ABA

This course provides a graduate-level introduction to the key concepts, theories and experimental paradigms for studying learning and behavior in both humans and animals. Students will be introduced to the scientific study of learning with an emphasis on how behavior changes as a function of experience. Historical and current perspectives on a range of topics, including (but not limited to) classical conditioning, operant conditioning, innate behavior, and philosophical assumptions about behavior will be examined. Finally, how the basic learning principles are relevant to everyday behavior will be discussed.

This course is designed to teach students the logic of single-subject/small-N designs, which are often used to evaluate the efficacy of a behavioral treatment for individual clients. Students will learn reliable procedures for measuring behavior, various methods of graphing data, and how to visually analyze displayed data. In addition, students will learn how to critically evaluate applied, behavior-analytic research studies. Finally, students will learn to conduct a literature search, synthesize information across studies, and write a literature review. Issues related to evidenced-based practice and ethics in research will also be discussed.

This course will provide an overview of intellectual and developmental disabilities and the relation to behavior analysis. Students will gain a perspective on the history and changing perspectives of these disabilities. Both causal and contributing genetic and environmental factors for various conditions will be discussed. Students will examine a variety of disorders in terms of physical characteristics, brain changes, growth patterns, life expectancy, communication issues, health concerns, behavioral concerns, and treatment. Disabilities examined will include Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and learning disabilities. In addition, students will discuss a variety of current issues related to intellectual and developmental disabilities, including early intervention, educational placement, transitioning between life stages, response to intervention, medication use, and fad therapies. Finally, students will examine the behavior-analytic literature related to assessment and intervention for individuals with developmental disabilities.

In this course, students will focus on best practices when assessing target behaviors to both increase and decrease. Students will learn indirect assessment and direct observation methods, experimental (functional) analysis, and methods to assess stimulus preference and adaptive, social, and communication skills. In addition, students will learn how to assimilate information derived from these methods to arrive at hypotheses of the function of a behavior and how to select an intervention method based on assessment results while using evidence-based practices in behavior analysis. Finally, ethical issues related to functional assessment and undesired side-effects of intervention strategies will be discussed.

In this course, students will focus on best practices when assessing target behaviors to both increase and decrease. Students will learn indirect assessment and direct observation methods, experimental (functional) analysis, and methods to assess stimulus preference and adaptive, social, and communication skills. In addition, students will learn how to assimilate information derived from these methods to arrive at hypotheses of the function of a behavior and how to select an intervention method based on assessment results while using evidence-based practices in behavior analysis. Finally, ethical issues related to functional assessment and undesired side-effects of intervention strategies will be discussed.

This course is the first in a two-part series focusing on the application of behavioral principles in applied settings. There will be an emphasis on applications to behavior of social importance across multiple domains, including autism spectrum disorders, developmental and intellectual disabilities, clinical psychology, job effectiveness, education, exercise and health, business, criminology, and other areas. Students will learn to identify, implement, and maintain effective behavioral interventions based on behavioral principles of reinforcement, punishment, extinction, stimulus control, and motivating operations. In addition, students will learn specific behavior-change procedures, including interventions based on antecedents, contingency contracts, group contingencies, and quantitative analyses.

This course is the first in a two-part series focusing on the application of behavioral principles in applied settings. There will be an emphasis on applications to behavior of social importance across multiple domains, including autism spectrum disorders, developmental and intellectual disabilities, clinical psychology, education, exercise and health, organizational behavior, and other areas. Students will learn to identify, create, and implement evidence-based, behavioral interventions. There will be an emphasis on aligning interventions with assessment data and the behavior-analytic literature within the framework of the field’s ethics code.

This course is the second in a two-part series focusing on the application of behavioral principles in applied settings. There will be an emphasis on applications to behavior of social importance across multiple domains, including autism spectrum disorders, developmental and intellectual disabilities, clinical psychology, job effectiveness, education, exercise and health, business, criminology, and other areas. Students will learn to identify, implement, and maintain effective behavioral interventions based on stimulus control, simple and complex discriminations, errorless teaching procedures, and stimulus equivalence. In addition, students will learn specific behavior-change procedures, including self- management strategies, token economies, direct instruction, precision teaching, personalized systems of instruction, incidental teaching, functional communication training, and augmentative communication systems. Finally, students will learn to design, evaluate, and supervise the implementation of behavioral programs.

This course is the second in a two-part series focusing on the application of behavioral principles in applied settings. There will be an emphasis on applications to behavior of social importance across multiple domains, including autism spectrum disorders, developmental and intellectual disabilities, clinical psychology, education, exercise and health, organizational behavior, and other areas. Students will learn to identify, create, and implement evidence-based, behavioral interventions, including those based on stimulus control, errorless teaching procedures, communication, and self-management within the framework of the field’s ethics code. There will be an emphasis on issues related to case management, intervention monitoring and efficacy, performance management, and development of supervision skills.

This course will provide students with an understanding of legal, professional, and ethical issues in the delivery of behavior-analytic services and the practice of behavior-analytic research, as well as a framework for cultural responsiveness and cultural humility with respect to clients and colleagues. Students will develop the ability to correctly apply ethical principles under various conditions that represent ethical and/or legal challenges related to assessing behavior; selection of treatment protocols; evaluating behavior change; collaborating with other professionals; and relationships with clients, agencies, and colleagues. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s® current ethics code will be used as the basis for ethical discussions. In addition, students will review the licensure rules and regulations guiding the practice of applied behavior analysis in Massachusetts.

