The nature of behavioral assessment: A commentary

This special issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis provides the reader with a sample of current work in behavioral assessment. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of behavioral assessment and to place the other articles in context of this developing area.     

Theory and technology in behavior analysis

The differences within behaviorism in general and behavior analysis in particular have been described in many ways. Some of the more common distinctions are "basic versus applied", "clinical versus non-clinical", "behavior therapy versus behavior analysis", and "experimental analysis of behavior versus applied behavior analysis". These and other such distinctions do not seem to refer to truely important differences, or refer to important differences in confusing ways. It is suggested that there are two main dimensions which divide behaviorists into meaningful units: the type of paradigm (behavior analysis versus methodological behaviorism) and the level of analysis (technical, methodological, conceptual, or philosophical). By considering these two dimensions a number of issues in the field are recast. In particular, many of the differences within behavior analysis are recast into questions of the relationship between theory and technology.     

Increasing willingness to experience obsessions: acceptance and commitment therapy as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an 8-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for OCD intervention in a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline, across-participants design. Results on self-reported compulsions showed that the intervention produced clinically significant reductions in compulsions by the end of treatment for all participants, with results maintained at 3-month follow-up. Self-monitoring was supported with similar decreases in scores on standardized measures of OCD. Positive changes in anxiety and depression were found for all participants as well as expected process changes in the form of decreased experiential avoidance, believability of obsessions, and need to respond to obsessions. All participants found the treatment to be highly acceptable. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Derived Stimulus Relations Produce Mediated and Episodic Priming

The Psychological Record - If derived stimulus relations can serve as a beginning behavioral model of semantic meaning, many of the cognitive findings shown with semantic relations should apply to...     

Multicultural Issues in Consultation

In this article the authors examine the historical development of consultation and superimpose multicultural theories and models onto several traditional consultation models. Included in this article is a selective review of literature from consultation, communication, and education as they relate to multicultural issues. An ethical imperative for the consultant is made to acknowledge, validate, and implement multicultural sensitivity.     

SELF-REINFORCEMENT EFFECTS: AN ARTIFACT OF SOCIAL STANDARD SETTING?

Two studies were conducted to identify mechanisms responsible for observed "self-reinforcement" effects. In Experiment 1, using a studying task, self-reinforcement procedures did not work when they were private (i.e., when others are not aware of the goals or contingencies), but did work when they were public. Self-delivery of consequences added nothing to the effectiveness of the procedure. The data suggested that public goal setting was the critical element in the procedure's effectiveness. In Experiment 2, an applied extension, goal setting alone was effective in modifying over a long time period studying behaviors of people with significant studying difficulties, but only when the goals were known to others. Overall, the two experiments make more plausible the view that self-reinforcement procedures work by setting a socially available standard against which performance can be evaluated. The procedure itself functions as a discriminative stimulus for stringent or lenient social contingencies. The application of this mechanism to other problems of applied significance is briefly discussed.