Association for Behavior Analysis International

This symposium integrates the work and advances of three research laboratories located in three different universities in Mexico. The first presentation from the Laboratory of Behavioral Processes and Animal Models, located at Guadalajara University, presents an integrated view of the main findings on the problem of recurrence in animal models and its potential implications for human behavior. The second presentation given by the Laboratory of Behavioral Systems and Metacontingency Design, shows the experimental task employed and the latest findings given a behavioral view of participative leadership and the efforts to implement a professional service delivery strategy through small business workshops. Finally, the third presentation is given by the Institute of Psychology and Education at Veracruz University and it describes their interest in developing a Behavior Research Training Program that applies the principles derived from the individual scientific practice model. This symposium shows the broad coverage of behavior analysis in different Universities and different geographical locations in Mexico and their adherence to standard research and training criteria in behavior analysis.

Behavioral recurrence refers to the increase of previously reduced behaviors under specific conditions. Some of the procedures that allow the assessment of behavioral recurrence include spontaneous recovery, reinstatement, renewal, resurgence, and resistance to change. Each of these procedures, highlights the persistence of behavior despite arranging contingencies aimed at reducing the occurrence of behavior. In recent years, the Laboratory of Behavioral Processes and Animal Models has focused its research on identifying the parameters and contingencies under which recurrence occurs across these different procedures. This body of work spans over multiple studies that provide empirical evidence and set the ground for theoretical insights on how recurrence can be observed in basic and applied settings. The aim of this presentation is to summarize the key findings from our laboratory’s work, as well as to highlight the potential implications of these results for understanding behavioral relapse on the design of more effective interventions in applied behavior analysis

This presentation shows the development of a research program that started in 2017 with two main focuses: a) The experimental analysis of leadership employing a dyadic task and b) the design and implementation of a training workshop directed towards small business owners. The themes of these main objectives, participative leadership (Camacho, et al., 2017), organizational change (Malott, 2003) and verbal behavior (Malott & Kohler, 2021) have been intertwined in the leadership literature yet few research endeavors (see Komaki, 1998) have bridged the valid gap between applied behavioral research and professional service delivery (Johnston, 1996). The presentation shows the dyadic task employed as well as the main empirical findings in laboratory settings (Camacho, et al, 2017, Camacho, et al., 2021; Camacho & Jimenez, 2020) as well as during the latest training workshop. Also, the presentation includes a component analysis (Goal setting, behavior measurements and easy to follow rules) for the next scheduled workshop based on three organizational leadership functions previously outlined (Camacho & Arroyo, 2024).

The Individual Scientific Practice Model (MPCI, acronym in spanish) and the different uses of language in the construction and application of science have guided the 2021 curricular design of a Behavior Research Training Program attached to the Institute of Psychology and Education of the Veracruz University, as well as the development of research projects based on the lines of generation and application of knowledge of a program supported by a behavioral perspective. The purpose of this presentation is, first, to analyze and discuss within the framework of psychology as a scientific discipline from a field logic, the MPCI, and the stages proposed by Toulmin, 1953 and Ribes 2009 on the construction and application of science. The lines of knowledge generation and application of the program are briefly analyzed - language as behavior, psychological and educational processes, psychology and human behavior - as well as the research projects of students from two generations, grouped by problems from a behavior field theory. The analysis of the research process is discussed, based on the logic of the use of language, especially the extension of the categories of the behavior theory in the solution of teaching and learning problems in the educational field from the analysis of behavior.