Association for Behavior Analysis International

Each year greenhouse gases continue to be detrimental factors to the world's atmosphere. Behavior, specifically driving behavior, seems to be one of the direct contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of providing immediate feedback of non-ecologically-friendly driving behavior, (e.g., speeding, hard braking, hard accelerating), to decrease such driving, thereby increasing eco-friendly driving. An "Automatic" device was installed on potential participant's cars to measure specific parameters of driving, including accelerating, braking, and fuel consumption. Eco-Driving was defined as a consistent and reliable decrease in episodes of hard accelerating and braking, relative to baseline. An ABAB reversal design was used, where A represented the baseline, delayed feedback condition and B represented the experimental, immediate feedback, condition. During the immediate condition, feedback was given directly from the "Automatic" device while participants were driving, and this was compared to baseline conditions where feedback was not provided until the participant logged in to the Automatic application on their smartphone. All three participants had an overall decrease in episodes of hard accelerations and brakes during the immediate feedback conditions. The results suggest that immediate feedback is effective at increasing Eco-Driving, when applied.

The digitalization of aggressive behaviors affects the lives of students both locally and internationally. Cases of cyberbullying behaviors continue to increase within and outside of schoolyards, which generates its significance for practitioners to identify approaches to prevent and intervene effectively. Distinctly, the manifestation of digital aggression and its targeted victims impact students of all backgrounds. In addition, the adoptions of technological methodologies permit its instinctive and global effects, which consequently generate a heightened exposure of vulnerability for the students. The presentation examines the manifestation of digital aggression and its effects on the targeted victims, offenders, and bystanders. Collaborative approaches to intervene effectively and strategies to promote positive behavior supports for all affected by cyberbullying will be discussed.

This paper presents the commons dilemma game as a methodological model for analyzing the behavior of individuals and groups when exposed to a situation involving the use of common-pool resources. We conducted a non-systematic review of behavioral analytic literature seeking to map the main features of the game, its use in experimental research and the relevant variables for subsequent analysis. Our key findings were as follows; first, common-dilemma games are presented as simulated situations involving the use of shared resources between two or more people. Second, participants must control the gains achieved individually, with each choice affecting the availability of resources for all participants. Note that the amount of resources are generated following a predetermined pattern. Third, maintaining or increasing the amount of resources available depends on whether patterns of consumption below the regeneration capability. Fourth, resources presented as points to be exchanged at the end of the experiment mimics the accrual of real-world resources, such as catching fish from a lake. Variables investigated with the game included inter-participant communication strategies, the effect of reinforcing and punitive consequences on individual resource accrual, and the verbalized rules involving the sustainable use of resources. Future research possibilities using the game are discussed.

Overuse of renewable natural resources, such as fish, trees, and clean water can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Moderate consumption by individuals may be the only option for the survival of human societies. Investigating the behavioral processes underlying the overuse of common resources can be a methodological challenge. This study proposes the use of a videogame-based task to investigate effects of differential consequences on the consumption of resources shared by multiple individuals. In the game, which simulates an ocean fishery, participants need to catch fish to keep playing, while it is necessary to preserve resources shared with other two players. Participants were 77 college students, distributed in three conditions. In the Bonuses condition, participants received extra points contingent to moderate interresponse times (IRTs). The Fines condition was characterized by loss of points following very short IRTs. The Control condition had no differential consequences programmed. Participants made repeated attempts until they won the game, catching enough fish to stay "alive" without depleting fish resources. Participants in the Fines and Bonuses condition needed fewer attempts to win the game. Detailed analyses pointed to differences in the strategies adopted by participants in each condition, signaling a possible differential effect of reinforcement and punitive consequences.

