for behaviors that seem irreversible. Here, several behaviors are measured and then the intervention is applied to each in turn. The effectiveness of the intervention is revealed by changes in just the behavior to which the intervention is being applied.
* '''Technological''': The description of analytic research must be clear and detailed so that any competent researcher can repeat it accurately.<ref name="Baer_1968" />
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** The literature provides many examples of success in teaching individuals considered previously unteachable.
==Basic principles==
=== Operant conditioning and three-term contingency ===
{{Main|Operant conditioning}} {{Main|Three-term contingency}}
Operant behavior is voluntary behavior that is sensitive to, or controlled by, its consequences. Specifically, ''operant conditioning'' refers to the [[three-term contingency]] that uses [[stimulus control]]. In the three-term contingency
{{Main|Reinforcement}}
Reinforcement occurs when the consequence of a behavior makes it more likely for that behavior to occur in the future. Reinforcing consequences can be either positive, where something preferred is added, or negative, where something aversive is removed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=JO |last2=Heron |first2=TE |last3=Heward |first3=WL |title=Applied
{{Main|Punishment (psychology)}}
Punishment occurs when the consequences of a behavior make the behavior less likely to occur in the future.<ref>{{Cite journal | publisher = OpenStax | journal = Lumen Learning |title=Reinforcement and Punishment |url=https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/lumenpsychology/chapter/operant-conditioning/ |language=en | vauthors = Learning L }}</ref> As with reinforcement, a stimulus can be added ([[positive punishment]]) or removed ([[negative punishment]]). Broadly, there are three types of punishment: presentation of aversive stimuli (e.g., pain), response cost (removal of desirable stimuli such as
associated with the behavior-change intervention."<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethics code for behavior analysts |url=https://bacb.com/wp-content/ethics-code-for-behavior-analysts/ |publisher=Behavior Analyst Certification Board. |access-date=10 May 2025}}</ref>
;Extinction
{{Main|
Extinction is a procedure of withholding/discontinuing reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior, resulting in the decrease of that behavior.<ref name = "Miltenberger_2008">{{cite book | vauthors = Miltenberger RG | title = Behavior modification: Principles and procedures. | publisher = [[Thomson/Wadsworth]] | date = 2008 | edition = 4th | isbn = 978-0-495-09153-0 }}</ref>{{rp|102}} The behavior is then set to be extinguished (Cooper et al.). Although extinction is less restrictive than punishment procedures, clients may exhibit extinction bursts when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer being reinforced. An extinction burst is the temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, and/or duration of the behavior targeted for extinction. <ref name = "Miltenberger_2008" />{{rp|104}} Novel problem behaviors may also emerge during an extinction burst<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=Wayne W. |last2=Greer |first2=Brian D. |last3=Shahan |first3=Timothy A. |last4=Norris |first4=Halle M. |title=Basic and applied research on extinction bursts |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=2023 |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=4–28 |doi=10.1002/jaba.954 |pmid=36193974 |pmc=9868065 }}</ref> The practicality of an extinction procedure must be carefully considered before being implemented as the inconsistent application of extinction may result in accidentally placing more severe forms of the behavior on a variable schedule of reinforcement, thus worsening the behavior and making it more resistant to intervention in the future.
;Motivating operations
{{Main|
Motivating operations are variables that alter the effectiveness of a reinforcer. Variables that increase the effectiveness are establishing operations (EO), whereas variables that decrease the effectiveness of a reinforcer are abolishing operations (AO).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Laraway |first1=Sean |last2=Snycerski |first2=Susan |last3=Michael |first3=Jack |last4=Poling |first4=Alan |title=Motivating operations and terms to describe them: Some further refinements |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=2003 |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=407–414 |doi=10.1901/jaba.2003.36-407 |pmid=14596584 }}</ref> Conditioned motivating operations (CMOs) are a type of motivating operation that is dependent on the individual's learning history and include transitive (CMO-T), surrogate (CMO-S), and reflexive (CMO-R) conditioned motivating operations.
===Respondent (classical) conditioning===
{{Main|Classical conditioning}}
Respondent (classical) conditioning is based on involuntary reflexes. In respondent conditioning, an unconditioned response occurs in the presence of an unconditioned stimulus. When a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus, the response will begin occurring in the presence of the previously neutral stimulus; thus, the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned response become a conditioned stimulus and conditioned response, respectively.<ref name="Rehman">{{cite journal |last1=Rehman |first1=Ibraheem |last2=Mahabadi |first2=Navid |last3=Sanvictores |first3=Terrence |last4=Rehman |first4=Chaudhry I. |title=Classical Conditioning |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |date=2025|pmid=29262194 }}</ref> In his experiments with dogs, [[Ivan Pavlov]] presented dogs with food (unconditioned stimulus) and observed that the dogs began salivating (unconditioned response). Before running the experiment, the dogs did not salivate when Pavlov rang a bell (neutral stimulus). During the experiment, Pavlov rang a bell whenever he presented the dogs with food. After pairing the bell with the food, Pavlov stopped presenting the food with the bell, but the dogs continued to salivate when hearing the bell alone; thus, the bell became the conditioned stimulus, and salivating at the sound of the bell became a conditioned response. Unlike operant conditioning, the response does not ''produce'' a reinforcer or punisher (e.g., the dog does not get food ''because'' it salivates) in respondent conditioning.
