SPCE 619: Professional Issues in Applied Behavior Analysis
BACB 6th Edition Test Content Outline Items to Cover
A.5 Identify and describe the dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis
E.1 Identify and apply core principles underlying the ethics for BACB® certificants (e.g.
benefiting others; treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect; behave with integrity)
E.9 Engage in cultural humility in service delivery and professional relationships.
E.10 Apply culturally responsive and inclusive service and supervision activities.
Outline
In this section, provide a comprehensive outline for the BACB Test Content Outline items above.
You may only use content from this course. You may use your textbook, assigned articles,
lectures, or instructional materials. You may not use content from outside of this course.
A.5 Dimensions of ABA
Effective – When an intervention is placed, it should show a meaningful and significant
change in the behavior. “In evaluating whether a given application has produced enough of a
behavioral change to deserve the label, a pertinent question can be asked, how much did that
behavior need to be changed” (Baer, Wolf, Risley, 1968)? This means that the results should
show a difference that is noticeable in their everyday life. If the behavior needed to be changed
frequently, it should continue to show a positive change in the behavior that could potentially
allow them to complete it independently.
Technological – Interventions are described in a way that any individual can read it. This
includes clearly writing the intervention and providing detail. “‘Technological’ here means
simply that techniques making up a particular behavioral application are completely identified
, and described (Baer, Wolf, Risley, 1968). In the instance where an RBT works with this client
and has not run the program before, the details will be beneficial for them to conduct it
correctly. Furthermore, to implement a behavioral protocol, it should be written in way for
them to understand how it should be run.
Analytic – A functional relation should be examined within the intervention and the behavior
for change. “An experimenter has achieved an analysis of a behavior when he can exercise
control over it. By common laboratory standards, that has meant an ability of the experimenter
to turn the behavior on and off, or up and down, at will. Laboratory standards have usually
made this control clear by demonstrating it repeatedly, even redundantly, over time” (Baer,
Wolf, & Risley, 1968). Repeating an intervention each session will allow the client to gain an
understanding of what is expected to see a change in each behavior. With repeating these
interventions, the data may not be reliable enough to show an adequate change.
Behavioral – Each behavior that is being targeted is observable and measurable. There are
interventions in place to change the behavior. “If humans are observing and recording the
behavior under study, then any change may represent a change only in their observing and
recording responses, rather than in the subject’s behavior. Explicit measurement of the
reliability of human observes thus becomes not merely good technique, but a prime criterion of
whether the study was appropriately behavioral” (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968). When
implementing change to a behavior, the observation of the behavior may result in less
responses meaning there is not as many of these responses being recorded.
Applied – Focuses on behaviors that are socially significant to the client and will improve
their independence in their life. The Baer et al. 1968 article mentions “in applied research,
there is typically a close relationship between the behavior and stimuli under study and the
subject in whom they are studied. Just as there seem to be a few behaviors that are intrinsically
the target of application, there are few subjects who automatically confer on their study the
status of application.” Applied research is very important as it investigates how important the