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Brief Overview
The purpose of this series is to advance knowledge in the broad
multidisciplinary fields of autism and various forms of psychopathology (e.g.,
anxiety and depression). Volumes synthesize research on a range of rapidly
expanding topics on assessment, treatment, and etiology.

Description
The Autism and Child Psychopathology Series explores a wide range of
research and professional methods, procedures, and theories used to enhance
positive development and outcomes across the lifespan. Developments in
education, medicine, psychology, and applied behavior analysis as well as
child and adolescent development across home, school, hospital, and
community settings are the focus of this series. Series volumes are both
authored and edited, and they provide critical reviews of evidence-based
methods. As such, these books serve as a critical reference source for
researchers and professionals who deal with developmental disorders and
disabilities, most notably autism, intellectual disabilities, challenging
behaviors, anxiety, depression, ADHD, developmental coordination disorder,
communication disorders, and other common childhood problems. The
series addresses important mental health and development difficulties that
children and youth, their caregivers, and the professionals who treat them
must face. Each volume in the series provides an analysis of methods and
procedures that may assist in effectively treating these developmental
problems.
Johnny L. Matson
Editor

Handbook of Applied
Behavior Analysis
Integrating Research into Practice
Editor
Johnny L. Matson
Department of Psychology
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA, USA

ISSN 2192-922X     ISSN 2192-9238 (electronic)

Autism and Child Psychopathology Series
ISBN 978-3-031-19963-9    ISBN 978-3-031-19964-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19964-6

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Contents of Volume 1

Part I Foundations

1 History of Applied Behavior Analysis������������������������������������������    3

Megan M. Callahan, Jill C. Fodstad, and James W. Moore
2 
Ethics and Legal Issues������������������������������������������������������������������   19
Sara Gershfeld Litvak and Darren J. Sush
3 Social Reinforcers��������������������������������������������������������������������������   35
Makenzie W. Bayles, Claudia L. Dozier, Amy H. Briggs,
and Sara Diaz de Villegas
4 Tangible Reinforcers: Conceptual Overview
and Considerations for Practice ��������������������������������������������������   61
Andrea M. Stephens, Jacqueline A. Pachis, Kayla M. Rinna,
Eleah A. Sunde, and Adam M. Briggs
5 Automatic Reinforcement��������������������������������������������������������������   79
Catia Cividini-Motta, Hannah MacNaul, Natalie R. Mandel,
Alyssa Rojas, and William H. Ahearn
6 Reinforcer Thinning: General Approaches
and Considerations for Maintaining Skills
and Mitigating Relapse������������������������������������������������������������������ 105
Adam M. Briggs, Daniel R. Mitteer, Samantha Bergmann,
and Brian D. Greer
7 Behavioral Momentum Theory���������������������������������������������������� 123
Sean W. Smith and Brian D. Greer
8 Differential Reinforcement Procedures��������������������������������������� 141
Catalina N. Rey and Kaitlynn M. Gokey

Part II Applied Behavior Analysis

9 
Prompt and Prompt-Fading Procedures�������������������������������������� 161
Lauren K. Schnell, Mirela Cengher, and April N. Kisamore
10 Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing������������������������������������������������������������ 171
Natalia A. Baires and Mitch Fryling

v
vi Contents of Volume 1

11 Psychological
 Modeling and the Treatment of
­Obsessive-­Compulsive and Related Disorders���������������������������� 185
Michael Upston, Matthew Jacofsky, and Fugen Neziroglu
12 Conditional
 Discrimination: What’s in a Name?������������������������ 197
Joseph H. Cihon, Julia L. Ferguson, and Justin B. Leaf
13 A
 uditory–Visual Discriminations: Stimulus
Control, Teaching Procedures, and Considerations�������������������� 211
Samantha Bergmann and Tiffany Kodak
14 I nstructive Feedback: Applications in Applied
Behavior Analysis�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 235
Julia L. Ferguson, Shannon Arthur, Justin B. Leaf,
and Joseph H. Cihon
15 Generalization�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 251
Patricio Erhard and Terry S. Falcomata
16 Response
 Interruption and Redirection�������������������������������������� 269
Haley M. K. Steinhauser and William H. Ahearn
17 Error-Correction Procedures�������������������������������������������������������� 289
Tom Cariveau, Alexandria Brown, and Delanie F. Platt
18 Mand
 and Tact Training for Children with Language
Impairment������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 307
Tiffany Kodak, Mary Halbur, and Maria Clara Cordeiro

