WARNING: a Syllabus Describes the Main Features of a Course and Outlines Students'

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Applied Behavior Analysis 1/18/2014

Course Applied Behavior Analysis, PSYCH 502, Spring 2014

Prerequisites Psych-210, Psych-325, jr. standing

Instructor Marshall Lev Dermer

Office Hours MW 2:00-2:50 PM & by appointment

Office Location Garland 213

Office Telephone 414-229-6067

Department Telephone 414-229-4746

Home Telephone 414-332-8606

E-Mail

Web Page https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/dermer/public/courses/502/502page.html

Teaching Assistant: Carrie Prentice

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 1-2 PM & by appointment

Office Location: Pearse B-87

E-mail:

Lecture meetings Lec 401, Garland B-26, TRF, 2 - 2:50 PM

Laboratory meetings Lab 801, On-Campus Lab

TR, 3:00-4:30, Pearse 250

Lab 902, Off-Campus, Autism, Service-Learning Lab

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/dermer/public/Autism/autismpage.html

Lab 903, Off-Campus, Dog Training, Service-Learning Lab

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/dermer/public/AnimalTraining/dog.pdf

Special Notice for Undergraduates

This section of Psych 502 does not carry graduate credit. Such credit can be earned if you are within six credits of graduating. You must be enrolled in the section of Psych 502 taught by Dr. Tiger during the spring semester, complete the assignments for graduate students, complete the proper paper work with the graduate school, and pay graduate tuition.

Texts/Resources

For Lecture

Miltenberger, R. G. (2012). Behavior modification: Principles and procedures (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth. (Available at The NEEBO Bookstore on Downer Avenue.)

Flash Cards for Miltenberger’s 5th Ed. Most of these definitions are based on Miltenberger’s text but some are quite different. You should learn these definitions.

StarFAST Software for Miltenberger's 5th ed. This software runs on MS Windows machines and uses a flash-card approach for teaching the definitions. It has many other features including counting the number of correct and incorrect responses and expressing them as rates, and provides cumulative practice. Undergraduates can use the software to prepare for the weekly tests; graduate students can do the same and prepare for the end-of-the-semester definition test.

Other resources, including a manual for using the software, previous weekly examinations, previous final examinations, previous exemplary course papers, and more. Look here:

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/dermer/public/courses/502/502page.html

Additionally there are resources for lecture at D2L.

For On-Campus Laboratory: 801

The syllabus and readings are available on D2L:

https://uwm.courses.wisconsin.edu/.

Be sure to select or search for Applied Behavior Analysis Lab 801.

For Off-Campus Laboratories: 902, 903

You will need a notebook to log your observations. Don't buy one until you see what old notebooks I have available. For each laboratory, instructions can be found on the course web page:

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/dermer/public/Autism/autismpage.html

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/dermer/public/AnimalTraining/dog.pdf

Other Resources

UWM Policies

Course Objectives

1.  To review applied behavior analytic research and research methods.

2.  To apply behavior analysis with intellectual integrity and respect for participants/clients.

3.  To discuss human and social behavior from a scientific standpoint.

4.  To enhance speaking and writing.

Weekly Routine

We usually cover Chapters 1 to 23 (but not Chapter 21) of Ray Miltenberger’s text at the rate of about two chapters per week. Usually we will have reading assignments for Tuesday and Thursdays and closed-book examinations on Fridays. Please note that on some Fridays I will lecture or answer questions before the examination.

Prepare for lecture and the weekly examinations by (1) reading each assigned chapter, (2) learning the definitions of the technical terms, and (3) completing the three quizzes for each chapter.

Please complete the reading assignment before class. Every semester, many students indicate that class was most meaningful when they had studied the reading assignment before attending class. Indeed, on the course evaluations the most frequent advice that students offer new students is to study the reading materials before lecture and attend lecture. The other advice is to make flash cards or use the software available on the course web page to master the numerous technical terms.