The energy used to produce electricity contributes to almost half of the total energy used in America. Many individual companies have programs designed to decrease the amount of energy used by homeowners and business owners by providing additional incentives for saving energy each month. It is important to identify an effective intervention to decrease energy usage across a variety of settings, including when the people using the energy do not directly pay for it or when homeowners are not involved in incentive programs. The participants in this study were employees at a residential school. The purpose of this Study 1 was to identify an effective intervention to decrease energy usage in group homes using a combination of incentives, prompts, and feedback. The purpose of Study 2 was to evaluate the treatment package from Study 1 in individual homes. The results of Study 1 indicate that incentives, prompts and feedback were ineffective in decreasing energy usage in a group home. The results of Study 2 indicate that the daily presentation of a rule was effective in decreasing energy usage in two homes. Interobserver agreement was collected for 54% of sessions. The mean agreement was 85.9%.

When examining ethical compliance code guidelines for accepting clients, it is noted that behavior analysts should only provide services commensurate with available resources. The compliance code also notes however, that "behavior analysts do not engage in discrimination against individuals or groups based on age, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, socioeconomic status, or any basis proscribed by law," (BACB, 2014). Due to the co-variance of social exclusion and poverty (Devicienti &Poggi, 2010), people with marginalized identities may face greater systemic and financial barriers to accessing services. This poster examines the household income and use of sliding scale payment options to access behavior analytic services for 2017 coaching clients who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, or Asexual/Aromantic (LGBTQIA). This poster also makes an ethical argument for the wider provision of sliding scale options for access to behavior analytic services as a goal for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis as a whole.

The purpose of this study was to review trends in research on punishment. Reviews of JEAB (1958-2015), and JABA (1968-2015) were conducted to identify articles that directly examined the effects of punishment on behavior. Basic research peaked in the 1960's and has since declined. Applied research increased steadily from the 1960's-1990's, but then declined, falling sharply in the 2000's. Negative publicity based on misapplication of aversives resulted in subsequent condemnation of punishment procedures as abusive treatment and pushed their use out of clinic practice. These results suggest that public perception of behavioral analytic punishment procedures is entangled with the coercive techniques used in different social and personal contexts. The unintended outcomes of coercive practices in societal institutions are resulting in social discontent with our law enforcement and political systems, worldwide violence and terrorism, and record numbers of persons incarcerated in our prison systems. The decline in research on punishment is counterproductive to understanding how it shapes behavior in relation to reinforcement. Future research should focus on identifying socially acceptable clinical treatments that allow the individual to express preferences, and educating the public to correct misinformation by using examples that illustrate the difference between punishment and coercion.

The ability to live independently, after spending time in the foster care system, is partly dependent on one's capacity to acquire and engage in adequate performance of various life skills. Some of these skills include budgeting, locating appropriate housing, and selecting higher education options, which should all be taught while still in foster care. Research indicates that adolescents who spent time in the foster care system are ill-prepared for independent living at the age of 18, and often experience negative outcomes due to this. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a transitional living course on acquisition of life skills. The participants included male and female adolescents, between the ages of 13 and 17, who all were in the foster care system in Kansas. A natural comparison and control group design was employed. Data were collected by direct observation, with pre-and post-assessment comparisons use to determine skill acquisition. The results revealed that the transitional living course led to an increase in life skills across all participants. This study extends the literature assessing the use of behavioral approaches to improving performance of life skills in adolescents within the child welfare system.

The training and education requirements differ vastly across law enforcement departments in the United States (Roberg & Bonn, 2004). For decades, the education level of law enforcement has been the focus of many studies despite the fact that associate or bachelor's level education is not required in most departments (Roberg & Bonn, 2004). Many rebut formal education and cite work experience as the best mode of training for police officers (Bayley & Bittner, 1997). Bayley and Bittner asserted policing is an art to be mastered only by repeated experience in the field. As Paoline and Terrill (2007) surmised the argument "policing cannot be taught in a classroom but must be learned on the streets over time" (p. 182). However, these two perspectives do not have to be mutually exclusive and effective skills-training procedures can benefit academic programs, as well as on-the-job continuing education for veteran officers. This project examined current police reports as an assessment for skills deficits across a variety of domains in law enforcement and proposes how each area can be handled using fluency and behavior skills training.