Article Review #2 (1)

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Social Validity: The Case for Subjective Measurement In the 1978 article titled “Social Validity: The Case or Subjective Measurement” or “How Applied Behavioral Analysis is Finding its Heart” by Montrose M. Wolf, he begins the article by recounting the events of when he was assigned to stating the purpose of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis. He decided to ask his fellow coworkers about how he should go about stating the purpose. He met with Dan Baer who stated that the purpose of the journal was “for the publication of applications of the analysis of behavior problems of social importance.” Wolf felt that this was sufficient enough, pasted it in the journal and sent it off to be printed. Wolf states that ever since then, he was struggling to understand what “social importance” really was. Social importance implied that it had societal value. But ABA was focused on objective measurements of real events, how could it rely on subjective evaluations? Wolf began to worry that placing a subjective criterion in a journal full of objective data would lead to a great deal of criticism, but he was surprised to see none. Wolf received a study by Bob Jones and Nate Azrin where people with stutters attempted to synchronize their speech with the beath of a metronome. They found that this helped the individuals speak in a more typical speech pattern. Although they were no longer stuttering, listeners complained that it sounded artificial. They tested different beat durations and the judges said that 3 to three seconds between beat duration made the participants' speech sound the most natural. In combination with this, Wolf was dealing with this issue of subjective findings in his own research when his coworkers were questioning the relevance, importance and justification for behavioral goals. Wolf determined that if they were to do something of social importance, then they need to develop better systems and measures for asking society whether they were doing so. Wolf then decided that society would need to validate their work on three levels. The levels are (1) The social significance of a treatment’s goals. Are ? (2) The social appropriateness of the procedures. Do the ends justify the means? That is, do the [participants, caregivers, and other consumers consider the treatment procedures acceptable? and (3) The social importance of the effects. Are consumers satisfied with the results? All the results, including any unpredicted ones? (Wolf, 1978). His findings outlined that ABA doesn’t need to be exempt from societal observation and should be closely examined to determine the validity and effectiveness of the treatment. It also points out that treatments should include the subjective feedback of participants because it eliminates opportunities of avoidance, complaints, or rejection of treatment which could affect the adoption of ABA by the society. Looking at treatment from a subjective perspective ensures that practices are following acceptable guidelines and are deemed as efficient for the client and society. Allowing feedback from participants and consumers ensures that the study is evaluated for validity and effectiveness. Subjective measurement also ensures that the participant can determine whether or not they feel the program was beneficial for them. Whereas more objective practices rely heavily on empirical data and do not leave room for the consideration of the social importance of the study and whether or not the treatment is acceptable. I think this can be used in the future to better ensure the societal implications and importance of a study. It also allows for future criticisms of studies to ensure that they are needed and ethical. Overall, I feel as though subjective treatment is a better option because it provides more societal feedback in the field of ABA and makes sure that the practice is still acceptable and effective.

The Use of Single-Subject Research to Identify Evidence-Based Practice in Special Education This article by Robert H. Horner et. al begins by outlining that single-subject research is used to develop basic principles and evidence-based practices for use in special education. Horner describes that single-subject research is experimental rather than correlational or descriptive. It works to document casual or functional relationships between independent and dependent variables. Single-subject research involves within-subject comparison which is the comparison of the behavior of the same individual under different conditions or treatments and the comparison of between subjects which involves comparing different individuals who receive different conditions to minimize threats to internal validity and enhance the external validity of the findings. Horner then lists critical features that define this methodology. The first feature is the individual is the unit of analysis, single-subject designs may involve only one participant but most of the time include multiple participants. Each participant serves as their own control. Their performance prior to the intervention is compared to performance during/after the intervention is implemented. The second feature is participant and setting description, single-subject research requires the researcher to present descriptions of the participants, settings, and the process in which the participants were selected. This is so when another researcher goes to replicate the study, they know which demographic they need to select from in order to get similar results. The third feature is the dependent variable which includes features such as dependent variables are operationally defined, they are measured repeatedly, the recording is assessed for consistency, and they are selected for their social significance. The fourth feature is the independent variable. The independent variable is typically the practice, intervention, or behavioral mechanism under investigation. In single-subject design, the independent variable needs to be actively manipulated and the implementation fidelity needs to be documented. The fifth feature is baseline/comparison condition, this outlines that the description of the baseline needs to be precise so that it can be easily compared to the data when the intervention is implemented and so that the baseline conditions can be accurately replicated later on. The sixth feature is experimental control, this allows for confirmation of the functional relationship between the manipulation of the independent variable and the change in the dependent variable. This is most effectively shown within an A-B-A-B research design. The seventh feature is visual analysis, visual analysis encompasses the interpretation of the level trend, and variability that is shown with the baseline and the intervention. The eighth feature is external validity, to determine external validity, the effects can be replicated across different participants, conditions and different measurements of the dependent variable. The ninth feature is social validity, this refers to the importance of ensuring the practicality and relevance of the research procedures in real life settings. The goal is to provide evidence-based practices that benefit the participant(s). The tenth and final feature is research questions appropriate for single-subject research methods. This involves asking questions about whether the research is reflected in the data. These features help build academic achievement, social behavior, reduce problem behavior, and help teachers and families implement interventions within special education. All of this also helps educators build individualized education plans through evidence-based research. Single-subject research helps establish evidence-based practices in special education to create appropriate intervention plans to achieve a desirable behavior and improve the lives of disabled

individuals and their families. I believe that single-subject research is better than case study research, because single-subject research uses evidence-based research and applies it across multiple participants and conditions to determine its validity whereas case studies use descriptive research in order to present patterns to explain a phenomenon and create a hypothesis for future research. Case studies only observe the experience of one person and don’t manipulate an independent variable to test different conditions. Single-subject research is important for the future, because having precise evidence-based research that can be easily replicated allows for the proper implementation of an intervention to help an individual improve their quality of life.

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