Part III Basic Assessment Methods

19 Essentials
 of Observing Behavior ������������������������������������������������ 327
Art Dowdy, Kenneth W. Jacobs, Jennifer Quigley, Joshua
Jessel, and Corey Peltier
20 Single-Case Designs ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 347
Lodi Lipien, Megan Kirby, and John M. Ferron
21 Stimulus Preference Assessments ������������������������������������������������ 363
Cammarie Johnson and Richard B. Graff
22 Establishing
 Performance Criteria for Skill Mastery���������������� 393
Sarah M. Richling, Daniel M. Fienup, and Kristina Wong
23 Evaluating Physical Activity Levels���������������������������������������������� 411
Carole M. Van Camp, Casey Irwin Helvey, and Wendy Donlin
Washington
24 Treatment Integrity������������������������������������������������������������������������ 439
Candice L. Colón and Robert Wallander
25 Social Validation���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 465
John J. Wheeler and Stacy L. Carter
Contents of Volume 1 vii

Part IV Functional Assessment

26 Experimental Functional Analysis����������������������������������������������� 481

Joshua Jessel and Rachel Metras
27 
Standard Tests and Interviews for Functional Assessment�������� 501
Johnny L. Matson and Megan Callahan
28 Quantifying Outcomes in Applied Behavior
Analysis Through Visual and Statistical Analyses:
A Synthesis�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 515
Javier Virues-Ortega, Mariola Moeyaert, Maithri Sivaraman,
Aida Tarifa Rodríguez, and Belén Fernández Castilla
29 
Precursor Behaviors to Severe Challenging Behaviors�������������� 539
Devon Ramey, Emma Craig, Ciara Gunning, and Jennifer
Holloway
30 Function-Based Treatment������������������������������������������������������������ 561
Denice Rios, Rebecca R. Eldridge, Rebecca L. Kolb,
Marlesha Bell, and Kimberly M. Peck

Part V Treatment Methods

31 Token Economies���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 591

Iser G. DeLeon, Tracy Argueta, Nathalie Fernandez,
Samantha Castano, Gabbriella Henderson, Lauren Shoemaker,
and Crystal Williams
32 Discrete Trial Instruction�������������������������������������������������������������� 611
Evan H. Dart, Jordyn Martin, Christley McGirt, Talia
Shuman, Jennifer Hodnett, Faith Reynolds, Tegan Graff,
Courtney Claar, Nicolette Bauermeister, Ashley Dreiss, and
Hannah Mennes
33 Group-Based Instruction�������������������������������������������������������������� 625
Nicholas A. Gage, Rachel Kaplan, Kaci Ellis, and Brittany
Batton
34 Caregiver Training������������������������������������������������������������������������ 637
Rebecca K. Dogan
35 Staff Training���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 671
Jason C. Vladescu and Kathleen E. Marano
Contents of Volume 2

Part VI Health Issues

36 Enhanced Dental Care������������������������������������������������������������������ 691

Sara Kupzyk, Brianna Zey, and Keith D. Allen
37 Self-Care Skills ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 703
Kathryn M. Peterson, Vivian F. Ibañez, and Lisa A. Guerrero
38 Preschool Life Skills and the Prevention
of Problem Behavior���������������������������������������������������������������������� 721
Tracie B. Mann and Einar T. Ingvarsson
39 
Treating Mealtime Difficulties in Children���������������������������������� 739
Melanie H. Bachmeyer-Lee, Caitlin A. Kirkwood, and Connor
M. Sheehan
40 Telehealth and Applied Behavior Analysis:
An Overview and Examples of Application�������������������������������� 759
Joy Pollard, Shawn Quigley, Matthew O’Brien, Stephanie
Peterson, and Sean Casey
41 Smoking Cessation ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 787
Jesse Dallery, Lesleigh Stinson, and Andrea Villegas
42 Safety Training ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 811
Antonia R. Giannakakos-Ferman and Jason C. Vladescu