==
In
===Repeatability===
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===Temporal locus===
Latency specifically measures the time that elapses between the event of a [[Stimulus (physiology)|stimulus]] and the behavior that follows. This is important in behavioral research because it quantifies how quickly an individual may respond to [[External stimulus|external stimuli]], providing insights into their perceptual and [[
* Response latency measures the time between the presentation of a stimulus, such as an instruction, and the first response.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomason-Sassi |first1=Jessica L. |last2=Iwata |first2=Brian A. |last3=Neidert |first3=Pamela L. |last4=Roscoe |first4=Eileen M. |title=Response Latency As An Index Of Response Strength During Functional Analyses Of Problem Behavior |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=March 2011 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=51–67 |doi=10.1901/jaba.2011.44-51 |pmid=21541141 |pmc=3050468 }}</ref>
* Interresponse time refers to the duration of time that occurs between two instances of behavior, and it helps in understanding [[pattern]]s and [[frequency]] of a certain behavior on a period of time.<ref name=":6" /
===Derivative measures===
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Applied behavior analysis relies on meticulous measurement and impartial evaluation of observable behavior as a foundational principle. Without accurate data collection and analysis, behavior analysts lack the essential information to assess intervention effectiveness and make informed decisions about [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1310980/ program modifications]. Therefore, precise measurement and assessment play a pivotal role in ABA practice, guiding practitioners to enhance behavioral outcomes and drive significant change.
==Methods developed through ABA research==
===Task analysis===
[[Task analysis]] is the process of breaking down a multi-step instruction into its component parts.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phillips |first1=Cara L. |last2=Vollmer |first2=Timothy R. |title=Generalized Instruction Following with Pictorial Prompts |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=March 2012 |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=37–54 |doi=10.1901/jaba.2012.45-37|pmid=22403448 |pmc=3297352 }}</ref> The student is then taught to complete a task analysis through chaining. For example, a task analysis of washing hands might include the following steps: Turn on the sink, put hands in the water, put soap on hands, scrub hands, rinse hands, turn off water.
Task analysis has been used in organizational behavior management, a behavior analytic approach to changing the behaviors of members of an organization (e.g., factories, offices, or hospitals).<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Crowell CR, Anderson DC, Abel DM, Sergio JP | title = Task clarification, performance feedback, and social praise: Procedures for improving the customer service of bank tellers | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 65–71 | year = 1988 | pmid = 16795713 | pmc = 1286094 | doi = 10.1901/jaba.1988.21-65 }}</ref> [[Behavioral script]]s often emerge from a task analysis.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = MacDuff GS, Krantz PJ, McClannahan LE | title = Teaching children with autism to use photographic activity schedules: maintenance and generalization of complex response chains | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | pages = 89–97 | year = 1993 | pmid = 8473261 | pmc = 1297722 | doi = 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-89 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Krantz PJ, McClannahan LE | title = Teaching children with autism to initiate to peers: effects of a script-fading procedure | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | pages = 121–132 | year = 1993 | pmid = 8473251 | pmc = 1297725 | doi = 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-121 }}</ref> Bergan conducted a task analysis of the behavioral consultation relationship<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Bergan JR |year=1977 |title=Behavioral Consultation |publisher=Merrill |isbn=978-0-675-08488-8}}</ref> and Thomas Kratochwill developed a training program based on teaching Bergan's skills.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kratochwill TR, Van Someren KR, Sheridan SM |year=1989 |title=Training behavioral consultants: a competency-based model to teach interview skills |journal=Professional School Psychology |volume=4 |pages=41–58 |doi=10.1037/h0090570}}</ref> A similar approach was used for the development of microskills training for counselors.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ivey AE, Normington CJ, Miller CD, Morrill WH, Haase RF |year=1968 |title=Microcounseling and attending behavior: an approach to prepracticum counselor training |journal=[[J Couns Psychol]] |volume=15 |issue=5, pt. 2 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1037/h0026129}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Ivey AE, Ivey MB |year=1998 |title=Intentional Interviewing and Counseling: Facilitating Client Development in a Multicultural Society |edition=4th |publisher=Brooks/Cole |isbn=978-0-534-35756-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/intentionalinter00ivey_0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Iwata BA, Wong SE, Riordan MM, Dorsey MF, Lau MM | title = Assessment and training of clinical interviewing skills: analogue analysis and field replication | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 15 | issue = 2 | pages = 191–203 | year = 1982 | pmid = 7118753 | pmc = 1308264 | doi = 10.1901/jaba.1982.15-191 }}</ref> Ivey would later call this "behaviorist" phase a very productive one<ref>{{cite journal |journal=J Couns Dev |year=2001 |volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=105–18 |title=Allen E. Ivey: transforming counseling theory and practice | vauthors = Littrell JM |url=http://bahai-library.com/newspapers/2001/010101-1.html |access-date=4 January 2008 |doi=10.1002/j.1556-6676.2001.tb01949.x}}</ref> and the skills-based approach came to dominate counselor training during 1970–90.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = McLennan J |year = 1994 |title=The skills-based model of counselling training: a review of the evidence |journal=Aust Psychol |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=79–88 |doi=10.1080/00050069408257328}}</ref> Task analysis was also used in determining the skills needed to access a career.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Krumboltz JD, Mitchell AM, Jones GB |year=1980 |chapter=A social learning theory of career selection |pages=259–82 | veditors = Wentling TL |title=Annual Review of Research in Vocational Education | volume = 1 |publisher=Office of Vocational Education Research, [[University of Illinois]] |chapter-url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED221682}}</ref> In education, Englemann (1968) used task analysis as part of the methods to design the [[direct instruction]] curriculum.<ref name=Englemann>{{cite journal | vauthors = Englemann S |year=1968 |title=Relating operant techniques to programming and teaching |journal=J Sch Psychol |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=89–96 |doi=10.1016/0022-4405(68)90002-2}}</ref>
