Association for Behavior Analysis International

A clarified and coherent philosophy of science is of significant importance to the natural science approach to human behavior. Within recent years, there has been renewed behavior analytic interest in JR Kantor’s Interbehaviorism (Kantor, 1924), in particular. Despite the repeated characterizations of Interbehaviorism as merely descriptive, increases in interest appear to be primarily driven by enthusiasm around its practical implications. This renewed interest in a context far removed from that in which Interbehaviorism was developed may necessitate novel explorations of its implications. In what specific ways is Interbehaviorism useful to the behavior analytic clinician in conceptualization, treatment planning, and intervention? How might Interbehavioral conceptualizations of learning increase a clinician's effectiveness in responding in the moment of the client-clinician interaction? Within this symposium, we will address these questions by expanding upon previous conceptual analyses, and bringing these analyses to bear on the activities of the clinician through explicit examples. Beginning with a brief introduction to Interbehavioral concepts that will be of use to the clinician, each subsequent contribution within this symposium will then proceed to examine these concepts with respect to matters of the therapeutic relationship, clinical behavior analysis (writ large), and exposure-based approaches to psychotherapy.

Basic competency in philosophical tenets. of Radical Behaviorism and Interbehaviorism.

Interbehavioral psychology is the applied form of J.R. Kantor’s naturalistic philosophy of science, Interbehaviorism, to the study of interbehavior within an environment (Kantor, 1924). Adopting an Interbehavioral lens as a behavior analytic clinician often requires modifications to one’s conceptual vocabulary involved in the description and analysis of interbehavioral phenomena. This paper will explore core Interbehavioral that may have particular utility for the behavior analytic clinician. For example, interbehavioral psychology adopts a field approach to conceptualize the complex interactions of the elements making up the IBF: stimulus and response function, interbehavioral history, setting factors, and the medium of contact (Kantor, 1958). Another useful interbehavioral concept is stimulus substitution, whereby a stimulus object assumes the functions of another stimulus object via shared properties or close spatio-temporal proximity within an organism’s interactional history (Fryling, 2012). This process may be of particular relevance to making sense of organismic responding in the absence of a topographical stimulus object. As another example, the Kantorian conception of subtle behavior will be explored as a naturalistic alternative to the interpretation of behaviors typically classified as covert or private events (Kantor, 1953, pg. 268). Lastly, contemporary concepts that may offer additional utility to the behavior analytic clinician by allowing for characterization of the breadth, flexibility, and orientation of the IBF will be considered.

The therapeutic relationship, sometimes referred to as the therapeutic alliance, has been conceptualized from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Traditional accounts of behavior therapy have de-emphasized the importance of the therapeutic relationship in favor of the study of active ingredients and mechanisms of action (Dougher, 2004). This changed with the development of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), which demonstrated that critical aspects of the therapeutic relationship may be those that are functionally similar to other relationships out in the client’s life (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 1991). Adopting an Interbehavioral stance extends this conceptualization beyond the interpersonal context such that any significant contexts can be made functionally present for direct observation and intervention. In this way, the therapeutic relationship can be conceptualized as the primary unit of analysis for the behavior analytic clinician (Sandoz, 2020). This paper will expand on the use of the therapeutic relationship that is consistent with evolving understandings of how to apply Interbehavioral psychology to clinical settings.

Clinical Behavior Analysis (CBA) is the umbrella term for the systematic application of the principles of a natural science approach to human behavior in the treatment of various topographies of behavioral disorders (Dougher, 2000), colloquially, mental health disorders. As interest in CBA continues to grow among behavior analytic clinicians, likewise so has interest stirred in the basic philosophical and epistemological assumptions underlying clinical applications of behavior analytic principles. Among the various philosophies of behavioral science, J.R. Kantor’s Interbehaviorism (Kantor, 1924) has been advanced as a philosophy that can, in particular, be invaluable to the behavior analytic clinician in their work with clients (Sandoz, 2020). With an emphasis on practical implications, the present paper will examine the ways in which Interbehavioral concepts may improve the effectiveness of clinical behavior analytic interventions. Some core components of Interbehaviorism with particular action implications for CBA will be discussed and illustrated utilizing concrete examples.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), colloquially known as “Exposure Therapy”, is widely acknowledged as the gold-standard in the empirically supported treatment of anxiety-related disorders (Norton & Price, 2007; Tolin, 2010; Koran & Simpson, 2013; APA, 2010). Having its theoretical grounding in both classical as well as operant paradigms (Mowrer, 1960), its utility and effectiveness is of immediate relevance to the behavioral clinician-scientist. As an overarching approach grounded in basic scientific principles, ERP has been codified into numerous formal protocols (Foa & Rothbaum, 1998; Barlow & Craske, 2007; Foa, Yadin, & Lichner, 2012) and subject to numerous theoretical reconceptualizations (Foa & McNally, 1996; Craske et al., 2014). However, ERP has yet to receive a novel reconceptualization through the lens of J.R. Kantor’s Interbehaviorism (Kantor, 1924). The present paper will examine the core characteristics of Interbehaviorism in terms of their practical implications for ERP. Building upon recent calls for Interbehavioral conceptual analyses of clinical phenomena (e.g., Sandoz, 2020), we will examine the ways in which Interbehaviorism could facilitate a paradigmatic shift in ERP application allowing for increased sensitivity and effectiveness of the behavioral clinician-scientists.