In class, we’ll either discuss difficult aspects of the readings or I’ll elaborate by, for example, discussing the definitions. Definitions are a very important aspect of behavior analysis. I have revised Miltenberger’s definitions so that they might more easily be learned or so that they are more precise (from my standpoint).

Technical Terms

This semester, I am not offering the course for graduate credit, but I think the comments below may help you see the possibilities of a career in behavior analysis.

Students who complete this course for graduate credit often become Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs). There is a huge shortage of BCBAs throughout the US. Here is what one “newly minted” BCBA wrote to me,

BCBAs often work with a wide variety of people-so the 2600 kiddos with Autism [in Wisconsin] who need ABA are the tip of the iceberg. There are also the thousands of people with other developmental disabilities - both kids and adults, plus the BCBAs who . . . work with animals (a former classmate of mine, a BCBA, trains dolphins).

Let me add that applied behavior analysts also design instructional material, work as industrial psychologists, social workers, school psychologists, and even clinical psychologists. On top of that a “lucky few” conduct basic research as well as work with pharmaceutical companies and agencies concerned with protecting the environment.

Becoming board certified requires completing a 1500 hour field experience and passing a written examination that requires more than knowing the definitions of behavior analytic technical terms. So, in the past, I had students "over practice": on seeing a technical term to recite the corresponding definition. I had motivated such "over practice" by assigning grades not in terms of accuracy (percent correct) but fluency (the net number of correct responses per minute [rate of corrects – rate on incorrects per minute]). Here is the scale I had used for assigning grades:

So, if you have any interest in becoming a BCBA (starting salaries are about $65,00 per year plus fringe benefits)then you might want to learn the terms so you can recite them at the rate of 17 correct and no errors per minute.

I’ll not require you to learn the technical terms/definitions to a fluency criterion but as you will see, I expect you to learn them.

Weekly Examinations

Examination Content

Unless otherwise announced, there will be a closed-book examination, each Friday. The examination will cover the week’s reading assignments, and lecture as well as previous material. In other words, these examinations are cumulative.

1. Current material. About five questions will cover the material (readings, lecture, and definitions) for the week. Again the definitions are available on the course website. Questions may require more than knowing a term’s definition. For example, consider this question:

Is this an example of reinforcement? Explain why or why not.

Baby Bobby would say “boo” three times per hour. To reinforce this behavior Bobby’s mother said “boo” to Bobby 12 times per hour. Each time she said “boo,” Bobby immediately answered “boo.” Bobby’s rate of saying “boo” increased to 15 times per hour.

Usually, one or two questions will cover the week’s lecture material.

2. Previous Material. About six questions will cover previous material.

3. Warning.

You can’t do well on these examinations by waiting until Thursday evening to study for the Friday examination. To do well you must be studying almost daily so as to cover current and past material. It is best to read the text and complete the exercises before lecture to understand lecture and the examinations. This is noted by most students in their course evaluations.

On Missing an Examination

During the semester it may be inconvenient for you to complete an examination. So, as an accommodation, when I calculate your semester grade for examinations, I’ll exclude your lowest two examination scores.

You can make up an examination for a substantial reason such as a religious holiday, court appearance, medical emergency, or death in the family. If you have such a reason then document it and request a make-up examination. Please note, that there is a limit of two such make-up examinations and they must be completed as soon as possible after the missed examination.

Writing Assignment

You shall write a paper not exceeding 1000 words. The paper should be written as a magazine article. Your papers should, therefore, be interesting and may include a photograph or figure. Although some model papers exceed 1000 words, you can find model papers here. Note well, all of the papers focus on how the environment controls behavior.

Papers may address any aspect of behavior analysis covered in the course except the "self-" as in "self-control," "self-reinforcement," and "self-punishment." These issues are discussed by behavior analysts, but they are difficult for new students to well address. So why make life difficult? Don't write a paper about how you lost weight, started exercising, etc from the standpoint of your changing your behavior.

