Okay, behavior analyst, here’s a professional pop quiz.
The Guardian just published a list of “things we keep getting wrong — and what to do instead.” These aren’t exactly world-changing behavior problems [see Postscript 1] but I’m guessing most of you have personally encountered (or embodied) some of them. And the article is pretty clear, in each case, about the consequences of emitting the wrong behavior in a given situation.
What’s the source of these behavior problems?
If you know behavior really well, you can pretty quickly generate a possible explanation for most any well-described behavior problem. So, here’s an opportunity to test yourself! Follow the link above and read the paragraph of explanation that’s provided for each of the problems. Then, without doing any outside research or lengthy contemplating, answer the following.
Quiz Part A: Identify any instances where the so-called expert is wrong. That is, the problem is not really a problem, or it’s misidentified, or it’s least poorly explained. Optional: I invite you to use the “Comments” tool below to share your explanations of what’s wrong with any of these statements-of-problem.
Quiz Part B: For the remaining items, briefly say why, according to behavior principles, the behavior problem likely occurs [disclaimer: see Postscript 2]. For bonus credit, see how many of your explanations can incorporate at least one of the following: instructional control, discounting (delay/probability/effort), relational framing. Optional: I invite you to use the “Comments” tool to share a selected explanation. Also feel free to take issue with someone else’s explanation (just keep it civil, please).
Who’s this quiz for? That includes but is not limited to:
- Lab grunts, who can build incredible basic experiments but wouldn’t, according to some of my practitioner friends, recognize a real-world problem behavior if it quite literally bit them on the butt. Personally, I believe laboratory experience is fantastic practice for breaking down complex problems. So, grunts, how about showing what you’re capable of?
- Practitioners, especially those at the masters level or below, who my basic-research friends are constantly accusing of being poorly trained. Personally, I think a lot of you are waaay more savvy than you’re given credit for. So prove it!
- Anyone who thinks everyday people need to understand what behavior analysis has to offer. For you, the quiz is modified so that you must render explanations that are free of technical jargon but still technically accurate. This ought to be interesting.
- Students, who need as much multiple-exemplar practice as possible with diverse behavior problems. A side benefit here is that testing your students means that you are not accountable for coming up with anything brilliant. BTW, this works best if, no matter what your students offer up, you (a) wait a long time before responding; (b) flash a mildly troubled expression that wordlessly communicates, “I have something brilliant in mind, and what you said definitely isn’t it;” and (c) finally say, with a touch of ennui in your voice, “Hmmm…. Thoughts on THAT, anybody?” You can really cap things off if, at the end of class, you glumly declare, “I was hoping for better today. I see we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Good luck with the quiz! When you’ve got your answers ready, check the answer key in Postscript 3.
Postscript 1: The Problems
In the format of Who Said It: Problem
- Dog trainer: playing too much with your puppy
- Dentist: snacking too often
- IT support person buying a cheap printer
- Cleaning influencer: wiping away antibacterial spray too often
- Dry cleaner: ignoring label instructions
- Plumber: Fitting faucets the wrong way around
- Dermatologist: letting wounds dry out
- Head lice expert: using quick-fix treatments
- Fashion stylist: not thinking about your personal style
- Baker: not adding salt to sweet recipes
- Florist: putting cut flowers in the kitchen
- Personal trainer: seeing exercise as punishment
- Painter/decorator: skipping painting prep
- Nanny: giving kids mixed messages
- Physiologist: training too hard to start an exercise program
Postscript 2: Disclaimer
About those explanations-on-the-fly I asked you to generate, I’m not saying they necessarily have to be right, because as anyone who’s ever contemplated a functional behavioral assessment knows, there are empirical means to see if you really have a handle on behavioral function. However, explanations-on-the-fly can shorten the process of finding out. What matters in the generating of such explanations is that they are plausible within the context of well-established behavior principles, because (a) so far those principles have proven capable of explaining just about everything, and (b) explanations of this type are easily testable.
Postscript 3: Answer Key
I had something brilliant in mind, and what you said isn’t it. I was really hoping for something better. 😅