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===Prompting===
A [[Response Prompting Procedures|prompt]] is a cue that encourages a desired response from an individual.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ontario Ministry of Education |year=2007 |title=Effective Educational Practices for Students with ASD |publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario}}</ref> Prompts fall into one of two categories: stimulus prompts and response prompts. Stimulus prompts alter the environment in a way that makes the correct response more salient. Different types of stimulus prompts include positional, redundancy, and gestural prompts. Response prompts are cues directed toward the learner that include verbal, model, and physical prompts.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=John O. |last2=Heron |first2=Timothy E. |last3=Heward |first3=William L. |title=Applied behavior analysis |date=2020 |publisher=Pearson |___location=Hoboken, NJ |isbn=978-0134752556 |page=404 |edition=Third}}</ref> Prompts are often categorized into a prompt hierarchy from most intrusive to least intrusive, although there is some controversy about what is considered most intrusive, those that are physically intrusive or those that are hardest prompt to fade (e.g., verbal).<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Barnett D, Bauer A, Bell S, Elliott N, Haski H, Barkley E, Baker D, Mackiewicz K |year=2006 |title=Preschool Intervention Scripts: Lessons from 20 years of Research and Practice |journal=Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=158–81 |doi=10.1037/h0100216 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Other prompting strategies include no-no and errorless (or simultaneous) prompting. Errorless prompting involves providing a prompt that will result in a correct response immediately after presenting the instruction in order to minimize errors. Alternatively, when utilizing a no-no prompt, the learner is given an errorless prompt only after they have emitted two incorrect responses.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leaf |first1=Justin B. |last2=Sheldon |first2=Jan B. |last3=Sherman |first3=James A. |title=Comparison of Simultaneous Prompting and No-No Prompting in Two-Choice Discrimination Learning with Children with Autism |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=June 2010 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=215–228 |doi=10.1901/jaba.2010.43-215|pmid=21119896 |pmc=2884346 }}</ref>
===Fading===
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The overall goal is for an individual to eventually not need prompts. As an individual gains mastery of a skill at a particular prompt level, the prompt is faded to a less intrusive prompt. This ensures that the individual does not become overly dependent on a particular prompt when learning a new behavior or skill.
One of the primary choices that was made while showing another way of behaving is the manner by which to fade the prompts or prompts. An arrangement should be set up to fade the prompts in an organized style. For instance, blurring the actual brief of directing a kid's hands might follow this succession: (a) supporting wrists, (b) contacting hands softly, (c) contacting lower arm or elbow, and (d) pulling out actual contact through and through. Fading guarantees that the kid does not turn out to be excessively subject to a specific brief while mastering another expertise.<ref name = "Prince_2013">{{cite web | vauthors = Prince K | work = Behavioral Consulting of Tampa Bay, Inc. | title = The importance of measuring behavior | date = 13 March 2013 | url = https://bcotb.com/the-importance-of-measuring-behavior/ | access-date = 3 July 2022 | archive-date = 9 February 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230209115907/https://bcotb.com/the-importance-of-measuring-behavior/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>
===Functional behavior assessment===
According to behavior analysts, all behavior has at least one of the four following functions: sensory (automatic), access, escape, or attention. Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is the process of analyzing data on a targeted behavior to determine which function is reinforcing the target behavior. FBAs that rely on directly observing and measuring the behavior (as opposed to indirect measures, like parent interviews) are also called descriptive behavior assessments.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=John O. |title=Applied behavior analysis |last2=Heron |first2=Timothy E. |last3=Heward |first3=William L. |date=2019 |publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-0134752556 |edition=Third |___location=Hoboken, New Jersey |pages=630–631}}</ref>
====Functional analysis====
Functional analysis is a process of experimentally controlling the environment in order to determine the function of a target behavior.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Iwata |first1=Brian A. |last2=Dorsey |first2=Michael F. |last3=Slifer |first3=Keith J. |last4=Bauman |first4=Kenneth E. |last5=Richman |first5=Gina S. |title=Toward a Functional Analysis of Self-Injury |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=June 1994 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=197–209 |doi=10.1901/jaba.1994.27-197|pmid=8063622 |pmc=1297798 }}</ref>
===Thinning a reinforcement schedule===
