What is ABA?
What is health?
As sciences, do they work together?

In this episode, we continue to discuss this, evidence from the science and the role behaviour analysts can play in health services.

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Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

What is ABA?
What is health?
As sciences, do they work together?

In this episode, we discuss this and evidence from the science on how well they marry together and the role behaviour analysts can play in health services.

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

In this episode, we talked about the behavioural factors at play when athletes risk so much by taking banned substances.

Very few athletes HAVEN’T tested positive for drugs at some point. Of the 30 fastest men's 100m sprint times ever, only nine have been run by an athlete not banned for drugs, all by Jamaica's Usain Bolt. He holds the record for the three fastest 100m sprints in history.

A survey of US Olympians or aspiring Olympians who were asked if they would use a banned performance enhancing drug were given two scenarios:
* You will not be caught and you will win.
98% of the athletes said they would use the banned performance enhancing drug in this case.
* You will win every competition you enter for the next five years but will then die from the side effects.
50% of athletes said they would use the banned performance enhancing drug in this case (Bamberger, 1997).
The results show just how strong the ‘win at all’ costs attitude is across sporting individuals, only enhanced by the social pressures encountered by every athlete across every sport and level.


Accidental vs purposeful

Whose responsibility?

Crossfit being such an all-rounder

Cost benefit analysis
Risks:
- Getting caught
- Reputation marred for life
- Losing titles / sponsorship
- Lower fertility
- Baldness

Rewards:
- World records
- Faster recovery
- Money
- Fame
- Long term strength gains

Risk aversion

Similar arenas in which such risky behaviour occur:
Criminal behaviour
Drinking driving
Gambling
Free climbing / free diving
Extreme sports
Instagrammers doing stupid things for likes

Punishment isn’t consistent
Reinforcement is intermittent

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Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

In this episode, we discussed a recent JABA article about road safety:
Myers, C., Zane, T., Van Houten, R. and Francisco, V.T. (2022), The effects of pedestrian gestures on driver yielding at crosswalks: A systematic replication. Jnl of Applied Behav Analysis, 55: 572-583. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.905

*Road safety isn't our typical 'go to' when we think of health but actually, it's pretty important when it comes to staying alive!
*I love this as another display of how behaviour analysis isn't just for autism
*Pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely to sustain fatal injuries compared to passengers in vehicles

There are plenty of measures to encourage drivers to keep pedestrians safe, but what can YOU do as a pedestrian?

In this study,  in every condition, the pedestrian placed their right foot inside the crosswalk, made the appropriate gesture according to the condition, and waited for the vehicle to stop completely or slow down and the driver to motion the pedestrian to cross prior to crossing the street.

During Baseline (i.e., no gesture) at Site 1, an average of 5.8% of drivers yielded to pedestrians. Both interventions showed an improvement over Baseline with an average of 16% of drivers yielding to pedestrians during the extended arm condition and 10.8% of drivers yielding to pedestrians during the raised hand condition. Site 2 averaged 15% of motorists yielding during Baseline. Again, both interventions showed an improvement over Baseline with an average of 28% of motorists yielding during extended arm and 39.3% of motorists yielding during raised hand. Site 3 had an average of 26.7% of motorists yielding during Baseline. Both interventions showed improvement over Baseline with 54.9% of drivers yielding during the extended arm condition and 57.2% of drivers yielding during the raised hand condition.

Other factors feed in - time of day, gender, location, speed of driver etc please don't take this to mean you'll always be safe just by raising your hand!

Not exactly ground breaking, but...
It's reflective of many situations we see. We assume we know what's best or right but rarely do we have the data. e.g. clothing worn - we're told to wear bright and reflective clothing but there's no studies into this, it just makes sense
This is where behaviour analysts can help
What else could behavior analysts do here?
Write task analyses for children and older people who are more likely to be in pedestrian traffic accidents
Behaviour skills training
Group level for implementing consequences for stopping safely for pedestrians
The study noted that most vehicles were travelling above the speed limit - this is certainly something BAs could tackle, e.g. average speed limit

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If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
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Email:
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Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

In this episode, we talked about whether you can drink alcohol regularly if you have a fat loss / muscle building goal.

* First and foremost, I love a drink.
* Not talking here about problem drinking
* Research is mixed.
* What is clear is that it isn’t BENEFICIAL for losing fat and building muscle.

* Chronic alcohol ingestion impairs pancreatic enzyme secretion, which can lead to nutrient malabsorption, particularly of fat and protein.
* Pancreatic endocrine function can be affected
*Insulin resistance is a common side effect of alcoholism
* Alcohol consumption can alter nutrient status.  Alcohol consumption leads to impaired amino acid uptake and protein synthesis in the liver, along with increased protein oxidation due to necessary cell regeneration.
* Alcohol acts as an antagonist to vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B3, and vitamin K.  Vitamin E has also been depleted in those who consume alcohol.
* Hormones - Chronic alcohol intake is one of the most powerful mediators of sex hormones. Ethanol is a testicular toxin and can increase the activity of aromatase, an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen in the body.  Chronic male alcoholics develop an assortment of endocrine disorders, including infertility, gonadal atrophy, and feminization, caused in part by elevated production of estrogens and low testosterone levels.  Alcohol abusers tend to have lower testosterone (and LH and FSH).

* Good news! Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with health benefits.
* There may be some social or stress management benefits but they could also be gained through other means.
* Also, moderate drinkers may be moderate people, which can lead to improved overall health.
* What is moderate? Half to one drink per day or a drink several times a week.
* Red wine isn’t necessarily ‘the best’ - it’s heart healthy compounds like resveratrol can be found in many other foods.

