On the Distinction Between the Motivating Operation and Setting Event Concepts.

In recent decades, behavior analysts have generally used two different concepts to speak about motivational influences on operant contingencies: setting event and motivating operation. Although both concepts still appear in the contemporary behavior-analytic literature and were designed to address the same antecedent phenomena, the concepts are quite different. The purpose of the present article is to describe and distinguish the concepts and to illustrate their current usage.

Application of the matching law to Mixed Martial Arts.

In the contemporary behavior-analytic literature, athletic performance (e.g.,choice of shot or movement) across multiple team sports has been found to correspond with predictions of the generalized matching equation. However, the research in this area has focused primarily on team sports. In the current study the Generalized Matching Equation (GME) was applied to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) performance by examining strike selection as a function of landing significant strikes among fighters from various weight classes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The results suggest that the GME is a good descriptor of strike selection in MMA, an individual sport that is dynamic and fast paced where responding results in immediate feedback from an opponent.

On the BACB's Ethics Requirements: A Response to Rosenberg and Schwartz (2019).

Rosenberg and Schwartz (Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12, 473-482, 2019) criticize a number of aspects of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts and propose, as an alternative, a decision-making process for evaluating the ethicality of behavior under a particular set of circumstances. We respond to the authors' main criticisms and discuss the broader professional and legal context of any profession's ethics code and enforcement activity.

Planning and Leading Effective Meetings.

Behavior analysts spend a great deal of time in meetings regardless of their specific professional role (e.g., academic, practice, administration), so effective meeting skills are important. Meetings can serve a variety of important purposes if they are planned and led well. However, many people are not explicitly taught how to plan or lead meetings effectively. The purpose of this paper is to describe the common purposes of meetings and to provide recommendations and tools for planning and leading effective meetings.

Compassionate Care in Behavior Analytic Treatment: Can Outcomes be Enhanced by Attending to Relationships with Caregivers?

The practice of behavior analysis has become a booming industry with growth to over 30,000 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) who primarily work with children with autism and their families. Most of these BCBAs are relatively novice and have likely been trained in graduate programs that focus primarily on conceptual and technical skills. Successfully working with families of children with autism, however, requires critical interpersonal skills, as well as technical skills. As practitioners strive to respond efficiently and compassionately to distressed families of children with autism, technical skills must be balanced with fluency in relationship-building skills that strengthen the commitment to treatment. The current article provides an outline of important therapeutic relationship skills that should inform the repertoire of any practicing behavior analyst, strategies to cultivate and enhance those skills, and discussion of the potential effects of relationship variables on treatment outcomes.

Establishing Consumer Protections for Research in Human Service Agencies.

Conducting research in practice settings is the primary mechanism for establishing a strong foundation of evidence for clinical decision making. In behavior analysis, this type of research frequently originates from university-based systems that have established institutional review boards. Independent human service agencies that want to contribute applied research to the literature base that is clinically meaningful and conducted in an ethical fashion must establish a research review committee (RRC). The purpose of this article is to provide information and guidance for establishing and maintaining the activity of an RRC in a human service setting.

On the use of the term 'frequency' in applied behavior analysis.

There exists a terminological problem in applied behavior analysis: the term frequency has been used as a synonym for both rate (the number of responses per time) and count (the number of responses). To guide decisions about the use and meaning of frequency, we surveyed the usage of frequency in contemporary behavior-analytic journals and textbooks and found that the predominant usage of frequency was as count, not rate. Thus, we encourage behavior analysts to use frequency as a synonym for count.

Frequently Assigned Readings in Behavior Analysis Graduate Training Programs.

Demand for behavior-analytic services has greatly increased in recent years, resulting in the development of many new graduate training programs. The purpose of the present study was to identify frequently assigned readings from the course syllabi of behavior-analytic training programs with the highest pass rates on the Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) examination. The readings are categorized by curriculum area (e.g., ethics, behaviorism, single-subject research methodology) to provide a resource for new program development and language translation efforts.

International publication trends in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis: 2000-2014.

Dymond, Clarke, Dunlap, and Steiner's (2000) analysis of international publication trends in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) from 1970 to 1999 revealed low numbers of publications from outside North America, leading the authors to express concern about the lack of international involvement in applied behavior analysis. They suggested that a future review would be necessary to evaluate any changes in international authorship in the journal. As a follow-up, we analyzed non-U.S. publication trends in the most recent 15 years of JABA and found similar results. We discuss potential reasons for the relative paucity of international authors and suggest potential strategies for increasing non-U.S. contributions to the advancement of behavior analysis.

On the Complexity of Correlating a Graduate Program's Experiences with the Success of its Graduates: a Response to Dixon et al. (2015).

Dixon et al. Behavior Analysis in Practice 8:7-15, 2015 evaluated the scholarly productivity of instructors in graduate-level, behavior-analytic training environments as a potential quality metric related to practitioner training. In our reply, we discuss the authors' premise and methodology, suggest alternative conceptualizations, and recommend a more comprehensive and germane approach to the task.

An Annotated Bibliography of Verbal Behavior Scholarship Published Outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior: 2014.

This annotated bibliography summarizes journal articles on verbal behavior published outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, the primary journal for scholarship in this area. Seventeen such articles were published in 2014 and are annotated as a resource for practitioners, researchers, and educators.

Comparison of computer based instruction to behavior skills training for teaching staff implementation of discrete-trial instruction with an adult with autism.

In the current study, behavior skills training (BST) is compared to a computer based training package for teaching discrete trial instruction to staff, teaching an adult with autism. The computer based training package consisted of instructions, video modeling and feedback. BST consisted of instructions, modeling, rehearsal and feedback. Following training, participants were evaluated in terms of their accuracy on completing critical skills for running a discrete trial program. Six participants completed training; three received behavior skills training and three received the computer based training. Participants in the BST group performed better overall after training and during six week probes than those in the computer based training group. There were differences across both groups between research assistant and natural environment competency levels.

Component evaluation of a computer based format for teaching discrete trial and backward chaining.

The effectiveness of a multi-component computer based training package that consisted of competency based instructions, video modeling, and two forms of feedback was evaluated in terms of treatment integrity of two procedures across four staff. Treatment integrity in completing critical steps of discrete-trial and backward chaining procedures were measured using a multiple baseline design across participants, counterbalanced for procedures. All four participants reached 100% treatment integrity on at least one skill in a role play setting. Maintenance probes showed skills maintained at the same levels 6 weeks following training.