Association for Behavior Analysis International

Though grief is a universal piece of the human experience, it has received little attention from a behavior analytic perspective. In behavior analysis, we maintain that behavior is the dependent variable where context is the independent variable. In normal behavior analytic experiments, we might directly manipulate the independent variable in order to determine the cause of the behavior. This is more difficult with applied behavior analysis and becomes exceedingly more difficult in situations where we cannot manipulate particular pieces of context. While basic behavioral principles might allow for a primary understanding of the grieving process, a more in-depth analysis of bereavement might be more challenging for that very reason. With bereavement behaviors, the most significant piece of context is not manipulable for the very reason someone is grieving over it. That is, the person or object is lost or no longer exists in the same way as it did historically. While basic behavioral principles might allow for a primary understanding of the grieving process, a more in-depth analysis of bereavement might be more challenging for that very reason. This panel will provide analyses and address issues in the analysis of bereavement and grief behaviors.