Thinning is often confused with fading. ''Fading'' refers to a prompt being removed, where ''thinning'' refers to an increase in the time or number of responses required between reinforcements.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = LeBlanc LA, Hagoplan LP, Maglieri KA, Poling A |year=2002 |title=Decreasing the intensity of reinforcement-based interventions for reducing behavior: conceptual issues and a proposed model for clinical practice |journal=Behav Analyst Today |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=289–300 |doi=10.1037/h0099991|doi-access=free }}</ref> Periodic thinning that produces a 30% decrease in reinforcement has been suggested as an efficient way to thin.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cautilli J |year=2005 |title=Brief report: application of proposed model of decreasing reinforcement intensity |journal=Int J Behav Consult Ther |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=21–36 |doi=10.1037/h0100731|doi-access=free }}</ref> Schedule thinning is often an important and neglected issue in [[contingency management]] and [[token economy]] systems, especially when these are developed by unqualified practitioners (see [[professional practice of behavior analysis]]).<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.4324/9781315669212 |title=Ethics for Behavior Analysts |date=2016 | vauthors = Bailey J, Burch M |isbn=978-1-317-36344-6 }}</ref>
===Generalization===
Generalization is the expansion of a student's performance ability beyond the initial conditions set for acquisition of a skill.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Alberto P, Troutman AC |title=Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers |date=2006 |publisher=Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall |isbn=978-0-13-117994-3 }}{{page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref> Generalization can occur across people, places, and materials used for teaching. For example, once a skill is learned in one setting, with a particular instructor, and with specific materials, the skill is taught in more general settings with more variation from the initial acquisition phase. For example, if a student has successfully mastered learning colors at the table, the teacher may take the student around the house or school and ''generalize'' the skill in these more natural environments with other materials. Behavior analysts have spent a considerable amount of time studying factors that lead to generalization.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Osnes PG, Lieblein T |year=2003 |title=An explicit technology of generalization |journal=Behav Analyst Today |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=364–74 |doi=10.1037/h0099994|doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Shaping===
{{Main|Shaping (psychology)}}
Shaping involves modifying a single existing behavior into the target behavior by differentially reinforcing successive approximations of the target behavior. When the learner emits a response that is closer to the target behavior than previous responses, the new response is reinforced, and any instances of the old response are no longer reinforced. For example, if the target behavior were for the learner to say the word ''bubbles'', a practitioner may initially blow bubbles in response to every vocal utterance made by the learner. Once the learner started emitting a ''bu-'' sound, the practitioner would only blow bubbles when the learner made this response. Eventually, the practitioner would only blow bubbles when the learner said ''bubbles''.<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Gilmore H | title = Shaping, chaining, & task analysis with an example from everyday life |date=20 February 2020 | url = https://psychcentral.com/pro/child-therapist/2020/02/shaping-chaining-task-analysis-with-an-example-from-everyday-life }}</ref>
===Verbal behavior===
{{Main|Verbal Behavior}}
[[B. F. Skinner|B. F. Skinner's]] classification system of human language in behavior analysis has been applied to treatment of a host of communication disorders.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Peterson P | date = 2007 | title = Promoting generalization and maintenance of skills learned via natural language teaching. | journal = The Journal of Speech and Language Pathology – Applied Behavior Analysis | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 90–131 | doi = 10.1037/h0100252 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Skinner's system includes:
* [[Tact (psychology)|Tact]] – a verbal response evoked by a non-verbal antecedent and maintained by generalized conditioned reinforcement (e.g., identifying items, people, or nonhuman animals).
* [[Mand (psychology)|Mand]] – behavior under control of motivating operations maintained by a characteristic reinforcer (e.g., direct reinforcement for a self-initiated request).
* Intraverbals – verbal behavior for which the relevant antecedent stimulus was other verbal behavior, but which does not share the response topography of that prior verbal stimulus (e.g., responding to another speaker's question).
* Echoic – vocal imitation under control of verbal stimuli (e.g., repeating what is said).
* [[Autoclitic]] – secondary verbal behavior which alters the effect of primary verbal behavior on the listener. Examples involve quantification, grammar, and qualifying statements (e.g., the differential effects of "I think..." vs. "I know...")
==Applications==
===Autism intervention===
Although there are many applications of ABA outside of autism intervention, a large majority of ABA practitioners specialize in [[autism]], and ABA itself is often mistakenly considered synonymous with [[therapy for autism]].<ref name="bacb cert">{{Cite web |title=BACB CERTIFICANT DATA |url=https://www.bacb.com/bacb-certificant-data/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=Behavior Analyst Certification Board |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="As-in-ABA" /> Practitioners often use ABA-based techniques to teach adaptive behaviors to, or diminish challenging behaviors presented by, individuals with autism.<ref name="Treating adaptive living skills of persons with autism using applied behavior analysis: A review">{{cite journal | vauthors = Matson JL, Hattier MA, Belva B |title=Treating adaptive living skills of persons with autism using applied behavior analysis: A review |journal=Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders |date=January–March 2012 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=271–276 |doi=10.1016/j.rasd.2011.05.008 }}</ref><ref name=Pediatrics>{{cite journal | vauthors = Myers SM, Johnson CP | title = Management of children with autism spectrum disorders | journal = Pediatrics | volume = 120 | issue = 5 | pages = 1162–1182 | date = November 2007 | pmid = 17967921 | doi = 10.1542/peds.2007-2362 | doi-access = free }}</ref> ABA methodologies such as differential reinforcement, extinction, and task analysis, are among the most well-researched evidence-based practices for autism intervention.