Part VII Leisure and Social Behavior

43 Mobile Devices in the Context of Applied Behavior

Analysis: A Multipurpose Tool����������������������������������������������������� 837
R. Allan Allday, Amy D. Spriggs, Megan E. Jones,
and Christina Noel
44 Teaching Musical Skills and Developing
Music Therapy Interventions�������������������������������������������������������� 857
Hayoung A. Lim
45 
Behavior Analysis and Sports Performance�������������������������������� 875
Raymond G. Miltenberger and Merritt J. Schenk

ix
x Contents of Volume 2

46 Physical
 Activity, Exercise, and Fitness �������������������������������������� 889
Paul Oh, Lisa Cotie, and Lais M. Vanzella
47 The
 Good Behavior Game������������������������������������������������������������ 905
P. Raymond Joslyn and Emily A. Groves

Part VIII Academic Skills

48 Compliance Training �������������������������������������������������������������������� 931

Marc J. Lanovaz, Tara L. Wheatley, and Sarah M. Richling
49 On-Task Behavior�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 947
Amarie Carnett and Christopher Tullis
50 Teaching Play Skills ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 963
Angela Persicke, Elizabeth Meshes, Adel C. Najdowski,
and Emma I. Moon
51 Teaching Social Skills�������������������������������������������������������������������� 979
Alison M. Gillis, Susan M. Vener, and Claire L. Poulson
52 Applied
 Behavior Analysis to Teach Academic Skills ���������������� 999
Janet L. Applin
53 Technology
 to Increase Vocalizations and Speech���������������������� 1011
James W. Moore and Alexandra G. Brunner
54 Remembering and Cognition�������������������������������������������������������� 1027
Rebecca J. Sargisson
55 Picture-Based Communication ���������������������������������������������������� 1043
Rocío Rosales and Jack F. Blake
56 Teaching Foreign Language���������������������������������������������������������� 1059
Anna Ingeborg Petursdottir and Juliana S. C. D. Oliveira
57 Teaching Verbal Behavior ������������������������������������������������������������ 1077
Alessandro Dibari, Chiara Caligari, Chiara Vecchiotti, Cristina
Pavone, Cristina Citerei, Stefano Assetta, and Daniele Rizzi
58 Vocational
 Skills for Individuals with Autism
and/or Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities:
Implications for Behavior Analysts���������������������������������������������� 1113
April N. Kisamore, Noor Y. Syed, Todd A. Merritt, and
Lauren K. Schnell

Part IX Challenging Behaviors

59 A
 Review of Behavioral Intervention for Treating Tics�������������� 1141
Keelin Norman-Klatt and Kevin P. Klatt
60 Stereotypy �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1163
Kara L. Wunderlich, Christina A. Simmons, Amanda N.
Zangrillo, and Tracy L. Kettering
Contents of Volume 2 xi

61 Self-Injurious Behavior ���������������������������������������������������������������� 1181

Adithyan Rajaraman and Joshua Jessel
62 
Assessment and Treatment of Toe Walking �������������������������������� 1199
Ansley C. Hodges, David A. Wilder, and Hallie Ertel
63 
Using Reinforcement to Prevent Challenging Behaviors ���������� 1215
Regan Weston, Holly Rittenhouse-Cea, Spencer Gauert,
Madison Crandall, and Supriya Radhakrishnan

Part X Special Populations

64 Autism �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1235

Ana Luiza Roncati and Andresa A. De Souza
65 Substance Abuse���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1257
Kenneth Silverman, August F. Holtyn, Forrest Toegel, and
Matthew D. Novak
66 
People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities������������ 1277
Rebecca A. Sharp, Katrina J. Phillips, and Sarah A. Taylor
67 Behavioral Gerontology���������������������������������������������������������������� 1305
Rebecca A. Sharp, Katrina J. Phillips, and Denys Brand

Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1327
 Part I
Foundations
 History of Applied Behavior
Analysis 1
Megan M. Callahan, Jill C. Fodstad,
and James W. Moore

