May 2013
2 posts
Anonymous asked: Repertoire-altering effect
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Spring 2013 #ABAchat Schedule
Announcing the Spring 2013 #ABAchat schedule. As always, we welcome people from all areas of the field to join in a casual discussion on topics and issues relating to Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). For more information on what #ABAchat is and how to join, please read this.
A small change to note: we’ll be starting at 9:30 p.m. EST (instead of our usual 9 p.m. EST)
Topics were...
April 2013
6 posts
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When someone brings up my specialty at a party
allmyfriendsareacademics:
Mention behaviour, behaviour change, behaviourism, B.F. Skinner, reinforcement, punishment and this is me!
Anonymous asked: How do you assess 1) setting events 2)MO's ?
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Did you see that cop car?
Under the overpass? Waiting for people to whiz by doing more than 120 km/hour? I did. And what did that signal? That punishment is ready and available if I don’t slow down. So I decreased my speed.
Cop cars hiding out in obscure places: being an effective S^DP since before you read about behaviourism.
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Antecedent Control All Over Those Mini-Eggs: Part...
Just when I thought I had arranged my environment just so, a big bag of Cadbury mini eggs showed up at our team meeting.
I think we can predict what happened next.
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Antecedent Control All Over Those Mini-Eggs
This is a story of how not to find yourself eating all the Easter chocolates you bought for the kids.
I thought I was being a good auntie by getting all the Easter stuff ahead of time. I brought all the goods inside the house to deal with later. This was probably a bad move since before I could gift them, I started to creep inside the bag and eat some of the chocolate. Chocolate was just sitting...
March 2013
11 posts
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Summer Reading?
cognitivedefusion replied to your post: Watch MY Language
Finally finished reading the RFT book I had been putting off forever. Astounding read, covers the basics starting with Skinner and basically picks up where he left off. Highly suggested!
Yes, I want to dive deeper into RFT as a little side project or distraction from reading my BACB exam prep materials. It might make the beach bag this...
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Watch MY Language
Ever since I have been in this field and learned more about Skinner’s (1957) Verbal Behavior I find myself analyzing written language and communication: catching any word or sentence that might function differently (i.e., have a different meaning or outcome) for someone else. I am watching what I say and don’t say.
There’s not much time (or space) to get into all the...
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sarahjaba asked: Thanks for the follow! Do u know any good ABA blogs to follow?
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EDD: What's been your experience with IEPs?
vwalker:
Useful, informative document with good input from the team? Ridiculous, time-consuming paperwork no one follows? Cooperative meetings? Dreadful meetings? Standards-based?
I am a non-educator team member who may inform IEP goals, accommodations/strategies and methods of assessment. I don’t write them so I can’t comment re: time spent on them. The team is always going back...
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Team Teachers: Today is #Education Dare Day! →
teamteachers:
When an Education Dare Day is announced from this blog:
Reblog the announcement!
Ask one question related to education on your tumblr for your followers to answer. Post the responses in one single post later.
Ask at LEAST 2 of the tumblrs in the #education community a question in their ask…
Here is my question:
My role is to visit classrooms to assess, collaborate and...
Behavioural Skills Training
Eric and I were visiting my Oma and Opa the other day. They had recently acquired a new TV and digital cable box. My Opa, being the proud Fußballer that he is, ordered GoalTV so that he could watch Bundesliga games. The only problem was that he did not know how to find and access the channel. Without even knowing it, Eric goes into behavioural skills training mode by: 1) explaining how to access...
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February 2013
3 posts
Anonymous asked: Hi! I was curious if you were familiar with Precision Teaching/the Standard Celeration Chart and what your thoughts and opinions were about it.
Anonymous asked: Hey could you shed some light on the practical relationships between MO, Establishing operation, Abolishing operation, Abative effects, Abolishing effects, and Sd? I work as a ABA tutor and.... am a little confused about this
cognitivedefusion asked: Love the theme of your blog. I'm curious about your thoughts on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as it stems heavily from RFT and some of the core concepts of radical behaviorism as well.
January 2013
7 posts
Applied Behaviour Analysis: Something We Do or... →
I was invited to write a guest post for Johanna Taylor’s blog: VantagePoint. Johanna is another behaviour analyst in my PLN and I am honoured that I was asked to contribute to her blog. Please take a moment to check out her other posts.