<ref name="Wong_2015">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wong C, Odom S, Hume K, Cox A, Fettig A, Kucharczyk S, Schultz T | title = Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: A comprehensive review. | journal = Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume = 45 | issue = 7 | pages = 1951–1966| date = 2015 | doi = 10.1007/s10803-014-2351-z | pmid = 25578338 }}</ref> In North America, ABA therapy is primarily provided by behavior technicians who deliver direct intervention under the supervision of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), who conduct assessments and write treatment plans for clients.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Luiselli |first=James K. |title=Applied Behavior Analysis Advanced Guidebook: A Manual for Professional Practice |date=2023 |publisher=Elsevier Science & Technology |isbn=978-0-323-99595-5 |edition=2nd |___location=San Diego |pages=138}}</ref>
====Discrete trial training====
{{Further|Discrete trial training}}
In 1965, early development of discrete trial training techniques, which was also known as the Lovaas method, involved the use of electric shocks, scolding, and the withholding of food.<ref name="Kirkham 107–126">{{Cite journal| vauthors = Kirkham P |date=2017-04-01|title='The line between intervention and abuse' – autism and applied behaviour analysis|journal=History of the Human Sciences |volume=30|issue=2|pages=107–126|doi=10.1177/0952695117702571|s2cid=152017417 }}</ref><ref name=Pediatrics2>{{cite journal|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/133/3/364|vauthors=Bowman RA, Baker JP|title=Screams, slaps, and love: The strange birth of applied behavior analysis|journal=Pediatrics|volume=133|issue=3|pages=364–66|date=March 2014|doi=10.1542/peds.2013-2583|pmid=24534411|s2cid=28137037|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Ivar Lovaas]] published a series of articles that described a pioneering investigation of the antecedents and consequences that maintained a problem behavior,<ref name="Lovaas">{{cite journal | vauthors = Smith T, Eikeseth S | title = O. Ivar lovaas: pioneer of applied behavior analysis and intervention for children with autism | journal = Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume = 41 | issue = 3 | pages = 375–378 | date = March 2011 | pmid = 21153872 | doi = 10.1007/s10803-010-1162-0 | s2cid = 207159059 }}</ref> including aversives, such as slapping and electric shocks, to suppress [[stimming|stereotypic body movements]] and [[Autistic meltdown|emotional outbursts]].<ref name="Lovaas, Schaeffer, and Simmons">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lovaas OI, Schaeffer B, Simmons JQ | title = Building social behavior in autistic children by use of electric shock | journal = Journal of Experimental Research in Personality | volume = 1 | issue = 2 | pages = 99–109 | date = 1965 | url=https://neurodiversity.net/library_lovaas_1965.pdf}}</ref> Lovaas described how to use social (secondary) reinforcers, teach children to imitate, and what interventions may be used to reduce aggression and life-threatening self-injury. He also relied on the methods of [[errorless learning]], which was initially introduced by [[Charles Ferster]] to teach nonverbal children to speak.<ref name="Lovaas"/><ref>{{Cite journal | vauthors = Chance P | date = January 1974 | journal = Psychology Today | pages = 76–84 | title = After you hit a child, you can't just get up and leave him; you are hooked to that kid interview with Ole Ivar Lovaas |url=http://neurodiversity.com/library_chance_1974.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506191549/http://neurodiversity.com/library_chance_1974.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 May 2006 |access-date=3 March 2022 | via = Neurodiversity}} (excerpt from Psychology Today)</ref>
In 1987, Lovaas published the study, "Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children".<ref name=lovaas/> The experimental group in this study received an average of 40 hours per week in a 1:1 teaching setting at a table using errorless [[discrete trial training]] with a trained therapist.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lovaas OI | title = Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children | journal = Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology | volume = 55 | issue = 1 | pages = 3–9 | date = February 1987 | pmid = 3571656 | doi = 10.1037/0022-006x.55.1.3 }}</ref> The treatment was implemented in the child's home. A heavy emphasis was placed on teaching eye contact, fine and gross motor imitation, academics, receptive and expressive language, and oral motor imitation. Each new skill is taught through prompting, modeling, and shaping.<ref name=lovaas/> The outcome of this study indicated 47% of the experimental group (9/19) went on to lose their autism diagnosis and were described as indistinguishable from their typically developing adolescent peers. This included passing general education without assistance and forming and maintaining friendships. These gains were maintained as reported in the 1993 study, "Long-term outcome for children with autism who received early intensive behavioral treatment". Lovaas' work was recognized by the US Surgeon General and New York State Department of Health in 1999, and his research was replicated in university and private settings.<ref name=AJMR>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sallows GO, Graupner TD | title = Intensive behavioral treatment for children with autism: four-year outcome and predictors | journal = American Journal of Mental Retardation | volume = 110 | issue = 6 | pages = 417–438 | date = November 2005 | pmid = 16212446 | doi = 10.1352/0895-8017(2005)110[417:IBTFCW]2.0.CO;2 | s2cid = 12305283 }}</ref><ref name=JDBP>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cohen H, Amerine-Dickens M, Smith T | title = Early intensive behavioral treatment: replication of the UCLA model in a community setting | journal = Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics | volume = 27 | issue = 2 Suppl | pages = S145–S155 | date = April 2006 | pmid = 16685181 | doi = 10.1097/00004703-200604002-00013 | s2cid = 15927226 }}</ref> The "Lovaas Method" went on to become known as early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI).
