Abstract
Professional organizations that oversee the accreditation of graduate training programs in behavior analysis have increased didactic training requirements for programs in various domains across the years. One of the areas in which this has occurred concerns training in philosophy within behavior science. Although content-hour requirements for didactic philosophical training have increased, the contents of this training are not prescribed and are left to the discretion of individual programs. We conducted a survey of verified course sequence programs to assess the current state of training in philosophy in behavior analysis graduate training programs. The results provided a list of common topics and readings in philosophy courses, and indicated an emphasis on radical behaviorism and the works of B. F. Skinner. The list of topics and readings obtained provides a resource for course design, and we suggest that exposing students to a broader range of behavioristic and nonbehavioristic topics and readings may enhance students’ orientation to philosophical issues in behavior analysis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the supplementary information files for this article (SI 4).
Notes
As an example, Rey et al. (2019) found that behavior analysts held more negative views of individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) than those with other mental disorders. As only 68% of behavior analysts surveyed reported adhering to a behavioristic philosophy, the authors attributed the results to pervasive cultural views of SUDs as being due to personal weakness, moral shortcomings, etc. instead of adherence to a thoroughgoing behavioristic view that SUDs develop as a result of certain learning histories (e.g., Skinner, 1974).
Although the wording of the recruitment email suggested only one response per VCS at a given university should be made, it is possible that multiple instructors within one VCS program responded to this survey. We did not collect data on the university affiliation or VCS number for the VCS coordinators/instructors; thus, it is possible that there is some redundancy in our data resulting from multiple survey responses relative to the same VCS program. Of the 41 respondents whose data were included for data analysis, 34 were VCS coordinators and 7 were instructors but not coordinators. It is therefore possible that these seven responses were redundant, which would reduce the representation of our sample size to 12% of the target population (34/284).
There are additional critical components to concept formation that are not noted here. We refer readers to Layng (2019) for a tutorial and overview of concept formation.
References
Association for Behavior Analysis International. (n.d.-a). Accreditation standards. https://accreditation.abainternational.org/apply/accreditation-standards.aspx
Association for Professional Behavior Analysts. (n.d.). Accreditation standards. https://www.apbahome.net/page/Accreditationstandards
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1987). Some still current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20(4), 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1987.20-313
Baum, W. M. (2005). Understanding behaviorism: Behavior, culture, and evolution. Blackwell.
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2022a). Board certified behavior analyst handbook. https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BCBAHandbook_221209-2.pdf
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2022b). BACB newsletter March 2022. https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/Mar2022_Newsletter/
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2023). BACB newsletter September 2023. https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BACB_September2023_Newsletter-230929.pdf
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Fryling, M. J. (2013). Theory, philosophy, and the practice of applied behavior analysis. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 14(1), 45–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/15021149.2013.11434444
Glenn, S. S. (1988). Contingencies and metacontingencies: Toward a synthesis of behavior analysis and cultural materialism. Behavior Analyst, 11(2), 161–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392470
Hayes, L. J., & Fryling, M. J. (2023). Interbehaviorism: A comprehensive guide to the foundations of Kantor’s theory and its application for modern behavior analysis. Context Press.
Hayes, L. J., & Tarbox, J. (2007). Ethics and values in behavioral perspective. In J. W. Jacobson, J. A. Mulick, & J. Rojahn (Eds.), Handbook of intellectual and developmental disabilities (pp. 691–717). Springer.
Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Contextual behavior science: Creating a science more adequate to the challenge of the human condition. Journal of Contextual Behavior Science, 1(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2012.09.004
Hayes, S. C., Hayes, L. J., & Reese, H. W. (1988). Finding the philosophical core: A review of Stephen C. Pepper’s World hypotheses: A study in evidence. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 50(1), 97–111. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1988.50-97
Hayes, S. C., & Toarmino, D. (1995). If behavioral principles are generally applicable, why is it necessary to understand cultural diversity? The Behavior Therapist, 18, 21–23. Retrieved November 1, 2023, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steven-Hayes-5/publication/288007730_If_behavioral_principles_are_generally_applicable_why_is_it_necessary_to_understand_cultural_diversity/links/56e5807608aedb4cc8ae6ba1/If-behavioral-principles-are-generally-applicable-why-is-it-necessary-to-understand-cultural-diversity.pdf
Hollins, N. A., Morris, D., & Li, A. (2023). Integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion readings within coursework: Suggestions for instructors teaching behavior analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 16(2), 629–639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00781-5
Johnson, K., & Bulla, A. J. (2021). Creating the components for teaching concepts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14(3), 785–792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00626-z
Johnston, J. M. (2014). Radical behaviorism for ABA practitioners. Sloan.
Kantor, J. R. (1953). The logic of modern science. Principia Press.
Kantor, J. R. (1958). Interbehavioral psychology. Principia Press.
Kimball, J. W. (2002). Behavior-analytic instruction for children with autism: Philosophy matters. Focus on Autism & Other Developmental Disabilities, 17(2), 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/10883576020170020101
Krosnick, J. A., & Presser, S. (2010). Question and questionnaire design. In P. V. Marsden & J. D. Wright (Eds.), Handbook of survey research (2nd ed., pp. 263–314). Emerald Group.
Layng, T. V. J. (2019). Tutorial: Understanding concepts: Implications for behavior analysts and educators. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 42(2), 345–363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-018-00188-6
Miltenberger, R. G. (2018). Perspectives from 30 years of training behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 11(3), 194–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-018-0219-y
Moore, J. (2008). Conceptual foundations of radical behaviorism. Sloan.
Normand, M. P. (2008). Science, skepticism, and applied behavior analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 1(2), 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391727
Parrott, L. J. (1986). The role of postulation in the analysis of inapparent events. In H. W. Reese & L. J. Parrott (Eds.), Behavior science: Philosophical, methodological, and empirical advances (pp. 35–60). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Pastrana, S. J., Frewing, T. M., Grow, L. L., Nosik, M. R., Turner, M., & Carr, J. E. (2018). Frequently assigned readings in behavior analysis graduate training programs. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 11(3), 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0137-9
Pilgrim, C. (2018). Some thoughts on shaping future behavior analysts: A call to stay true to our roots. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 11(3), 204–205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-018-0233-0
Rachlin, H. (2014). The escape of the mind. Oxford University Press.
Rey, C. N., Kurti, A. N., Badger, G. J., Cohen, A. H., & Heil, S. H. (2019). Stigma, discrimination, treatment effectiveness, and policy support: Comparing behavior analysts’ views on drug addiction and mental illness. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12(4), 758–766. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-019-00345-6
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. Vintage Books.
Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. The Free Press.
Skinner, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, 213(4507), 501–504. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7244649
Slocum, T. A., Detrich, R., Wilczynski, S. M., Spencer, T. D., Lewis, T., & Wolfe, K. (2014). The evidence-based practice of applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 37(1), 41–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-014-0005-2
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of Interest
The authors have no known financial conflicts of interest to declare. The first two authors are faculty members in a behavior analysis training program that is both ABAI accredited and contains a VCS. At the time of writing this article, Dr. Bethany P. Contreras serves as a VCS coordinator, and Dr. Matthew Lewon teaches course content related to philosophy of behavior analysis. We did not respond to the survey, nor did we include any information about our own behavior analysis training program in the current study or article.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Contreras, B.P., Lewon, M., Peal, C. et al. The State of Teaching Philosophy in Behavior Analysis Training Programs. Behav Analysis Practice (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00889-8
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00889-8