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| The Basics of
Behavior Analysis
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Behavior Analysis
What Is It?
"Men act upon the world, and change it, and are changed in turn by the
consequences of their action."
This opening line to the book Verbal Behavior is behavior analysis in a
nutshell. In the simplest terms, this is what behavior analysis is all about.
People do things that create changes in their environment. Those changes
then bring about changes in the people who caused them.
What are those changes? How can they be observed? What is the
relationship between consequences and actions? How can we use these
processes to make the world a better place for everyone?
These and many other questions are what the science of human behavior is
devoted to answering.
As a science, Behavior Analysis is a branch of
psychology. It is studied in colleges and
universities all over the world. There are
several academic journals dedicated to
dispensing the knowledge gained through the
scientific study of behavior.
As a practice, Behavior Analysis is an approach to human behavior that has
given rise to many effective therapies, educational systems and strategies
to prevent behavioral problems. But can Behavior Analysis help you if you are not a college student or a kid
with a behavior disorder?
Since Behavior Analysis is the study of behavior, and since all living
creatures constantly engage in behavior, we can study and work towards an
understanding of any behavior in any situation.
Since relationships are about the interactions of people, and
interactions are behaviors, we can study relationships. If your
significant other is angry at you, you may know this because he
or she is engaging in behavior that indicates that. You may feel
compelled to engage in behavior to rectify the problem. Maybe
you buy flowers or cook a special meal. These are also behaviors. Will they work to repair the relationship? Behavior Analysis can
help figure out the right answer to that question.
There is much concern over the behavior of children.
What does it mean when my kid acts that way? Why does
he do that? Will she grow up to be normal? Behavior
Analysis can be used to answer those questions. There has
been much misuse of positive reinforcement. This website
addresses that problem and provides some insight and direction toward a more effective use of reinforcement in managing the
behavior of children.
Behavior Analysis seeks to understand how features of the environment
influence behavior. Is there a way to arrange your furniture in your house
to promote more productive behavior? Feng Shui is an ancient Eastern
practice of arranging the environment to promote wealth, happiness and prosperity. Did you know that high ceilings in a home
encourage activity, and low ceilings encourage stillness?
Behavior Analysis can remove some of the mysticism of
practices like this. It can provide useful information on how to
take advantage of the operative components of the practice
for people who don't necessarily believe in the spiritual or
religious undertones.
These are just a few examples of how Behavior Analysis might be useful to
you. Behavior Analysis has been a wonderful addition to human
understanding in the worlds of academia and mental health services. The
purpose of this website is to explore more ways that Behavior Analysis can
be made useful to the rest of the world.
So how does it work? The next page explains the ABCs of Behavior Analysis.
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An easy to follow discussion on the basics.
How does BA affect your life? |
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