Association for Behavior Analysis International

The global community is facing an onslaught of wide-ranging, multi-determined, and vexing cross-national conflicts, environmental threats, political and social upheavals, human and animal migrations, health and economic inequities, and human rights violations, to name a few prominent social ills. Culturo-behavior science (CBS) has evolved into a behavior analytic approach that draws on concepts like the metacontingency and context to analyze and intervene with social and cultural problems on the systems level. The increase in prominence achieved by CBS can be seen in recent books (e.g., Cihon & Mattaini, 2020) and journal issues (e.g., Perspectives on Behavior Science, Hantula, 2019) devoted to it, as well as in the growth of Behavior and Social Issues, the ABAI journal devoted exclusively to addressing social problems through behavior analysis. This symposium, sponsored by Behaviorists for Social Responsibility, presents recent CBS work on two urgent global problems that potentially have Earth-threatening consequences: war and climate change.

Behavior analysts interested in applying their skills to systemic social problems

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was accompanied by torrents of state-promulgated propaganda. From the behavior analytic perspective, propaganda is promoted through antecedent stimulus control, as demonstrated by Rakos (1993) for the first US-Iraq war; this analysis categorized US war propaganda missives in terms of stimulus equivalence, motivating operations, rules, and discriminative stimuli and assessed their functional impact. The current inquiry follows a similar strategy, but updates the analysis by using newer conceptual tools like the metacontingency and contextual behavior science. This examination of the Russian propaganda effort reveals it to be less successful than the US campaign in 1990. A comparison of the propaganda strategies used by the US in 1990 with those used by Russia in 2022 expose important similarities in stimulus control tactics, despite the two countries’ political and ideological differences. But the analysis also suggests key differences that may contribute to the lesser impact of the Russian propaganda effort.

There has been a global surge in adolescents’ use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)/vaping, cannabis (vaped, edible), and use of prescription opioids (POs) not-asprescribed. The nature of these substances often renders them “difficult-to-detect” due to limited physical and behavioral signs, along with subtle, but often, hazardous longer-term effects. Here, Dr. Feldstein Ewing will address the nature of substance use presentation in the adolescent age group, including challenges in detection and related complications that impact screening and prevention. Further, in terms of intervention, many of the existing addiction treatments that we use with adolescents were originally designed for adults; however, the adolescent brain is increasingly being recognized as substantively different than the adult brain. And, likely for related reasons, adolescents engage with substances in different ways than adults. Dr. Feldstein Ewing will begin by reviewing empirical data on “difficult-to-detect” effects, including acute effects at neural levels and longer-term neurocognitive and developmental changes that precede outward physical symptoms. Dr. Feldstein Ewing will also present translational approaches, integrating brain (developmental human neuroscience; fMRI) and behavior (clinical intervention programs) to begin to inform timely updates in how we approach defining addiction in this age group, along with how we update our approaches to behavioral treatment in this age group.

Clinicians, scientists, mental health faculty

Researchers and students interested in the behavioral aspects of prejudice and in possibilities of intervention.

Central to any evidence-based practice is the development of a series of procedures aimed at solving a specific problem. The effective “packaging” of behavior analytic technologies is essential to creating new contexts for our practice. In this symposium, we will provide preliminary evidence for innovative treatment packages to address problems of social significance. In the first presentation, Dr. Mellott will highlight a procedure to teach tolerance of aversive medical procedures for a small neurotypical child. In the second, Dr. Pogue will present data on functional assessment and treatment of selective mutism. In the third, Dr. Lenfestey will discuss a client-centered, function-based intervention of compulsive behavior. In the fourth, Dr. Strohmeier will present procedures for using behavior analytic techniques to change caregiver behavior. Collectively, these studies seek to broaden the reach of behavior analysis toward addressing diverse clinical problems.

Experience with functional assessment methodology, familiarity with different behavior problems associated with childhood, experience and interest in caregiver training

Compulsive and repetitive behaviors are common features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD); however, assessing and treating compulsive behaviors in high functioning individuals presents a unique challenge for clinicians. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most commonly used method for treating of compulsive behaviors, its effectiveness may be limited in populations with ASD. The current study used a withdrawal design to evaluate a functional communication training and exposure with response prevention paradigm with a high functioning individual with comorbid ASD and OCD who engaged in socially mediated compulsive behaviors. Treatment resulted in high rates of functional communication and decreased rates of compulsive behaviors observed across settings. Follow-up data suggested maintenance of skills at 6-month follow up measured via direct observation and parent report. Implications for client-centered, function-based approach to address compulsive behavior are discussed.

Basic and clinical researchers and mental health professionals.

Autism is prevalent in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, with 1 in 44 children aged 8 years or older receiving an autism diagnosis, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. However, minority groups are less likely than their white counterparts to be diagnosed with autism or as having speech delays. There are also disparities in the age that some minority children are diagnosed with autism, as well as the reported quality of care received. Studies found inequalities specific to autism diagnosis and treatment due to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status that limit accessibility of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) interventions for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income families (Lauer, 2013; Magaña, et al. 2012; Smith et al., 2020). The panel discussion will start with an overview of disparities in access to healthcare, funding, and access to services and three organizations will discuss initiatives aimed at reducing disparities in service access. The panelists will then answer questions discussing organizational resources for building a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) department, staff and client resources aimed at increasing service access, and recruitment strategies aimed at increasing the diversity of service providers.

BCBAs, BCBA-Ds, and Professional Psychologists should have experience in implementing programs in their own organizations, engaging with their communities, and using measurement tools to indicate organizational outcomes.