We behavior analysts work hard, right? We effect behavior change for our clients and feel pretty darn good about our efforts. But what happens if our clients don’t actually like anything we’ve done? This week we’re talking all about social validity, how to make sure we’re paying attention to it, and why some BCBAs might be a bit wary about it.

Articles discussed this episode:

Wolf, M.M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding it’s heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203-214. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1978.11-203

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. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-078X(199910/12)14:43.0.CO;2-Y

Hanley, G.P., Piazza, C.C., Fisher, W.W., & Maglieri, K.A. (2005). On the effectiveness of and preference for punishment and extinction components of function-based interventions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38, 51-65. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2005.6-04

Gabor, A.M., Fritz, J.N., Roath, C.T., Rothe, B.R., Gourley, D.A. (2016). Caregiver preference for reinforcement-based interventions for problem behavior maintained by positive reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 49, 215-227. doi: 10.1002/jaba.286

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