* What are the behavioural factors?
* After a drink, your inhibitions loosen. Suddenly the 2nd, 3rd and 4th drink seem like a good idea. So do the chips on the way home.
* The next day, you’re more likely to be tired, dehydrated perhaps even hungover and so less likely to eat and exercise for your goals.
* What else could you ‘spend’ those alcohol calories on?
* Imagine a 3 year old saying, “But I just don’t want to live without alcohol daily”. Pretty sad right?
* “I can’t live without alcohol” Can’t you? Do you want to take it to bed at night?

* What to do?
* Take some data - how often and how much are you really drinking? How do you feel during and after? How’s your weight/muscle goals going?
* Consider your values around alcohol
* Plan for ways to reduce - some booze-free days / water-wine-water-wine / replacement drinks
* Take a break completely to reset your ‘norms’ - sober October, dry January etc.
* Get support and accountability


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If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
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Email:
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Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Video modeling is the visual demonstration of the action 

• Learner can receive verbal feedback
• Learner can begin to self-identify
• Learner can self-monitoring

Teaching Videos - educational 

• Pace of information 
• Pause after sections and answer questions
• Identify while watching in slow-mo visual visual prompts 
• Error correct on the next trial

Video Feedback with NO Pedagogical Activity 

Distance Motor Learning during the COVID-19 Induced Confinement: Video Feedback with a Pedagogical Activity Improves the Snatch Technique in Young Athletes
Souissi, Mohamed Abdelkader; Ammar, Achraf; Trabelsi, Omar; Glenn, Jordan M; Boukhris, Omar; et al. 
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health; Basel Vol. 18, Iss. 6,  (2021)

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Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

In this episode, we talked about ethics in behaviour analysis and applying our code of ethics to fields outside of autism and learning disabilities.

Emily and I have chosen to apply our certification in behaviour analysis (as awarded by the BACB) to health and fitness. The certification isn’t specific to any one application, it’s not an ‘autism certification’ so this is entirely allowed as long as it’s within your scope of practice. Scope of practice may mean you have addition qualifications or experience in that area. In our cases, Emily is a qualified PT with experience working as a PT. I’m PN1 certified and have experience working with adults on their health and nutrition goals. When you certify through the BACB, you sign a contract stating that you will comply with their code of ethics.

Why are we doing this podcast? Well… increasing numbers of behaviour analysts are branching out into the field of health and fitness and the rigour with which the code of ethics is being adhered to is getting sloppy, in my opinion.

Now… If someone is a behaviour analyst from Monday to Wednesday and a health coach from Thursday to Saturday and they don’t advertise their health services as being behaviour analytic in nature or display their BACB credentials, then it’s fair game. But that’s not what’s happening.

Being a BCBA AND a health/fitness coach is what, in theory, makes us better than any other health and fitness professionals. So we need to actually be better.

BACB have an ethics department with a lawyer on staff. They’re not playing.

For non-behaviour analysts, but maybe you’re interested in our profession or in working with a behaviour analyst - I’d recommend you go and look at the BACB’s code of ethics. IMO, it’s a thing of beauty. It’s not perfect, but it does a good job. It’s 19 pages of in-depth ethical considerations.

Big problems that I see:

1. Client confidentiality - 2.03 Protecting Confidential Information AND 2.04 Disclosing Confidential Information - AND 5.02 Confidentiality in Public Statements (see 2.03, 2.04, 3.10)

2. Advertising and sharing client testimonials - 5.07 Soliciting Testimonials from Current Clients for Advertising (see 1.11, 1.13, 2.11, 3.01, 3.10) and 5.08 Using Testimonials from Former Clients for Advertising (see 2.03, 2.04, 2.11, 3.01, 3.10) -

3. 5.10 Social Media Channels and Websites (see 1.02, 2.03, 2.04, 2.11, 3.01, 3.10)

Informed Consent - What even is it?

4. Multiple relationships - 1.11 Multiple Relationships

5. Scope of competence - 1.05 Practicing within Scope of Competence

6. Non-behaviour analytic services - 5.06 Advertising Nonbehavioral Services (see 1.01, 1.02, 2.01)

7. Reporting unethical behaviour is wildly aversive

8. Why has this annoyed me so much?

9. Expect better


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Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Episode name: How to 'get back on track'

In this episode, we talked about how to get back on track

Ideally, there’s no track to be on or off.
Realistically, you can get ‘off track’.

1. Get curious not critical. Why did you fall off track? What was the antecedent? What can you do to prevent that in future?
2. Re-evaluate what your track is. Is it value driven? What are the risks associated with staying off track? Potential benefits? What will it take to get back on track? Downsides? Potential benefits?
3. Consider your personality type. Do you work well with new year new me style changes? Or small easy wins?
4. MOs. Can we have a reset? Or would restriction send you into a spiral of over-restrict/over-indulge?
5. Set daily habits. Start small. Habit stack.
6. Get parameters in place. You might accept you’re staying ‘off the rigid track’ but still within the ball park. For my own nutrition, this looked like minimum 2 portions of protein a day and 6 portions of fruit and veg.

With food:
1. Go food shopping
2. Fill your house with foods you want to eat
3. If necessary, clear out the foods you don’t want to eat and/or note how you want to work on them and make a plan of how to do so.
4. Have a plan of how these foods will be used
5. Accept that the first few days/week will suck
6. Prep in bulk or batches
7. Take food out and about with you if you know you’re out all day
8. Have a budget and stick to it
9. Plan for ‘treats’ and being off plan

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If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
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Email:
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Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services.