Behavior Theory
Tuesday 5:00 – 8:50
Professor: Jennifer L. Austin, Ph.D.
Office location: EDU 380C
Office phone: 974-6496
Home phone: 655-3697 (no calls after 10:00pm,
please)
E-mail: jaustin@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
Required Materials:
· Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond Freedom and Dignity. New York: Knopf.
Note: This book is out of print,
but it’s easy to find in used bookstores.
You can also get an online copy at www.coedu.usf.edu/abaresource
· Kohn, A. (1999). Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
· Skinner, B. F. (1948). Walden Two. New York: Macmillan.
· EDF 6217 Reading Packet (available from ProCopy)
Optional Text:
· Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (1987). Applied behavior analysis. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Course objective:
This course is designed to help students understand the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of Behavior Analysis and to become familiar with some of the controversial issues surrounding the field from both modern and historical perspectives.
Prerequisite:
This is an advanced course in behavior theory and Applied Behavior Analysis. Therefore, it is expected that all students possess a basic working knowledge of learning and behavior analytic principles acquired through completion of undergraduate or graduate courses in learning and/or behavior analysis.
Assignments:
Reaction Papers: You will write 14 reaction papers over the course of the semester. Ten of these papers will be collected and scored. These scores will comprise 50% of your grade. Each paper may be no more than five pages long and should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font with 1 inch margins. Approximately half of your paper should summarize the readings so that I can assess your understanding of the major points. The remainder of the paper should present your reaction to the content of the readings. Reactions may include (but are not limited to) such issues as strengths and weaknesses of arguments, perspectives and/or potential biases, and personal examples related to the content. Conclude each paper with at least two questions to stimulate class discussion of the readings. Specific formatting guidelines can be found at the end of the syllabus. Papers are due at the beginning of class and no late papers will be accepted. You may not turn in papers for days that you are not present for class.
Book Review: Each student will write an 8-10 page paper summarizing a book related to the theory or practice of behavior analysis. Books must be chosen from a list I provide. You may not review a book that you read prior to beginning this course. Beginning March 18, approximately three students will present their book reviews during each class session. Each student will have 20 minutes to give his or her review. The book review and presentation will account for 25% of your grade.
PLEASE NOTE: Using someone else’s words without proper citation constitutes plagiarism. If any part of any paper you submit for grading is plagiarized, you will receive an F on the assignment with no recourse. All citations should conform to APA guidelines.
Participation:
Class participation will constitute 25% of your grade. I expect that every student will actively participate in every class. I also expect that each student will have completed all of the readings assigned for class meetings prior to coming to class. I will provide reading objectives to help guide your reading and assist you in identifying the most important concepts. These reading objectives, combined with the questions posed by students in reaction papers, will guide our class discussions. Answers to reading objectives will never be collected. You are free to work together to discuss the readings, but my expectation is that every student will personally read every assigned reading.
Grade Calculation:
Reaction papers (10)……………….. 50%
Participation…………………………25%
Book Review…………...……………25%
Grade Scale:
93-100 = A 87-89 = B+ 77-79 = C+ 67-69 = D+ below 60 = F
90-92 = A- 83-86 = B 73-76 = C 63-66 = D
80-82 = B- 70-72 = C- 60-62 = D-
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that all qualified persons have equal opportunity and access to education regardless of any disabling condition. Please notify the Instructor within the first week of class if a reasonable accommodation for a disability is needed for this course. A letter from the Student Disability Services Office must accompany the request.
Date Topic Reaction
Paper & Reading Assignment
1-8 Introduction
1-15 Beyond Freedom & Dignity Reaction 1 (BF&D Ch. 1-3)
1-22 Beyond Freedom & Dignity Reaction 2 (BF&D Ch. 4-5)
1-29 Beyond Freedom & Dignity Reaction 3 (BF&D Ch. 6-7)
2-5 Beyond Freedom & Dignity Reaction 4 (BF&D Ch. 8-9)
2-12 Walden Two Reaction 5 (WT Ch. 1-12)
2-19 Walden Two Reaction 6 (WT Ch. 13-24)
2-26 Walden Two Reaction 7 (WT Ch. 25-36)
3-5 Applying Behavior Analysis Reaction 8 (Baer, et al. 1968, 1987; Fawcett, 1991; Sherman
& Sheldon, 1991)
3-12 SPRING BREAK
3-19 Role of Subjective Measurement Reaction 9 (Wolf, 1978; Schwartz & Baer, 1991; Hawkins,
1991; Carr, et al., 1999)
3-26 Role of Cognition Reaction 10 (Skinner, 1977; Anderson et al., 2000)
4-2 Issues of Acceptance Reaction 11 (Axelrod, 1996; Wahler, 1996; Bailey, 1991)
4-9 Facing the Critics Reaction 12 (Holland ,1978; Birnbrauer, 1978; Kohn, Ch. 1,
Appendix A)
4-16 Facing the Critics Reaction 13 (Kohn, Ch. 2-6, 10-12; Carr et al., 1995)
4-23 Training the Future Reaction 14 (Mallot, 1992a; Baer, 1992; Johnston, 1992; Reid,
1992; Mallot, 1992b)
* I reserve the right to change this schedule; however, I will always give advance notice if changes are made.