The topic had been swirling in my head for weeks (yes, we behaviourists have thoughts); especially since I am preparing my study regime for the BACB exam in...
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Reply to Barefoot Behavior
One of the behaviour analysts in my PLN (@BarefootBehvior) posted this question on his blog:
“What 3 essentials skills (or group of skills) are necessary to be an effective parent or teacher of students with emotional behavior disorders?”
My response:
1) Maintain neutral game face when in the thick of a verbal outburst or behaviour escalation. Never take it personally!
2) Pair...
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#ABAchat Winter 2013 Schedule
It is time to get our #behavioranalysis PLN together over Twitter for weekly #ABAchat. We’re switching things up a bit to allow for more people to participate and fit #ABAchat into their schedules. Starting next week, chats will alternate weekly between Wednesday and Monday nights at 9 pm EST. We had a number of requests for topics and formats including a “Journal Club”,...
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Three-term contingency of the day: Smelling...
Antecedent: Pot of red cabbage braising on the stove.
Behaviour: I lift the lid and immediately lean over and inhale.
Consequence: A rush of hot steam billows from the pot, goes up my nose, burning the inside of my nose (oww!)
The rare occasion where my smelling behaviour was punished.
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Anonymous asked: Tell me your thought on contextual behaviorism (i.e. RFT) I am studying BA as well and I cannot wrap my brain around the radicalism and rigidity of Skinner's behaviorism.
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Happy New Year!
I am writing this post while still in my pajamas. I have to be honest in saying I have done very little today to demonstrate that I have adaptive skills. My teeth got brushed and I pressed the button on our Tassimo to make myself a cup of coffee. Otherwise I spent most of today sitting or laying down on a couch.
I now know why New Years Day is a day to do nothing. It is the first data point of...
December 2012
2 posts
4 tags
Task analysis: I missed a step
Bring dishwasher to sink
Attach water hose to end of faucet
Turn on the hot water tap
Pull cord and plug in dishwasher
Open dishwasher and place dishwasher detergent in the dispenser
Close dishwasher
Turn on
Go to bed and wake up in the morning to clean dishes!
…except I missed a crucial step in this behaviour chain (highlighted above) and woke up to stinky, dried-on-foot-bits...
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November 2012
5 posts
happyheartkris asked: Hi, I just found your blog while looking searching for blogs with the tag "special education." I am currently a teacher, but I studied ABA in college and was a behavior analysis tutor for the Child Study Center in Fort Worth for several years. Can't wait to read your blog and hear your perspective!
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Four-Term Contingency of the Day: Line up and...
Motivating Operation: Thirsty, and I have not had a latte in some time.
Discriminative Stimulus: Starbucks employee at the cash register.
Behaviour: I line up then order my grande extra-hot, 1/2 sweet, no whipped ginger bread latte.
Consequence: Someone else makes my drink and hands it to me for me to enjoy (positive reinforcement).
This contingency occurred to me yesterday as I was waiting for my drink to be made. There were others ahead of me also waiting for their drink. A man and his son entered the Starbucks and then presumably, seeing a line of people, stood behind me. He and his son discussed what they wanted to drink, anticipating their turn. Orders were being called out and one by one people approached the counter to take their drinks. I then noticed the puzzled look on the man face as no one was taking his order. I turned to the man and said, "I think you order with the gentleman over there by the register and then your drink gets made here." He and his son proceeded to the register.
When I consider the discriminative stimulus for any behaviour, I look for the specific detail(s) as the possible signals for reinforcement. We learn to attend to and discriminate these details and their variations as well (without much thought I might add). Many of us have learned that in a fast food setting, lining up where others are lined up is likely to lead to a chance to place and receive your order. In a Starbucks however, there is more to ordering than just looking for a line-up of people. To be more specific, it is the line-up at the cash register, not the drink counter, that signals our drink will get made if we order there first. Anyone new to a Starbucks has not yet learned this behaviour. A few verbal or visual prompts later and someone is learning to order the 'Starbucks' way.
