ABA622: Concepts and Principles of ABA

Penney, A. M., Bateman, K. J., Veverka, Y., Luna, A., & Schwartz, I. S. (2023). Compassion: The eighth dimension of applied behavior analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00888-9
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is rooted in the conviction that behavior change can lead to improved quality of life. The goal of ABA has always been to help our consumers achieve outcomes and milestones that are important to them and improve their lives in ways that they choose. For more than half a century, this approach has proven successful. But we are now hearing increasing concerns about problematic application of behavioral principles, suggesting that as our field has grown, we may have lost sight of client-centered interventions and outcomes. In this article, we propose a reconceptualization of the practice of ABA, adding compassion to the current dimensions that have represented our field since 1968. Adding compassion as a definitional dimension of ABA will help behavior analysts find their way back to implementing interventions in a responsive, collaborative, and humble manner that includes working with our consumers and our critics and listening to perspectives that can help us improve our practice.

Rohrer, J. L., Marshall, K. B., Suzio, C., & Weiss, M. J. (2021). Soft skills: The case for compassionate approaches or how behavior analysis keeps finding its heart. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14(4), 1135–1143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00563-x
As the field of behavior analysis expands, our need to develop ourselves as more effective collaborators, particularly with families who may be the primary consumers of our science, becomes paramount. As scientists, our training lies primarily in the behavior analytic technologies that we study and apply. But our ability to disseminate our science, collaborate with non-behavior analysts, and ultimately grow our field hinges on our ability to navigate interpersonal situations in a way that puts forth compassion and humanity. We have the opportunity and capability to use our empirical procedures to implement and assess the effectiveness of interventions that target the soft skills of our field. This article discusses the benefits of empathic and collaborative approaches in fields related to behavior analysis and provides suggestions for current behavior analysts to incorporate compassionate care into their practices.