Broadly, behavior analysis is the experimental made by Allyon and Michael (1959), the roots of
evaluation of the behavior of living organisms. It the field run much deeper. In order to find clues to
is considered by many to overlap with the field of the precise background of ABA, it is helpful to
psychology; however, there are key distinctions, realize that the discipline takes a natural science
making behavior analysis a separate field of approach to the study of human behavior which
study. The underlying tenets of behavior analysis is distinct from the social science approach of
are evident in behaviorism, the experimental fields, such as psychology. This is unique given
analysis of behavior (EAB), and applied behavior that social science is usually synonymous with
analysis (ABA). ABA relies on the principles of behavioral science. In behavior analysis, how-
learning and behavior to increase or decrease ever, emphasis is placed upon objective measure-
socially significant behaviors in human beings. ment that stems from a basic unit, the operant.
Over the course of several decades, the field of While Edward Thorndike is not considered a
ABA continues to evolve. ABA has a rich history. true behaviorist, his work set the stage and influ-
Although impossible to discuss the history of enced behaviorism that was to come. At the time,
ABA in one chapter, our goal is to provide an mentalism, the belief that causes the mind
overview of some of the key turning points in the account for behavior, was prevalent. In contrast
history of ABA. to this, Thorndike believed mental life is also
behavior, rather than the cause of behavior. He
worked under William James at Harvard
Early Beginnings University studying how animals learn with
behavioral applications in education (Malone,
The precise beginning of Applied Behavior 2014).
Analysis (ABA) is an open topic of discussion. Thorndike was critical of comparative psy-
Although the first published account of ABA was chologists at the time, as they often used small
samples, anecdotal data, and only reported “mar-
M. M. Callahan velous” findings. To combat this, he systemati-
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA cally studied cats’ behaviors in puzzle boxes as
J. C. Fodstad (*) his doctoral dissertation, published in the same
Indiana University, School of Medicine, Indianapolis, year in 1898. He used 15 different puzzle boxes
IN, USA and 13 cats. Thorndike described the behavior of
e-mail: [email protected]
the cats initially placed in the boxes as a series of
J. W. Moore random acts, such as clawing, biting, etc.
Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 3

J. L. Matson (ed.), Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis, Autism and Child Psychopathology
Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19964-6_1
4 M. M. Callahan et al.

Eventually, the cats, by accident, land upon the In 1891, the Prince of Oldenburg founded the
correct behavior to be released from the box. In Institute of Experimental Medicine, for which
future trials, the successful behavior occurs ear- Pavlov directed the construction of a surgical
lier in the sequence, while the failed behaviors ward for dogs, allowing him to perform surgeries
are eliminated until eventually the cat has learned and study the digestive system in healthy dogs.
to get out of the box in seconds. Thorndike Liddell (1936) credits Pavlov in motivating
methodically graphed these escapes, which “young psychologists to familiarize themselves
showed a gradual decline in the escape time. with the structure of the body and with its simpler
From these studies, Thorndike developed the operations as a preparation for the arduous task
Law of Effect. of analyzing those highly complex functions
which are traditionally regarded as physical.”
Of several responses made by the same situation, In 1909, Robert M. Yerkes and Sergius
those which are accompanied or closely followed Morgulis described Pavlov’s conditioning
by satisfaction to the animal will, other things method in “The method of Pavlov in animal psy-
being equal, be more firmly connected with the
situation, so that, when it recurs, they will be
chology” (Windholz, 1983; Yerkes and Morgulis,
more likely to recur; those which are accompanied 1909). Subsequently, Morgulis (1914) published
or closely followed by discomfort to the animal another article in which he described Pavlov’s
will, other things being equal, have their connec- view that the “seat” of the conditional reflexes are
tions with that situation weakened, so that, when
it recurs, they will be less likely to recur. The
the cortical hemispheres. Further, in this article,
greater the satisfaction or discomfort, the greater Morgulis outlines that Pavlov viewed “conscious-
the strengthening or weaking of the bond. – ness as a purely physiological phenomenon,”
Thorndike (1911/2000) which sparked early behaviorists. Although he
had great influence in early behaviorism, he was
Thorndike later modified this, placing a greater not a behaviorist, nor did he necessarily support
emphasis on rewards being more effective than psychology. Pavlov believed psychology lacked
punishments in increasing learning (Goodwin, clear goals and methods and preferred physiol-
2010, p. 53). Skinner wrote of this law, it was ogy for both methodological and practical rea-
“[o]ne of the first serious attempts to study sons as phenomena in physiology occur in both
changes brought about by the consequences of space and time, whereas psychology phenomena
behavior” (Skinner, 1953, p. 59). only occur in time and he disagreed with the
Across the world, Russian physiologist Ivan anthropomorphizing of conditioning phenomena
P. Pavlov was studying conditioned reflexes in (Windholz, 1983).
animals in a lab at the Military Medical Academy. Another precursor, and perhaps the catalyst, to
He had graduated with a license to practice medi- behaviorism, was James B. Watson. In 1913,
cine and later received his degree of Doctor of Watson gave a lecture at Columbia University,
Medicine following his dissertation completion titled “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it,”
in 1883 (Liddell, 1936). Starting in 1886, he con- which was published under the same title that
ducted experiments under S. P. Botkin, results year. In this lecture, known as the Behaviorist
from which Botkin would interpret and apply. Manifesto, he coined the term “behaviorism” as a
However, this position allowed Pavlov the free- new discipline and applied it to behavior psy-
dom to independently conduct experiments, lead- chology. He outlined four foundational points,
ing to his sham feeding experiments. In these which were later expanded to 13. These points
experiments, the dog’s esophagus is divided so included (1) advocating for psychology as a natu-
the “mouth is cut off from all communication ral science rather than a subset of mentalist or
with the cavity of the stomach” (Pavlov, 1910 spiritual science, (2) using objective, observable
p. 50). As the dog eats, the food does not reach data rather than introspective data, (3) moving
the stomach and as such, “pure gastric juice” is away from discussing purposes and teleological
produced. goals and moving toward formulating
1 History of Applied Behavior Analysis 5

