Team Discussion 1

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Team Discussion #1 Kristin Fleming, Jenny Tran, Melissa Mecka, Devany Maldonado Garcia, Kendra Nolen, Lindsey Ferguson Arizona State University SPE 563: Philosophical Foundation of ABA in Educational Settings Dr. Colin Muething CI Danielle Youhana October 29, 2023 https://asu.zoom.us/rec/share/0ikRSSL5lojG6QThdPIv4oiRdPyyz1b8NW6Cj8QXRrKmc- 3ONKJ98phyhsWaQUUc.De8KlS2cWr4Y3MjF Passcode: 83Kzb+6Y

Part 1 People who are not familiar with (or who do not accept) a behaviorist perspective often describe the causes of behavior in mentalistic terms. Though mentalistic explanations of behavior are a part of everyday, colloquial language, this perspective presents challenges for the behavior analyst when communicating the basis of our assessment and proposed treatment and interventions. As a team: ○ Define the term “mentalistic” citing sources from your readings in this course ■ Mentalistic is similar to “thinking”. It is “inner” dimension as the explanation of behavior. Involves feelings and beliefs. Presumed but unobserved. (Baum 2017) ■ In Applied Behavior Analysis mentalistic is used to describe concepts that involve unobservable mental states, like thoughts, feelings, motivations and intentions, as a cause of behavior. ○ Select a mentalistic quality often referenced (by civilians) as an underlying cause of behavior. Mentalistic qualities refer to internal mental processes that aren't able to be observed directly, but are used to explain behavior. ■ Impulse ■ “I felt like it” ○ Discuss how this mentalistic description would be described by a behaviorist. Translate the mentalistic interpretation of behavior to a behaviorist perspective. Your approach here will be similar to that of Skinner’s interpretation of ‘the hungry pigeon’ in Behaviorism at fifty [Mental Way Stations’ (p. 955)]. ■ While sitting with their therapist, a learner began sticking their finger into their nose, then engaged in hair pulling and scratching behaviors without any demands being placed or any other antecedents. This behavior is perceived by the therapist to have been caused by sinus pressure that the learner was internally struggling with and did not have the ability to vocalize. Part 2 ○ Discuss Radical Behaviorism. ■ By Skinner’s definition, “far reaching” form of behaviorism. How much of one’s body can actually be observed. ○ As a team, compose a definition of Radical Behaviorism (citing sources from your readings in this course). ■ What people think or feel, or how they act, doesn’t exist independently but rather is the result of their experiences and environments (Skinner 1976). ■ Radical Behaviorism is an extreme form of behaviorism that rejects the consideration of any unobservable mental events as an explanation for behavior. Radical Behaviorism emphasizes the importance of precise measurements and control of environmental factors, in order to help us understand and shape behaviors. ○ Identify the components of your definition of Radical Behaviorism that may be difficult for someone who is not familiar with or does not accept a behaviorist perspective.

■ “Doesn’t exist independently” may be confusing for those not familiar because others may consider their minds as a separate thing and they may not have outside interference altering their mind. “I just feel like it” ○ Compose a description of your treatment approach - grounded in the tenets of Radical Behaviorism - that could be effectively conveyed to parents of a hypothetical client. ■ Implementing an activity schedule to reduce anxiety during transitions from one activity to the next. Part 3 ○ Define and provide an example of Operant Behavior ■ Operant Behavior is controlled by consequences and can be reinforcing or punishing. Example: Touching a hot stove, Baby crying for attention from mom, getting praised from finishing a task ■ Operant Behavior is influenced by types of reinforcement and punishment and is used to understand how behaviors are acquired and maintained in order to shape and modify future behavior patterns. ■ ○ In About Behaviorism , Chapter 4, Skinner discusses Feelings, Purpose and Intention. He writes, “The view that mental activity is essential to operant behavior is an example of the view that feelings or introspectively observed states are causally effective” (p. 76 in physical book). Discuss the meaning of this statement. ■ Feelings connect the effect of the event and the event in itself ■ Thoughts and feelings are not behaviors because they are not measurable ○ From the perspective of a radical behaviorist, discuss how this statement could be explained to persons not familiar with behaviorism. ■ Example, see food ->hungry= motivating ; see food -> not hungry = not as motivating Reference Skinner, B.F. (1974). About Behaviorism . Vintage Books. Baum, W. (2017). Understanding Behaviorism. Behavior, Culture, and Evolution. (3rd ed.). WILEY Blackwell.

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Skinner, B. F. (1969). Behaviorism at fifty. In Contingencies of reinforcement (pp. 951-958). Prentice Hall. ‘Mental Way Stations’ - Hungry Pigeon experiment (p. 955). https://www.jstor.org/stable/1711326?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents