Welfare,Autonomy, and the Autonomy Fallacy

In this article, I subject the claim that autonomous choice is an intrinsic welfare benefit to critical scrutiny. My argument begins by discussing perhaps the most influential argument in favor of the intrinsic value of autonomy: the argument from deference. In response, I hold that this argument displays what I call the ‘Autonomy Fallacy’: the argument from deference has no power to support the intrinsic value of autonomy in comparison to the important evaluative significance of bare self‐direction (autonomous or not) or what I call ‘self‐direction tout court’. I defend the claim that the Autonomy Fallacy really is a fallacy, and show that my examination of the argument from deference has wider reverberations. Once we clearly distinguish between autonomy and self‐direction tout court, it becomes much less plausible to say that autonomy of itself is an intrinsic welfare benefit.     

The Authority of Competence and Quality as Extrinsic

John Stuart Mill's hedonism is notoriously ambiguous. The most important ambiguity concerns his reliance on an axiologically significant notion of quality of pleasure. In this paper, I seek to explore one corner of the higher pleasures doctrine, in particular, what sort of property quality is. I argue that the only acceptable interpretation of the higher pleasures doctrine treats quality as a property that is (a) independent of the preferences of competent judges, (b) non-phenomenal and (c) extrinsic to individual higher quality pleasures. My argument for this view will focus on an interpretation of Mill's competent judges test: only such an interpretation of pleasurable quality can explain the peculiar trust Mill imparts in these judges when it comes to the nature of human well-being.     

The association for behavior analysis international position statement on restraint and seclusion

A task force authorized by the Executive Council of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) generated the statement below concerning the techniques called restraint and seclusion. Members of the task force independently reviewed the scientific literature concerning restraint and seclusion and agreed unanimously to the content of the statement. The Executive Council accepted the statement, and it was subsequently approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the general membership. It now constitutes official ABAI policy. The position statement is posted on the ABAI Web site (www.abainternational.org/ABA/statements/RestraintSeclusion.asp). The purpose of the position statement is to provide guidance to behavior analysts and other professionals interested in the position of ABAI on these controversial topics. In extreme cases, abuses of procedures erroneously used in the name of behavior analysis are not defensible. On the other hand, behavior analysts acting ethically and in good faith are provided with guidelines for sound and acceptably safe practice. To the extent that behavior-analytic positions influence public policy and law, this statement can be presented to officials and lawmakers to guide informed decision making. At the conclusion of the document, a bibliography is provided of articles and presentations considered by one or more task force members in developing the position statement.     

Quality of Relationships Between Youth and Community Service Providers: Reliability and Validity of the Trusting Relationship Questionnaire

We examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Trusting Relationship Questionnaire, a brief measure of relationship quality between youth and community-based service providers involved in their care. Data on youth residing in Therapeutic Foster Care and in Group Homes (N = 296) were collected. We identified a one-factor solution for the child version of the measure and a two-factor structure for the adult version: child's perception of the relationship and adult's perception of the relationship. Both versions appear to be highly reliable and possess adequate levels of construct, criterion, and discriminative validity. While no statistically significant age differences were noted on the parent version, on the child version, older youth were more likely to report lower relationship scores. Gender differences were found on both versions: Female youth reported higher scores on the child version as did adults reporters of relationships with female youth, but only for the first factor—child's perception of the relationship. Overall, the TRQ appears to capture the quality of the relationship between service providers and youth in their care, thus bridging a gap in assessment measures.     

A paramorphic representation of the acceptability of behavioral programming

Vignette methodology was used to assess factors associated with decisions regarding treatment acceptability. Three hundred and eleven professionals who worked with persons with mental retardation completed questionnaires on the restrictiveness of 12 procedures and on the acceptability of four unique vignettes. Treatment Acceptability was found to be a function of the subjective restrictiveness of the proposed procedure, the prognosis of the treatment program, the past use of other treatment procedures, and the likelihood of side effects. Acceptability from a Human Rights Committee perspective was seen to be a function of the restrictiveness of the proposed procedure, the prognosis, the use of other procedures, the target behavior severity, and the likelihood of side effects.     

ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING OF CLINICAL INTERVIEWING SKILLS: ANALOGUE ANALYSIS AND FIELD REPLICATION

Two studies were conducted to assess and train clinical interviewing skills. In Experiment 1, eight university practicum students (“therapists”) and either role played or volunteer “clients” were audiotaped during simulated interviews. Following the collection of baseline data on both therapist and client responses, training was provided by way of written materials, classroom instruction and practice, and quizzes. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects showed improvements in therapists' interviewing skills and subsequent increases in client responding. Experiment 2 replicated and extended the research to a hospital outpatient clinic, in which therapists interviewed the parents of children with behavior problems. In addition, four months following the completion of Experiment 2, follow-up data collected during a maintenance condition showed continued high levels of therapist and client behavior. Finally, a panel of expert peers indicated that each response category was judged highly relevant to the behavioral assessment process.     

THE FUNCTIONS OF SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR: AN EXPERIMENTAL-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Data are summarized from 152 single-subject analyses of the reinforcing functions of self-injurious behavior (SIB). Individuals with developmental disabilities referred for assessment and/or treatment over an 11-year period were exposed to a series of conditions in which the effects of antecedent and consequent events on SIB were examined systematically by way of multielement, reversal, or combined designs. Data were collected during approximately 4,000 experimental sessions (1,000 hr), with the length of assessment for individuals ranging from 8 to 66 sessions (M = 26.2) conducted over 2 to 16.5 hr (M = 6.5). Differential or uniformly high responding was observed in 145 (95.4%) of the cases. Social-negative reinforcement (escape from task demands or other sources of aversive stimulation) accounted for 58 cases, which was the largest proportion of the sample (38.1%). Social-positive reinforcement (either attention or access to food or materials) accounted for 40 (26.3%) of the cases, automatic (sensory) reinforcement accounted for 39 (25.7%), and multiple controlling variables accounted for 8 (5.3%). Seven sets of data (4.6%) showed either cyclical or inconsistent patterns of responding that were uninterpretable. Overall results indicated that functional analysis methodologies are extremely effective in identifying the environmental determinants of SIB on an individual basis and, subsequently, in guiding the process of treatment selection. Furthermore, an accumulation of assessment data from such analyses across a large number of individuals provides perhaps the most rigorous approach to an epidemiological study of behavioral function.     

Religion and medical psychology

Summary The costly process of depersonalization underlies all living from which the individual must withhold his feeling of personal identity. Only my recognition of my self as creator of new selfness in my every experience continuously provides my self-consciousness (self-insight) the immediate recognition of my own intact autonomous wholeness.Responsible self-activity is conscious freedom. This comprehension of human unity is accessible to every devoted practitioner appreciating the full-measured meaning of individuality. Particularly since Hippocrates, who considered him-self of divine origin, every physician's medical ideal is: full respect for the idiosyncrasy of the individual.I close with a choice statement made by renowned Edward Glover, M.D., in the preface of his insightful work,An Investigation of the Technique of Psycho-Analysis, Periodic revision of technical principles is obviously essential for the good health of any science, and I look forward to a renewal of this investigation in the near future.