<!--this paragraph is on the autism page-->
In 2018, a Cochrane meta-analysis database concluded that preliminary research suggests that there are two different ABA teaching approaches to gaining [[spoken language]]: children with [[expressive language disorder|higher receptive language skills]] respond to 2.5 – 20 hours per week of the [[pivotal response treatment|naturalistic approach]], whereas children with [[Language processing in the brain|lower receptive language skills]] acquire words from 25 hours per week of discrete trial training – the structured and intensive form of ABA.<ref name="Cochrane">{{cite journal | vauthors = Brignell A, Chenausky KV, Song H, Zhu J, Suo C, Morgan AT | title = Communication interventions for autism spectrum disorder in minimally verbal children | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 2018 | issue = 11 | pages = CD012324 | date = November 2018 | pmid = 30395694 | pmc = 6516977 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD012324.pub2 }}</ref> A 2023 multi-site randomized control trial study of 164 participants showed similar findings, with larger gains in the lower receptive language skilled group who obtained DTT.<ref name=AutismResearch2023Study>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kasari C, Shire S, Shih W, Landa R, Levato L, Smith T | title = Spoken language outcomes in limited language preschoolers with autism and global developmental delay: RCT of early intervention approaches | journal = Autism Research | volume = 16 | issue = 6 | pages = 1236–1246 | date = June 2023 | pmid = 37070270 | pmc = 10460274 | doi = 10.1002/aur.2932 }}</ref>
====Pivotal response treatment====
{{Further|Pivotal response treatment}}
Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is a naturalistic ABA-based intervention which targets skills that, when mastered, "can elicit more widespread positive clinical gains in the child's other domains of functioning."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lei |first1=Jiedi |last2=Ventola |first2=Pamela |title=Pivotal response treatment for autism spectrum disorder: current perspectives |journal=Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment |date=June 2017 |volume=13 |pages=1613–1626 |doi=10.2147/NDT.S120710|doi-access=free |pmid=28790824 |pmc=5488784 }}</ref> PRT's primary focus is increasing the learner's motivation by self-initiated requesting and to engage them socially through play within a behavioral framework. PRT recognizes that learners may be unmotivated to communicate due to natural causes, like genetic influences, and how learned helplessness from previously unsuccessful communication attempts can discourage future communication attempts.<ref name="Koegel_PRT">{{cite book |last1=Koegel |first1=Robert L. |last2=Koegel |first2=Lynn Kern |title=Pivotal response treatment for autism spectrum disorders |date=2019 |publisher=Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co |___location=Baltimore |isbn=9781681252988 |edition=Second |url=https://brookespublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Koegel-PRT-pocket-guide-intro.pdf |access-date=29 November 2024}}</ref>
===Human applications outside of autism intervention===
While ABA is often associated with autism intervention, it is also used in a variety of other fields, <ref name="AP_Clinical_and_Organizational_Applications_of_ABA"/> such as classroom instruction with typically developing students, pediatric feeding therapy,<ref name="APA_Handbook_Behavior_Analysis">{{cite book | veditors = Madden G | title=APA Handbook of Behavior Analysis | publisher=American Psychological Association | publication-place=Washington, DC | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-4338-1111-1 | oclc=771425225 | series=APA Handbooks in Psychology Series; APA Reference Books Collection | url=http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4311509.aspx | access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name="AP_Clinical_and_Organizational_Applications_of_ABA"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 3, 2021 |title=Pediatric Feeding Therapy & ABA: General Info & Systematic Review |url=https://nevadaautism.com/pediatric-feeding-therapy-aba-general-info-systematic-review |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=Nevada Autism Center, 7730 West Sahara Avenue #115, Las Vegas, NV 89117, (702) 660–2005 |language=En-US}}</ref> and [[substance use disorder]]s.<ref name="APA_Handbook_Behavior_Analysis"/><ref name="AP_Clinical_and_Organizational_Applications_of_ABA"/> Other human applications of ABA include [[Consumer behaviour|consumer behavior analysis]], forensic behavior analysis, [[behavioral medicine]], [[behavioral neuroscience]], [[clinical behavior analysis]],<ref name="APA_Handbook_Behavior_Analysis"/><ref name="AP_Clinical_and_Organizational_Applications_of_ABA">{{cite book | vauthors = Roane HS, Ringdahl JE, Falcomata TS |title=Clinical and Organizational Applications of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=2015 |publisher=Elsevier Science |isbn=978-0-12-420249-8 }}{{page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref> [[organizational behavior management]],<ref name="APA_Handbook_Behavior_Analysis"/><ref name="AP_Clinical_and_Organizational_Applications_of_ABA"/> schoolwide [[positive behavior support]],<ref name="APA_Handbook_Behavior_Analysis"/><ref name=PBSExpansion>{{cite journal | vauthors = Anderson CM, Freeman KA | title = Positive behavior support: Expanding the application of applied behavior analysis | journal = The Behavior Analyst | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 85–94 | date = Spring 2000 | pmid = 22478340 | pmc = 2731369 | doi = 10.1007/BF03392001 }}</ref><ref name=abapbsschoolviolence>{{cite journal | vauthors = Anderson CM, Kincaid D | title = Applying behavior analysis to school violence and discipline problems: Schoolwide positive behavior support | journal = The Behavior Analyst | volume = 28 | issue = 1 | pages = 49–63 | year = 2005 | pmid = 22478439 | pmc = 2755344 | doi = 10.1007/BF03392103 }}</ref><ref name=SWPBIS>{{cite journal | vauthors = Waasdorp TE, Bradshaw CP, Leaf PJ | title = The impact of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on bullying and peer rejection: a randomized controlled effectiveness trial | journal = Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine | volume = 166 | issue = 2 | pages = 149–156 | date = February 2012 | pmid = 22312173 | doi = 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.755 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name=centeronpbis>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbis.org|title=What is PBIS? |date= |access-date=September 26, 2024}}</ref> and [[systematic desensitization|contact desensitization]] for phobias.