This is just one example from a response class - i.e., variations of a behaviour that all result in the effect; in this case, receiving food or drink. Depending on where we are, the behaviour of ordering a meal or a drink looks slightly different. There's the 'Harvey's' way, the 'Dairy Queen' way, the drive-through way etc, all cued by different details in the environment. It may seem like an insignificant behaviour, but now think of all the other response classes we have learned and how our behaviours have evolved by our ever-changing environment. It makes labeling all of the 4-term contingencies an infinite goal!
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I Know, Therefore I Can?
“He knows better.” ”She knows what she is doing.”
I come across this phrase or its variations a fair bit in my work. I hear it when people describe their confusion or frustration with another person’s behaviour or lack thereof. When I ask, “How do you know s/he knows?”, the answers are along the lines of, “Well, we talked about this before.”, “He can tell me what the rules are.” or they cite the...
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#ABAchat Fall Schedule
To stay connected to our colleagues involved in behaviour analysis a group of us meet over Twitter on Wednesday evenings for an #ABAchat. A variety of topics are discussed and resources are shared. New this fall is a Journal Club format where a specific article is read and reviewed. Participants can earn Continuing Education units towards maintaining their BCBA or BCaBA certification by...
October 2012
5 posts
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Do you behave with the belief of behaviour change?
People have a tendency to hold onto assumptions about others; not forgetting how someone has behaved in the past. While we behaviourists often say “the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour” that only holds true assuming we do nothing about it. By removing or adding to the physical and/or social environment, or by teaching alternate skills, we can effectively change behaviours for...
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Behaviour analyst as sign-maker, road-paver and...
If you’re a behaviour analyst (or studying behaviour analysis), the following scene might be familiar:
What do you do?
I am a behaviour analyst.
Oh. [pause] What is that exactly?
Well, I look at behaviours that people want to decrease, or the skills they want to increase. I analyze the situations in which they occur, or not occur, and then I help develop plans to either increase or...
September 2012
8 posts
4 tags
Boundaries: Social Behaviours to Reinforce →
I have been following the case of Mary Gowans, a teacher in Toronto accused, and later acquitted of sexual assault and sexual interference with a minor - one of her former students (story is linked in the title above). I only know what the media has shared and so I am not here to judge her guilty or innocent. I am however concerned with the violations of boundaries that appear to have spiraled...
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Behaviourist at Play is now on Facebook →
If you want to receive notifications of blog posts in your Facebook timeline, please “like” the page. I will also post updates on our weekly #ABAchat.
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Put Back Your Weights: The match-to-sample program
There is a small problem at my gym: people do not put their weights back. I know, it seems minor (and not really socially significant); however, doing so is at least courteous to other gym members in search of weights for their exercises. We are more efficient in our workouts if we can find the weights we need in the spots designated for them. I see 25 lbs weights in the 10 lbs slot, 15 lbs...
Anonymous asked: Are you on facebook? That's my only daily social media. Would love to get blog updates via fb. Laura in Florida
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Three-term contingency of the day: Nope, not...
Antecedent: I pick up the telephone and say hello. There is a silent pause on the other end.
Behaviour: I hang-up the phone
Consequence: There is no telephone conversation to be had. I avoid having to hear some telemarketing schpeel. I carry on with what I was doing before the phone rang.
That's me saying "No thanks" to the life insurance offers, not-really-free boat cruises, 30-day free gym membership, great deal on carpet cleaning, car warranties, symphony tickets, requests to donate to [insert charity name here] again since I was so charitable the first time, etc. I have learned that the brief two second pause where no one responds signals one thing - this is an automated telemarketing call. The beauty of the two second delay is that not only does it help you discriminate what kind of call you've picked up, but it is also just enough time to hang up before being sucked into the scripted I'll-talk-without-pausing-for-breath speech.
I know it is someone's job to be there on the other end. I just wish these calls greeted us with cookies and ice cream. Then they can tell me how much I need to go to the gym.
helloooooohk asked: I'm working on my master's in ABA down in Florida, and I just found your blog!! I am so excited to read through it all! Thanks for creating this! (:
August 2012
24 posts
7 tags
olcrein asked: Are there any journals or magazines that one could subscribe to that focus primarily on ABA?