d­eterministic laws, and (4) rejecting psycho- two sessions of hitting a metal bar directly behind
physical dualism and mentalism to explain Little Albert’s head as he reached for the white
behavior (Watson, 1913). rat. To test generalization, after 5 days, he was
The following year, Watson rejected presented with wooden blocks, the rat, a rabbit, a
Thorndike’s Law of Effect, relying on the fre- dog, a fur coat, the cotton, Watson’s and his assis-
quency and recency in the formation of connec- tants’ hair, and Santa mask. Watson and Rayner
tions, rather than the emphasis of rewards reported Little Albert reacted negatively to the
(O’Neil, 1995). In 1916, he adopted Pavlov’s rat, the rabbit, the dog, fur coat, cotton, Watson’s
conditioned reflex, which made the S-R analysis hair, but not his assistants’ hair or the Santa mask.
more explicit in his work. Watson viewed learned After an additional 5 days, they presented the
behavior as conditioned reflexes in complex sets rabbit and dog alone, which induced a mildly
of stimuli, and as such, he considered reflex con- negative reaction, and then hit the metal bar
ditioning as the basis of learning. behind him. On the same day, they moved Little
In 1916, Watson suggested that Pavlov’s con- Albert into a different room and presented the rat,
ditioned secretion reflexes could also be used to rabbit, and dog alone. Watson and Rayner con-
investigate sensory characteristics and memory cluded the fear generalized. One month later,
processes in animals (Windholz, 1983). Later, in Little Albert was tested again and reacted nega-
1926, Watson wrote: “Complex human behavior tively to the Santa mask, the rat, the rabbit, and
is the conditional response to (social) stimuli”, the dog, which Watson and Rayner cited as proof
thus, “securing the conditional reflex an integral that conditioned emotional responses persist.
position within the framework of early behavior- Since the original publication of the study, it
ism” (Windholz, 1983). has been cited and recounted hundreds of times.
Watson saw learned behavior as consisting of Watson and the study have also been subject to
conditioned reflexes operating in complex sets of many controversies, starting with Watson’s affair
conditioned stimuli and considered reflex condi- with Rayner, which led to him leaving academia
tioning the basis of learning with contiguity of for a career in advertising. Additionally, many of
the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and of these retellings of the original study have been
the response (O’Neil, 1995). He formulated a inaccurate, as Harris outlined (1979), including
theory of emotion, which posits that humans have facts about Little Albert’s age and name. Further,
three emotions: fear, rage, and love, which are some publications incorrectly reported the initial
first evoked by simple actions. These three sim- conditioning was with a rabbit instead of the rat.
ple emotions develop into the wide spectrum of Other inaccuracies change the methodology and
emotions as adults through conditioned reflexes. the results of the original study, such as expand-
This theory inspired the Little Albert experiment, ing the list of stimuli Little Albert’s fear general-
which Moore (2017) notes “was more a ‘proof of ized to and including that Watson reconditioned
concept’ demonstration than a formally designed Albert’s fear. In a follow-up article, Harris (2011)
experiment.” notes that these myths convey the notion that psy-
The Little Albert study was his last published chologists can impose order and have social
work in academia, in which Watson sought to power with data supporting their claims.
investigate if one could condition fear to an ani- Beck et al. (2009) investigated the true iden-
mal and if that fear would generalize. Little tity of Little Albert and concluded it was Douglas
Albert was assessed between 8 and 12 months of Merritte, who died at 6 years of age, due to
age (Watson & Rayner, 1920) during the winter hydrocephalus and convulsions (Fridlund et al.,
of 1919 to 1920. During baseline, he was intro- 2012). Fridlund et al. (2012) note that documents
duced to a white laboratory rat, a rabbit, a dog, a show Douglas contracted hydrocephalus in 1922;
monkey, masks, cotton, and burning newspaper. however, they hypothesize it could have been
Two months later, they conducted the condition- congenital. Fridlund et al. (2012) also raised con-
ing trials, which consisted of seven trials over cerns regarding Little Albert’s functioning, as
6 M. M. Callahan et al.