Reading list:
Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Knopf.
Skinner, B. F. (1948). Walden Two. New York: Macmillan.
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M.,
& Risley, T. R. (1968). Some
current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 1, 91-97.
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1987). Some still current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 313-327.
Fawcett, S. B. (1991). Some values guiding community research and action. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 621-636.
Wolf, M. M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective
measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal
of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11,
203-214.
Schwartz, I. S., & Baer, D. M. (1991). Social validity assessments: Is current practice state of the art? Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 189-204.
Hawkins, R. P. (1991). Is social validity what we are interested in? Argument for a functional approach. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 205-213.
Carr, J. E., Austin, J. L., Britton, L. N, Kellum, K. K., & Bailey, J. S. (1999). An assessment of social validity trends in applied behavior analysis. Behavioral Interventions, 14, 223-231.
Recommended:
Fawcett, S. B. (1991). Social validity: A note on methodology. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24,235-239.
Finney, J. W. (1991). On further development of the concept of social validity. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24,245-249.
Skinner, B. F. (1977). Why I am not a cognitive psychologist. Behaviorism, 5(2), 1-10.
Anderson, C. M., Hawkins, R. P., Freeman, K. A., & Scotti, J. R. (2000). Private events: Do they belong in a science of human behavior? The Behavior Analyst, 23, 1-10.
Axelrod, S. (1996). What’s wrong with behavior analysis? Journal of Behavioral Education, 6, 247-256.
Wahler, R. G. (1996). The rightness and wrongness of behavior analysis. Journal of Behavioral Education, 6, 257-261.
Bailey, J. S. (1991). Marketing behavior analysis requires different talk. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 445-448.
Recommended:
Carr, E. G. (1996). The transfiguration of behavior analysis: Strategies for survival. Journal of Behavioral Education, 6, 263-270.
Finney, J. W. (1996). Eppur Si Muove: Reflections on the sin of behaivor analysis. Journal of Behavioral Education, 6, 271-278.
Holland, J. G. (1978). Behaviorism: Part of the problem or part of the solution? Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 163-174.
Birnbrauer, J. S. (1978). Better living through
behaviorism? Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 11, 176-177.
Kohn, A. (1999). Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Carr, C., Mawhinney, T., Dickinson, A., & Pearlstein, R. (1995). Punished by rewards? A behavioral perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 8(2), 125-140.
Malott, R. W. (1992a). Should we train applied
behavior analysts to be researchers? Journal
of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25,
83-88.
Baer, D. M. (1992).
Teacher proposes, student disposes.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25,
89-92.
Johnston, J. M. (1992). Managing our own behavior:
Some hidden issues. Journal of Applied
Behavior Analysis, 25, 93-96.
Reid, D. H. (1992). The need to train more behavior
analysts to be better applied researchers. Journal
of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25,
97-99.
Malott, R. W. (1992b). Follow-up commentary on training behavior analysts. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 513-515.
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Here’s how your
reaction paper should be formatted.
Your name
The date
The reaction paper #
Summary of (put the book title and chapter #(s) OR
author’s name and publication date here)
Here’s where you should summarize the article or chapter you read. If you read more than one article or chapter, you should have a separate summary section for each (except for the Walden Two chapters – you may summarize all of those together). This section should provide a clear indication that you attempted to understand what you read. Be organized and concise. This section should constitute approximately half of your paper.
Here’s where you’ll provide the reactions to what you read. If you read more than one article or chapter, you should have a separate reaction section for each (except for the Walden Two chapters – those reactions may all be placed together). This section should provide a clear indication that you thought about the reading(s) and could relate it/them to previous material you’ve heard or read, personal experiences, personal viewpoints or opinions, etc. Avoid reactions that address an author’s writing style; focus your reactions on CONTENT . This section should constitute approximately half of your paper.
1. Here’s where you write you discussion questions. You must have at least 2 questions and should number them like this.
2. Your questions should stimulate class discussion. You should not ask for clarifications of the meanings of words or ask what the author meant when he/she wrote a particular passage or phrase.