2015 Guidelines for the Accreditation of Graduate Programs in Behavior Analysis
ABAI Accreditation Requirements for Doctoral-Level Courses and Examples of Content
The linked table provides an overview of the requirements for doctoral program accreditation that go into effect January, 2015. The table includes the categories of content, requirements, and a general description of content areas to be covered. ABAI does not intend to dictate the content of specific courses. Content descriptions are included as examples only.
Categories of Required Content |
Hours of Instruction |
Doctoral-Level Examples of Content |
|---|---|---|
| Principles | 45 | The aim of this course is to develop students' competence in the use of technical terminology pertaining to the concepts and principles of behavior analysis. The contents of such courses might include such items as: contingencies of reinforcement, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement (escape, avoidance), conditioned reinforcement, generalized conditioned reinforcement, intermittent reinforcement, extinction, punishment, conditioned aversive stimuli, stimulus control, stimulus discrimination, conditional stimulus discrimination, stimulus generalization, establishing/motivational operations, response form, response function, and response generalization. |
| Research Methods 1 | 45 | The aim of this course is to develop students' competence in the application of single-case research methods in behavioral investigation and practice, as well as data collection procedures, analytical procedures, and graphic representation of data. |
| Research Methods 2 | 45 | Advanced research methods courses might be designed to further develop students' competence in single case research methods, as well as in group design and applicable statistical procedures. |
| Conceptual 1 | 45 | Examples of course content might include Skinner's writings as primary sources. This course could also be more topical, organized around various themes (for instance, private events, phylogeny and ontogeny, and cultural design). Specific content decisions will be made at the discretion of the program. |
| Conceptual 2 | 45 | Some examples of content for advanced conceptual courses include: Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. Skinner's contribution to the analysis of verbal behavior coupled with others' contributions or critiques such as those of RFT, Wittgenstein, Russell, Vygotsky and Kantor, for example. Behavioral interpretations of complex human behavior – including verbal behavior and everything related to it (e.g., remembering, thinking, imagining, perceiving, problem solving, dreaming, belief, and so on). This course might involve Skinner's work on these topics as well as the works of many others within the behavioral tradition. Philosophies of science (e.g., logical positivism, operationism, functionalism, field theory.) History of the behavioral movement – with an emphasis on the philosophical premises and theoretical conceptions of Pavlov, Watson, Hull, Spence, Guthrie, Skinner, Kantor, among others. The participation of behavior analysis in interdisciplinary relations with other sciences such as biology, sociology, anthropology, ecology, etc. The above suggestions are intended as examples only. |
| Applied 1 | 45 | The aim of this course is to demonstrate the operations of principles of behavior in applied research in multiples areas of investigation and practice such as behavior assessment, intervention for problem behaviors, procedures to enlarge behavioral repertoires or bring behavior under appropriate stimulus control, among other topics. |
| Applied 2 | 45 | The aim of this course is to further demonstrate the operations of principles of behavior in multiple areas of investigation and practice, possibly as pertains to multiple populations (e.g., persons with special needs, teachers, medical patients, staff members, college students), in multiple settings (e.g., homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces), and for multiple response sets (e.g., parenting, academic, social, and interpersonal skills). |
| Ethics | 45 | The aim of this course is to develop students' competence with legal constraints and ethical guidelines as pertinent to behavioral interventions of various sorts, as well as intellectual circumstances. |
| EAB 1 | 45 | As an example, EAB 1 might focus on demonstrating the operations of principles of behavior in the context of basic research in multiple areas of investigation such as schedules of reinforcement, stimulus control, conditioned reinforcement choice, and establishing/motivational operations. |
| EAB 2 | 45 | Advanced experimental courses might aim to demonstrate the operations of principles of behavior in the context of basic research. Several options are available here. This course might focus on research in a specific area (e.g., stimulus control, schedules of reinforcement, quantitative analysis); it might focus on interdisciplinary research (e.g., behavioral pharmacology/toxicology, behavioral economics, psycho-biology/neurology); it might focus on other learning theories (e.g., respondent conditioning), as well as other areas of behavioral research not already covered or covered in detail in EAB 1–again at the discretion of the program. |
| Electives | 45 (Behavioral Related) | The aim of the elective course is to allow students to develop competence in specialized areas of behavioral investigation. Topics might include such items as behavioral systems analysis, behavioral consultation, behavioral safety, social behavior, precision teaching, among many others. |
| Supervised Practical/ Research Training OR Experience (e.g., Lab, Practicum, Directed Study, Independent Study, Independent Research) | 45+45 (2 courses for minimum of 360 hours of supervised field experience) | The aim of supervised practical experience or research is to prepare students for professional practice or continued research activity. There are many options for meeting this requirement; for example, additional coursework, supervised practica, independent study, or lab experience. |
| MA Thesis or Equivalent | Required: # of hours determined by the university | Equivalencies, as well as the number of required credits, are determined by individual programs and/or the requirements of their universities. |
| Dissertation | Required # of hours determined by the university | The number of required credits is determined by individual programs and/or the requirements of their universities. |
| Totals | 495 hours of instruction (33 credit hours) + thesis and dissertation + 6 credits of research or practica | The Accreditation Board is committed to working with educational institutions, allowing considerable flexibility as to how these requirements may be met, through a combination of formal courses, practical training, and laboratory experience. |