====Acceptance and commitment therapy====
{{Further|Acceptance and commitment therapy}}
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a clinical approach based on behavior analytic principles and guided by the theoretical framework of [[relational frame theory]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hayes |first1=Steven C. |last2=Pierson |first2=Heather |chapter=Acceptance and Commitment Therapy |title=Encyclopedia of Cognitive Behavior Therapy |year=2005 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.1007/0-306-48581-8_1 |isbn=0-306-48580-X }}</ref> The primary goal of ACT is to help the client acknowledge negative or unwanted private events, such as thoughts and feelings, and shift their self-identity from one based on psychological phenomenon to one based in [[self-as-context]]. Among the techniques the therapy uses include [[mindfulness]] and [[shaping (psychology)|shaping]]. <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kelly |first1=Amanda D. |last2=Kelly |first2=Michelle E. |title=Acceptance and commitment training in applied behavior analysis: Where have you been all my life? |journal=Behavior Analysis in Practice |date=March 2022 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=43–54 |doi=10.1007/s40617-021-00587-3|pmid=34341679 |pmc=8320414 }}</ref>
===Applied animal behavior and nonhuman animal welfare===
ABA has been successfully applied to other species, such as in applied animal behavior. While Board Certified Behavior Analysts work with humans, certified applied animal behaviorists are credentialed to deliver services to nonhuman animals in shelters and other community settings.<ref name=appliedanimalbehaviorists>{{cite journal|title=Evaluating the work of applied animal behaviorists as applied behavior analysis|author=Gray, JM, Diller, JW|journal=Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice|volume=17|issue=1|pages=33–41|date=2017|doi=10.1037/bar0000041|doi-access=free}}</ref>
In 1992, Forthman and Ogden published an article describing ways that ABA could be used to promote the health and well-being of animals in zoos, such as compliance with veterinary care and encouraging species-specific behaviors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Forthman |first1=Debra L. |last2=Ogden |first2=Jacqueline J. |title=The role of applied behavior analysis in zoo management: Today and tomorrow |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=September 1992 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=647–652 |doi=10.1901/jaba.1992.25-647|pmid=16795790 |pmc=1279745 }}</ref> Pfaller-Sadovsky et al. (2019) conducted a functional analysis to determine the function of companion dogs jumping on their owners. The researchers successfully identified a function for the behavior for all five participants, and all five owners successfully reduced the frequency of the behavior by implementing a schedule of non-contingent reinforcement.<ref name=ABACanines>{{cite journal|title=Using principles from applied behavior analysis to address an undesired behavior: Functional analysis and treatment of jumping up in companion dogs|author1=Pfaller-Sadovsky N|author2=Arnott G|author3=Hurtado-Parrado C|journal=Animals|volume=9|issue=12|page=1091|date=December 6, 2019|doi=10.3390/ani9121091|doi-access=free |pmid=31817670|pmc=6940775}}</ref> The same year, Morris and Slocum successfully utilized functional analysis and non-contingent attention to reduce self-injurious [[feather-plucking]] in a black vulture.<ref name="morris">{{cite journal |vauthors=Morris KL, Slocum SK |date=October 2019 |title=Functional analysis and treatment of self-injurious feather plucking in a black vulture (Coragyps atratus) |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=918–927 |doi=10.1002/jaba.639 |pmid=31523815 |s2cid=54842798 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Behavioral Biology of Laboratory Animals |vauthors=Gottlieb D, Pomerantz O |date=2021 |isbn=978-0-429-01951-7 |pages=51–64 |chapter=Utilizing Behavior to Assess Welfare |doi=10.1201/9780429019517-5}}</ref>
== Criticisms ==
{{Criticism section|date=July 2025}}
=== Neurodiversity movement ===
{{see also|Autism rights movement}}
A 2020 study examined perspectives of autistic adults that received ABA as children and found that the overwhelming majority reported that "behaviorist methods create painful lived experiences", that ABA led to the "erosion of the true actualizing self", and that they felt they had a "lack of self-agency within interpersonal experiences".<ref name=":0" /> Another study published in 2023
===Research validity===
[[
==== Conflicts of
One study revealed extensive undisclosed conflicts of interest (COI) in published ABA studies. 84% of studies published in top behavioral journals over a period of one year had at least one author with a COI involving their employment, either as an ABA clinical provider or a training consultant to ABA clinical providers. However, only 2% of these studies disclosed the COI.<ref name=":1" />
==== Quality of evidence ====
Low-quality evidence is likewise a concern in some research reporting on the potential harms of ABA on autistic children.<ref name="Davis2022">{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781119679028.ch39 |chapter=Helping Autistic Children |title=The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development |date=2022 | vauthors = Davis R, Den Houting J, Nordahl-Hansen A, Fletcher-Watson S |pages=729–746 |isbn=978-1-119-67898-4 |url=https://osf.io/zrfyp/ }}</ref><ref name=":2" />
Another concern is that ABA research only measures cognition or behavior as a means of success, which has led to a lack of qualitative research about autistic experiences of ABA, a lack of research examining the internal effects (e.g. mental health, well being, emotions) of ABA and a lack of research for autistic children who are [[Nonverbal autism|non-speaking]] or have
===Ethical concerns===
Opponents of ABA have denounced the ABA ethical code as too lenient, citing its failure to restrict or clarify the use of aversives, the absence of an autism or child development education requirement for ABA therapists, and its emphasis on parental consent rather than the consent of the person receiving services.<ref name="Sandoval-Norton_2021" /><ref name="Wilkenfeld-2020">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wilkenfeld DA, McCarthy AM | title = Ethical Concerns with Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum "Disorder" | journal = Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal | volume = 30 | issue = 1 | pages = 31–69 | date = 2020 | pmid = 32336692 | doi = 10.1353/ken.2020.0000 | s2cid = 216557299 }}</ref> Numerous researchers have argued that some forms of ABA interventions can be abusive and can increase symptoms of [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD) in people undergoing the intervention.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Sandoval-Norton_2021" /><ref name="Wilkenfeld-2020" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Kupferstein H |date=2018-01-02 |title=Evidence of increased PTSD symptoms in autistics exposed to applied behavior analysis |journal=Advances in Autism |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=19–29 |doi=10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016 |s2cid=4638346}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Sandoval-Norton AH, Shkedy G, Shkedy D |date=2019-01-01 |title=How much compliance is too much compliance: Is long-term ABA therapy abuse? |journal=Cogent Psychology |volume=6 |issue=1 |