This course will provide an introduction to the philosophy of behavioral science known as radical behaviorism. Students will learn how to distinguish between different forms of behaviorism and how to differentiate between behavioral and non-behavioral explanations of complex human behavior. In addition, the potential impact of radical behaviorism on society will be discussed. Topics will include private events (such as thinking and feeling emotions), verbal behavior, rule-governed behavior, culture, and society.

This course will provide students with a survey of research areas in the experimental analysis of behavior. Students will be exposed to a variety of topics in the basic literature related to reinforcement, behavior in transition, aversive control, stimulus control, and derived relations. There will be an emphasis on methodological and conceptual issues, and students will discuss the translation of these topics to solve social problems.

Practicum is designed to allow students to develop skills related to the BACB Task List. This course provides group supervision according to the BACB Experience Standards. Students will work or volunteer at a site in which they can engage behavior-analytic activities with multiple clients. Individual supervision will be obtained at the student’s fieldwork site. During group supervision, there will be a focus on behavior assessment and behavior-change procedures. Students should expect to complete a variety of behavior-analytic activities, including peer review of class assignments, role-plays of skill acquisition and behavior reduction procedures, presentations to refine ability to speak behaviorally, and review of Task List items to achieve fluency.

Practicum is designed to allow students to develop skills related to the BACB Task List. This course provides group supervision according to the BACB Experience Standards. Students will work or volunteer at a site in which they can engage behavior-analytic activities with multiple clients. Individual supervision will be obtained at the student’s fieldwork site. During group supervision, there will be a focus on behavior assessment and behavior-change procedures. Students should expect to complete a variety of behavior-analytic activities, including peer review of class assignments, role-plays of skill acquisition and behavior reduction procedures, presentations to refine ability to speak behaviorally, and review of Task List items to achieve fluency.

Practicum is designed to allow students to develop skills related to the BACB Task List. This course provides group supervision according to the BACB Experience Standards. Students will work or volunteer at a site in which they can engage behavior-analytic activities with multiple clients. Individual supervision will be obtained at the student’s fieldwork site. During group supervision, there will be a focus on behavior assessment and behavior-change procedures. Students should expect to complete a variety of behavior-analytic activities, including peer review of class assignments, role-plays of skill acquisition and behavior reduction procedures, presentations to refine ability to speak behaviorally, and review of Task List items to achieve fluency.

Practicum is designed to allow students to develop skills related to the BACB Task List. This course provides group supervision according to the BACB Experience Standards. Students will work or volunteer at a site in which they can engage behavior-analytic activities with multiple clients. Individual supervision will be obtained at the student’s fieldwork site. During group supervision, there will be a focus on behavior assessment and behavior-change procedures. Students should expect to complete a variety of behavior-analytic activities, including peer review of class assignments, role-plays of skill acquisition and behavior reduction procedures, presentations to refine ability to speak behaviorally, and review of Task List items to achieve fluency.

This course provides graduate students with structured guidance to develop a behavior-analytic research-thesis or capstone-project proposal. Students will explore the distinction between the thesis and capstone pathways, select a project topic, secure a thesis advisor and project committee, and develop a formal project proposal. Emphasis is placed on identifying research questions derived from the behavior-analytic literature through a comprehensive literature review, designing methods based on behavior analysis, and crafting a clear, actionable plan. By the end of the course, students will have a completed proposal, and they will have secured approval from their committee to implement the project.

The optional thesis in applied behavior analysis shall consist of six credits distributed across four consecutive semesters in which one credit is earned during each of the first two semesters and two credits are earned during each of the second two semesters. During the first semester, students will choose a thesis advisor, identify at least two committee members, select an applied research topic, and conduct a literature search. In the second semester, students will write an introduction, develop a research design, and secure committee and IRB approvals. In the third and fourth semesters, students will collect and analyze their data, write their thesis manuscript and defend their thesis to their committee members.

The optional thesis in applied behavior analysis shall consist of six credits distributed across four consecutive semesters in which one credit is earned during each of the first two semesters and two credits are earned during each of the second two semesters. During the first semester, students will choose a thesis advisor, identify at least two committee members, select an applied research topic, and conduct a literature search. In the second semester, students will write an introduction, develop a research design, and secure committee and IRB approvals. In the third and fourth semesters, students will collect and analyze their data, write their thesis manuscript and defend their thesis to their committee members.

The optional thesis in applied behavior analysis shall consist of six credits distributed across four consecutive semesters in which one credit is earned during each of the first two semesters and two credits are earned during each of the second two semesters. During the first semester, students will choose a thesis advisor, identify at least two committee members, select an applied research topic, and conduct a literature search. In the second semester, students will write an introduction, develop a research design, and secure committee and IRB approvals. In the third and fourth semesters, students will collect and analyze their data, write their thesis manuscript and defend their thesis to their committee members.

This course is designed to integrate conceptual, basic, and applied topics related to behavior analysis. Students will focus on case conceptualization, behavioral assessment in a variety of environments, and development and evaluation of treatment options. Students will be encouraged to develop sophisticated, fluent, and in-depth understanding of behavioral topics. In addition, students will explore professional issues related to the practice of applied behavior analysis.

This course serves as a culminating experience for behavior analysis students completing a capstone project. Under the guidance of their research mentor, students will implement the project they proposed in ABA 800. Emphasis will be placed on application of behavior-analytic research methods, experimental design, and data analysis. By the end of the course, students will have produced a comprehensive final report and presentation that reflects their ability to synthesize and apply the behavior-analytic literature to answer a research question. All final projects must be approved by the student’s project committee.