Your paper should reflect some aspect of your personal life. I expect you to write, for example, about yourself, your relative, your boss, your co-worker, your significant other, or your pet. Although I expect you to write a magazine-like article, do not write about some abstract topic that might be covered in "popular" magazines such as depression, habit disorders, anorexia, etc. Check with me about your essay topic.

Please review the papers on the course web page. Some papers use the technical terms of behavior analysis as if the paper had been prepared for a new magazine called Behavior Analysis Today. You can write this way, but most papers use only a few or no technical terms. There is, however, one feature that all papers share: they do not contain mentalistic explanations.

Mentalistic explanations attribute behavior to hypothetical entities or processes inside the organism for which there is no physical evidence. Examples of mentalistic explanation include: He gave her flowers because he is falling in love. She smacked him because she was angry. She shook his hand because she has extroversion. He left because he wanted to. and, He worked hard because he was motivated. All of these sentences "explain" behavior by appealing to fictitious entities or processes (marked by italics) inside the organism. I'll be talking about mentalism early in the semester, but of considerable value is my Some Questions Asked by Students of Behavior Analysis.

If you submit a draft via email on or before Friday, April 18. I’ll provide feedback. Most students usually submit 3 drafts plus their final draft! I cannot promise reviewing drafts submitted later. Your paper is due the last day of class.

Your paper should (1) enhance your understanding of course material and (2) enhance your analytic and writing abilities.

Lee J. Cronbach, an excellent writer and psychologist, wrote in his "Four Psychological Bulletin Articles in Perspective,” (Psychological Bulletin, 1992, 112, 389-392):

The editors have pressed me to append advice for young psychologists aspiring to make an impact through the Bulletin. My advice must be like the legendary recipe for jugged hare, which begins, "First catch your hare." First, have a message worth delivering. Beyond that, it is care in writing that counts--a conclusion I derive from having refereed and having assigned course readings.

In the days before word processors, I found 10 retypings of a paper none too many, and that implies many rereadings by me. Pages going back to my typist often carried scribbles in five colors, each new color representing an additional reading. Always, one sees floating pronouns to anchor, sentences to clarify or vivify, paragraphs to move, digressions to delete. Strunk and White (1979) is worth its weight in gold. Live by it. I advise the inexperienced writer to leave a near-final draft in a drawer for a few weeks and, returning to it fresh, to read it aloud. Try to listen through the ears of a graduate student new to the paper, indeed, new to the topic.

Rework any sentence that lacks flow or cadence, any sentence in which first-glance reading misplaces the emphasis, and any sentence in which comprehension comes less than instantly to the most knowledgeable (sic) of readers, the writer of the sentence. At best, technical writing can aspire to literary virtues--a change of pace from abstract thesis to memorable example, from brisk to easeful, from matter-of-fact to poetic.

In some year after publication, feedback will come when the writer sees one of his or her sentences quoted out of context. That is on its face a greater reward than citation; the quoter has preferred the writer's words to his or her own. But reincarnation can be for better or worse. The quoting author may use the quote to carry a message that was not intended. That is worse than being ignored. On the other hand, the quoted sentence in its new context may eloquently give force to an argument the original writer is happy to support. There's success for you!

Although Cronbach mentions Strunk and White’s classic text, you can learn much more by studying one of the editions of this text:

Williams, J. M. (2005). Style/Ten lessons in clarity and grace (8th ed.). Boston: Longman.

Earlier editions are less expensive and as helpful.

Another valuable but highly condensed source which introduces you to some basic ways to write more gracefully is here:

http://dartmouth.edu/writing-speech/teaching/first-year-writing-pedagogies-methods-design/teaching-style

I’ll grade your paper in terms of material presented in this and the many English and composition courses you have completed. Thirty percent of the grade will be based on issues like grammar, spelling, clarity, and concision. I expect papers to be written gracefully. Writing that might earn an A in another course might earn just a C here.