=== Use of aversives ===
Lovaas incorporated [[aversives]] into some of the ABA practices he developed, including employing electric shocks, slapping, and shouting to modify undesirable behavior. Although the use of aversives in ABA became less common over time, and in 2012 their use was described as inconsistent with contemporary practice,<ref name="Spreat">{{cite book |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511978616.011 |chapter=Behavioral treatments for children with ASDs |title=The Autism Spectrum |date=2012 | vauthors = Spreat S |pages=239–257 |isbn=978-0-521-11687-9 }}</ref> aversives persisted in some ABA programs. In comments made in 2014 to the US [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA), a clinician previously employed by the [[Judge Rotenberg Educational Center]] claimed that "all textbooks used for thorough training of applied behavior analysts include an overview of the principles of punishment, including the use of
Skinner's verbal operants were critiqued by the linguist [[Noam Chomsky]] who argued that Skinner's view of language as behavior did not explain the complexity of human language.{{irrelevant citation|date=November 2024|reason=Optional This citation is irrelevant because the aversives paragraph above doesn't discuss the nature of language but rather ABA. The aversives are clearly not verbal operants, but electroshocks etc}}<ref>{{Cite book| vauthors = Skinner BF |title=Verbal behavior|date=17 November 2014|publisher=Echo Point Books and Media |isbn=978-1-62654-014-9|oclc=931706319}}</ref>
===Response to
Justin B. Leaf and others examined and responded to several of these criticisms of ABA in three papers published in 2018,<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Leaf JB, Ross RK, Cihon JH, Weiss MJ |date=4 October 2018 |title=Evaluating Kupferstein's claims of the relationship of behavioral intervention to PTSS for individuals with autism |journal=Advances in Autism |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=122–129 |doi=10.1108/AIA-02-2018-0007|doi-access=free }}</ref> 2019,<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Leaf JB, Townley-Chochran D, Cihon JH, Mitchell E, Leaf R, Taubman M, Mceachin J |date=June 2019 |title=Descriptive Analysis of the Use of Punishment-Based Techniques with Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder |journal=Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=107–118 |jstor=26663970 }}</ref> and 2022<ref name="Leaf_2022">{{cite journal | vauthors = Leaf JB, Cihon JH, Leaf R, McEachin J, Liu N, Russell N, Unumb L, Shapiro S, Khosrowshahi D| title = Concerns About ABA-Based Intervention: An Evaluation and Recommendations | journal = Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume = 52 | issue = 6 | pages = 2838–2853 | date = June 2022 | pmid = 34132968 | pmc = 9114057 | doi = 10.1007/s10803-021-05137-y | s2cid = 235449575 }}</ref> in which they questioned the evidence for such criticisms, concluding that the claim that all ABA is abusive has no basis in the published literature. Others have published similar responses.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gorycki KA, Ruppel PR, Zane T |title=Is long-term ABA therapy abusive: A response to Sandoval-Norton and Shkedy |journal=Cogent Psychology |date=31 December 2020 |volume=7 |issue=1 |article-number=1823615 |doi=10.1080/23311908.2020.1823615 |hdl=1808/31691 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> In addition, some forms of ABA interventions have been reforming to address these criticisms and mitigate the potential risks of harm, informed by neurodiversity approaches, related findings, and lived experiences of autistic people.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-021-05316-x.pdf | doi=10.1007/s10803-021-05316-x | title=Neurodiversity and Autism Intervention: Reconciling Perspectives Through a Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention Framework | date=2022 | journal=Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume=52 | issue=10 | pages=4625–4645 | pmid=34643863 | vauthors = Schuck RK, Tagavi DM, Baiden KM, Dwyer P, Williams ZJ, Osuna A, Ferguson EF, Jimenez Muñoz M, Poyser SK, Johnson JF, Vernon TW | pmc=9508016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/27546330241266718 | doi=10.1177/27546330241266718 | title=A qualitative investigation into autistic adults' perspectives on intervention goals for autistic children | date=2024 | journal=Neurodiversity | volume=2 | vauthors = Schuck RK, Geng A, Doss Y, Lin F, Crousore H, Baiden KM, Dwyer P, Williams ZJ, Wang M | article-number=27546330241266718 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/articlepdf/2794074/jamapediatrics_dawson_2022_vp_220009_1661357595.41144.pdf | doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.2299 | title=At a Crossroads—Reconsidering the Goals of Autism Early Behavioral Intervention from a Neurodiversity Perspective | date=2022 | journal=JAMA Pediatrics | volume=176 | issue=9 | pages=839–840 | pmid=35816341 | pmc=10069446 | vauthors = Dawson G, Franz L, Brandsen S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40617-024-00907-3.pdf | doi=10.1007/s40617-024-00907-3 | title=Affirming Neurodiversity within Applied Behavior Analysis | date=2024 | journal=Behavior Analysis in Practice | volume=17 | issue=2 | pages=471–485 | vauthors = Mathur SK, Renz E, Tarbox J | pmid=38966275 | pmc=11219658 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40617-024-00918-0.pdf | doi=10.1007/s40617-024-00918-0 | title=Neurodiversity-Affirming Applied Behavior Analysis | date=2024 | journal=Behavior Analysis in Practice | vauthors = Allen LL, Mellon LS, Syed N, Johnson JF, Bernal AJ }}</ref>
== See also ==
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[[Category:Industrial and organizational psychology]]
[[Category:Personal development]]
[[Category:Treatment of autism]]
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