Behaviorism

 

Humans like predictability. We like to understand when, why, and how things happen. For decades, humans have tried to understand behavior. Why do some people gamble excessively? Why do people respond in traffic in certain ways (road rage or the predictable hand gestures)? Why do some people hit the elevator button multiple times even though it won’t make the elevator arrive any faster? If we understand behavior, we can change it, for better or worse. In this session, we’ll look at behavior from a specific lens—that of behaviorism. We’ll learn about the history of behaviorism, types of behavior, and some basic terms associated with applied behavior analysis (ABA). We’ll be learning about important dimensions/characteristics of what makes ABA unique—and why it’s useful. Let’s get started.

Interest in behavior permeates almost all facets of life. Business and industry, psychology, finance, and engineering fields need to understand behavior. Throughout time, various disciplines, particularly in psychology and education, have examined behavior through different lenses. One viewpoint of behavior is that of behaviorism. "Behaviorism" refers to the philosophy of the science of behavior. This means you can study behavior as a science; you can develop theories to look at behavior in predictable ways. Just as there are rules that guide chemistry and engineering, you can study and change behavior based on sound theory, too.

Terminology

A bit about terminology: there are lots of terms associated with the study of the science of behavior. You may hear terms such as behavior modification or ABA. The use of these terms can be confusing and may vary based on what field of study is using them. The term “behavior modification” was developed and used in the field of psychology. This term is not used as much anymore, as it tends to have negative connotations associated ("modification" sounds a bit more controlling). The term "applied behavior analysis" (ABA) is one we’ll be using to examine behavior. ABA is characterized by specific criteria that guide the theory. ABA widely is used in special education settings and in the education of persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). As we’ll talk about throughout the course, ABA and the techniques derived from the theory are the most effective ways to change the behavior of individuals with ASD.