reported by Watson and as seen in a video record- ultimate foundation upon which ABA was built.
ing of the experiments. They reference his gen- In order to appreciate the history of ABA, how-
eral unresponsiveness, lack of social smiling, ever, one must consider the scientific history and
delayed speech, and lack of social referencing or life experiences that influenced Skinner. Through
eye contact, supporting the theory Little Albert an analysis of the life of B.F. Skinner, the history
was not the “healthy” child Watson and Rayner of ABA comes into clearer focus.
reported. However, this claim is disputed, as
Powell et al. (2014) believed Little Albert to be
William Albert Martin who might have been  kinner and His Influence
S
known as Albert Barger before his mother Pearl on the Field of ABA
married.
Although Watson knew of Little Albert’s On March 20, 1904, Burrhus Frederic Skinner,
impending departure, they did not decondition known to most as Fred, was born in Susquehanna,
him. Rather, a follow-up study by Mary Cover Pennsylvania, to William and Grace Skinner. Both
Jones (1924) investigated deconditioning fear of his parents exuded a tremendous influence over
responses in three-year-old Peter. In the experi- Skinner, talking to him at an early age about the
ment, Jones attempted to decondition Peter with consequences of good and bad behavior (Skinner,
one animal (i.e., rabbit), to also investigate if the 1967). On two occasions, his father exposed
deconditioning would transfer to his other fears Skinner to the penal system, once visiting the
(e.g., a rat, fur coat, a feather). Every day, a rabbit county jail and then attending a lecture on life at
was present during a play period with Peter and Sing Sing Prison. Even as a boy, Skinner showed
three other control children. Then, Jones pro- talent with inventing and building, including craft-
ceeded to expose Peter through progressive ing a flotation system for separating ripe from
“degrees of toleration”. Peter was taken to the green elderberries. Throughout his life, Skinner
hospital for 2 months. Upon returning, Jones often manipulated his physical environment in
switch methods, beginning “direct conditioning,” order to make day to day activities more effective
in which Peter was given preferred food and an and efficient. Vaughn (1990) described the office
experimenter brought the caged rabbit as close to of Skinner as “a labyrinth of switches, pulleys,
Peter without disrupting his eating, which Jones extension cords, lights, magnifying glasses, card-
reported was successful in reducing his fear and board boxes, and cubbyholes” (p. 101).
that this reduction in fear generalized to the cot- During his early schooling, Skinner showed a
ton, fur coat, and feathers. strong interest in language arts, leading to a major
Skinner (1978) argued that the study of behav- in English at Hamilton College. Despite this
ior should be conducted in the same manner and focus, he followed a course of study that he
with the same rigor as biology, physics, chemis- deemed “absurd” (Skinner, 1967, p. 391), includ-
try, and other “hard” sciences. In behavior analy- ing classes in public speaking, mathematics,
sis, behavior is the subject of study. In social Romance languages, biology, and embryology.
science approaches, behavior is viewed as an Interestingly, Skinner did not take a single psy-
indicator of some other process, usually seen chology course while at Hamilton. This eclectic
within the organism. Given this focus, it could be course of study, though diverse, provided major
argued that the seeds of behavior analysis were influences on the young college student. He
planted in Ancient Greece as philosophers moved remarked later in life, “At some time or other I
away from mysticism and focused on physical have used something from every course”
determinants that influence human behavior (see (Skinner, 1983, p. 25). As part of these early edu-
Bishop et al., 2020 for a more detailed discus- cational experiences, Skinner was exposed to the
sion). Ultimately, the work of the American psy- work of Charles Darwin, which would later have
chologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner laid the a tremendous impact on the development of the
1 History of Applied Behavior Analysis 7

