What is applied behavior analysis?

ABA is a science like the field of medicine, or any other scientific field of study, and consists of scientific principles to explain why we behave. The scientific principles of behavior are founded on a large body of experimental research that have repeatedly demonstrated that these principles influence the way we behave. ABA is a branch of psychology but it varies from psychology by its strong focus on the environment to identify the causes of behavior and its use of experimental methods to determine causes to effectively change behavior. Behavior analysts or Behaviorists are professionals that practice and/or conduct research in the field of ABA.

The field of ABA focuses on behavior and is based on the basic scientific principles of behavior. Behaviorists do not change behavior, behaviorists modify the environment which, in turn, changes behavior. When behaviorists are looking at the environment, they are looking at the current environment which include the antecedents (what happens before the behavior occurs) and the consequences (what happens immediately after the behavior occurs). Behaviorists do not make assumptions regarding why behavior is occurring; they collect data and based on that data, make hypotheses on why the behavior is occurring. When describing behavior, behaviorists talk about only what they see, not what they think is happening. For example, if they observed Sara hit her sister and then she was given her toy back. They would say that they observed Sara hit her sister and then she was given her toy back. They would NOT say that Sara hit her sister because she wanted her toy. They avoid making assumptions about why the behavior is occurring. What if she wanted to get a reaction out of her sister or to escape the current situation? The point is that they do not know what Sara wants unless she tells them or until they have enough data to show why the behavior is occurring.

A defining feature of the field of ABA is that behavior analysts continually measure the behavior they want to see change. They measure behavior before intervention, during intervention, and following intervention. It is important to know if treatment is necessary. This can only be done by measuring the behavior before treatment is applied. It is also important to know if the intervention is responsible for the change in the behavior and that can only be determined by comparing data on the behavior before intervention to during intervention. Lastly, it is important to know if the behavior change is maintained, once services are removed, and this can only be done by collecting data following the intervention.

Behavior analysts select treatment strategies based on the reason why the behavior is or is not occurring. After a behavior analyst has conducted an assessment (through interviews and directly observing the client's behavior), a behavior analyst reviews the assessment to determine the cause(s) for the behavior or the causes for why a desired behavior is not occurring and then selects procedures for increasing and decreasing behavior that are based on the data from the assessment. Once procedures are selected, a plan is written. Often behavior analysts are not the ones that implement these procedures. Typically, procedures are implemented by the person who is asking for services. This could be a parent, teacher, coach, trainer, company owner, etc. The goal is to teach everyday people how to modify their environment to achieve long-term lasting behavior change . Therefore, behavior analysts practice research supported, effective training methods. Behavior analysts are trained to teach everyday people how to implement behavioral procedures utilizing behavioral teaching/coaching procedures which typically include clear instructions, modeling of correct implementation, and practicing with behavioral feedback until the individual can correctly implement the procedures.

Behavior analysts make recommendations to modify the environment. Without proper training, depending on the severity of a problem, making changes to the environment can be quite dangerous. If a behavior analyst is practicing outside of their area of training and experience, they can make the environment worse and, in some cases, cause harm to their clients and others. Therefore, behavior analysts are ethically bound to only practice in their area of training and expertise or to seek supervision when practicing in a new area.

The field of ABA rejects explanations for behavior that do not help with analysis and treatment. For example, saying that someone engages in repetitive behavior because they have autism and they have autism because they have repetitive behavior, does not explain why the repetitive behavior is occurring. This type of explanation for behavior is called circulatory thinking and does not identify what in the environment is causing the repetitive behavior. Any cause that is given for a particular behavior that can’t be proven or disproved is not helpful in assessment and behavior change and; therefore, behavior analysts avoid those causes in their analysis. Behavior analysts make decisions based strictly on data.