Association for Behavior Analysis International

Behavior analysts shy away from addressing behaviors related to psychopathology, callousness and unemotionality, and anxiety. These diagnoses and their symptoms involve private events and are therefore difficult to operationally define, observe and measure. However, Friman and others have suggested that behavior analysts should not ignore these important areas because they will then be studied only by non-behaviorists. Unfortunately, non-behaviorists view aberrant behaviors in individuals with psychiatric disorders as symptoms of underlying constructs and use the diagnosis as a reason for these behaviors, proposing more global treatments such as therapies or medications. On the other hand, behaviorists view those behaviors as serving an environmental function that can be replaced with a more acceptable behavior serving the same function. The behavioral perspective would also include an analysis/understanding of establishing operations in the form of private events, physical sensations, bio-behavioral states, psychological feelings, covert tacts/mands and learning history with particular discriminative stimuli for reinforcement or punishment. The presenters in this symposium will present their analyses of these areas from a behavioral perspective and provide treatment strategies or research methodologies that are based on these analyses.

Behavior analysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers, teachers, direct care staff, administrators

The development of anti-social behavior may be due to a decreased sensitivity to certain types of social reinforcement, as well as social punishment. One class of stimuli that is especially relevant to the development of prosocial interaction is signs of damage. Skinner proposed that aggression is primarily reinforced by inflicting harm, and that the reinforcement utility was learned, as well as innate. Signs of damage, such as screaming, crying, or the sight of bruises or blood, are said to function as such reinforcers. However, these signs typically occur at the end of a confrontation, and may instead be functioning as discriminative stimuli for preventing further attack. Interestingly, response similarities have been demonstrated between children with callous and unemotional (CU) traits, and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We consider work that has investigated the reactions to social reinforcement and signs of damage among children diagnosed with ASD and CU traits, and discuss the relevance with regard to the development of antisocial behavior, diagnostic classification, labeling, and treatment.

Up to 80% of children and youth with ASDs experience clinically significant anxiety (Leyfer, Folstein, Bacalmen, et al., 2006). Individuals with ASDs and comorbid anxiety are at increased risk for displaying externalizing behavior problems, social avoidance, and difficulties establishing/maintaining peer relationships across environments (Davis, Hess, Moree et al., 2011). New research is beginning to investigate the effectiveness or wearable biosensor devices to measure physiological indicators of stress and anxiety in naturalistic settings (Lakudzode & Rajbhoj, 2016). The purpose of this presentation is to describe how physiological information obtained from wearable devices can be used to alert clients or practitioners to the need for interventions and relaxation techniques aimed at recognizing the body's anxiety response. We will also provide case study examples to illustrate how these devices can be used to teach the individuals to self-regulate or use coping and/or relaxation strategies, which in turn could improve the ability of individuals to navigate life demands with greater effectiveness.