philosophy of science that undergirds behavior gist Edward Thorndike built a bridge from the
analysis. stimulus-response respondent conditioning of
Thankfully for the field, Skinner was not suc- Pavlov into what Skinner would develop into
cessful in his first ambition after Hamilton operant conditioning and radical behaviorism.
College, which was aspirations of writing a great Similar to Pavlov, Thorndike studied the behav-
novel. After having continued difficulty when ior of animals, such as placing food-deprived cats
switching to short stories, Skinner considered into puzzle boxes that required escape in order to
many alternatives in order to make a living, obtain food.
including working as a landscaper. The field he These influences on Skinner established a
would later establish was again fortunate that strong belief; “control the environment and you
Skinner had an allergy to grass (Skinner, 1967). will see order in behavior” (Skinner, 1967,
As he considered his failures as a writer, Skinner p. 399). Although Skinner’s dissertation studied
realized that his lack of success may have been reflexive behavior and respondent conditioning,
attributed to the focus of his writing: investigat- the work of Thorndike shaped Skinner’s subse-
ing human behavior. Skinner determined that he quent work that examined the effect of conse-
could not write about this subject matter because quences on behavior. His early work at the
he truly did not understand the behavior of University of Minnesota focused on the behavior
humans. This brought the field of psychology of rats in a device he invented and termed an
into his view. In order to investigate psychology, operant chamber. Skinner found that depriving a
Skinner first turned to philosophy, specifically rat of food could set the occasion to condition a
Bertrand Russell’s book, Philosophy. It was read- lever press from a rat if that behavior produced
ing this work that introduced Skinner to the food. Skinner also discovered that lever pressing
behaviorism of John Watson, leading Skinner to could be shaped if that behavior terminated an
purchase Watson’s book Behaviorism, which was aversive stimulus, such as an electric shock.
originally published in 1913. Given his educa- Furthermore, Skinner learned that rats could
tional background, which was heavily littered learn to discriminate between behaviors in the
with mathematics and natural science, Skinner presence of different stimuli, such as colored
immediately found Watson’s empirical and scien- lights, if those lights consistently occasioned spe-
tific approach to human behavior appealing. cific consequences. Skinner outlined his initial
As fate would have it, Skinner soon happened findings in his first published work, The Behavior
upon an article by H. G. Wells that lauded the of Organisms, which appeared in 1938.
work of Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist Around the time The Behavior of Organisms
who serendipitously discovered respondent con- appeared, there were many theories regarding
ditioning. Once again, encountering a scientific human behavior, in particular motivation. Most
approach to human behavior solidified Skinner’s of these theories focused on an internal state or
decision to pursue graduate studies in psychol- condition that serves as a catalyst of behavior.
ogy and he was accepted to Harvard University in Little attention was given to either behavior as
the Fall of 1928. It was at this time that Skinner the exact subject matter, or the impact of the
met the already committed behaviorist, Fred environment on human behavior. In The Behavior
Keller. The two challenged and enriched each of Organisms, Skinner devoted two chapters to
other’s studies, which predominantly focused on the internal construct of “drive.” Skinner sug-
abnormal psychology (with a distinct Freudian gested that an analysis of functional relationships
slant) and the “new” discoveries about respon- between the environment and behavior would
dent behavior. A contemporary, Jacob Robert offer a more parsimonious and effective explana-
Kantor, had just published his book Principles of tion of human behavior than internal causal vari-
Psychology, which would later become described ables (Sundberg & Michael, 2001). Skinner
as an approach known as interbehaviorism. focused on the evocative effects of deprivation
Around the same time, the American psycholo- and the abative effects of satiation on behavior.
8 M. M. Callahan et al.

He proposed a basic unit in the study of behavior Keller and Schoenfeld were also comfortable
that he termed the operant. Skinner used the using the term “punishment” and introduced the
terms positive reinforcer and negative reinforcer concept of extinction, or the phenomenon in
to describe consequent events that would impact which the occurrence of a previously reinforced
the future probability of behavior. Originally, he response without its reinforcement would ulti-
viewed these as the two main sources of operant mately describe or extinguish response fre-
conditioning, stating, “the cessation of a positive quency. Influenced by this text, Skinner published
reinforcement acts as a negative, the cessation of Science and Human Behavior in 1953 in which
a negative as a positive” (Skinner, 1938, he revised his terminology. In this work, Skinner
pp. 65–66). This replaced the layman terms proposes positive reinforcement as the presenta-
“reward” and “punishment” with “positive” and tion or increase in some consequent stimulus
“negative” reinforcement (Michael, 1975). event that serves to increase the future probabil-
Although a major landmark in the study of behav- ity of a behavior. He offered negative reinforce-
ior, this two-term contingency had some logical ment as the removal or lessening in some
problems. As Michael (1975) pointed out, “‘rein- consequent stimulus event that also increases the
force’ is synonymous with ‘strengthen’ in a num- future probability of behavior. He also offered the
ber of usages, and although ‘negatively terms positive punishment and negative punish-
strengthen’ as a synonym for ‘weaken’ is not ment, which both describe contingencies that
logically unreasonable, it is somewhat confusing, decrease the future probability of behavior.
as would be such a term as ‘positively weaken.’” Again, the term positive refers to the presentation
(p. 35). or increase in a stimulus event, whereas negative
Skinner’s former graduate school colleague, refers to the removal or lessening of a consequent
Fred Keller, who had himself embarked on a stimulus. Skinner’s definition of negative rein-
career in research academia dedicated to this new forcement remained opposed to the one offered
emerging field Skinner termed the experimental by Keller and Schoenfeld (1950). In 1961,
analysis of behavior, helped push the conceptual- Skinner published The Analysis of Behavior with
ization of operant conditioning forward. In 1950, J.G. Holland (Holland and Skinner, 1961), which
along with his colleague William Schoenfeld, meant to replace the Keller and Schoenfeld work
Keller published Principles of Psychology, which as a basic text and further cemented the terms
remains a highly influential text to this day. In introduced by Skinner (1953).
this work, Keller and Schoenfeld created a syn- Another major contribution of Science and
thesis of Thorndike’s past work, Skinner’s work, Human Behavior was the establishment of behav-
as presented in The Behavior of Organisms, and ior analysis as a natural science approach to
the work of Estes (1944), which was conducted behavior, led by what Skinner deemed six atti-
as a follow-up to Skinner’s text. From this analy- tudes of science. Skinner (1953) defined sciences
sis, Keller and Schoenfeld clarified Skinner’s as living within the behavior of scientists, not the
terminology: materials they used. According to Skinner, sci-
Certain stimuli (electric shocks, loud sounds, ence is only known as such due to an overriding
strong lights, etc.) serve to decrease the frequen- idea of the scientific method. These attitudes
cies of responses in the wake of which they follow. included determinism (the universe is an orderly
Nowadays, we call them negative reinforcers, but and lawful place in which all phenomena occur
they are not best defined in terms of their weaken-
ing function….Another, and probably better way as the result of other events), empiricism (prac-
of handling the matter is to define positive rein- tice of objective measurement of the behavior of
forcers as those stimuli which strengthen responses interest), experimentation (a structured analysis
when presented (e.g., food strengthens bar-­ of the effects of an independent variable on a
pressing or loop-pulling behavior), and negative
reinforcers are those which strengthen when they dependent variable), replication (the repeating of
are removed (Keller & Schoenfeld, 1950, p. 61). experiments to determine the accuracy and use-