MCCCD Program Description

Understanding and Changing Behavior Lab

Course: PSY242

First Term: 2017 Summer

Lec + Lab 3.0 Credit(s) 4.0 Period(s) 3.7 Load
Subject Type: Academic
Load Formula: S - Standard Load

Description: Advanced course designed to enable students to apply the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in a supervised lab setting. Incorporates case studies and hands-on employment of best practices. Also includes practice with behavioral research design and implementation. Reviews current research in areas including, but not limited to, schedules of reinforcement, functional behavior assessment, stimulus discrimination and generalization. Course should be taken if applying for certification as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT).

MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Identify all factors that contribute to the function of behavior. (I) 2. Explain and apply components of a functional analysis (FA)/functional behavior assessment (FBA). (II) 3. Design and implement a functional behavior assessment. (II) 4. Identify all components for behavior change and skill acquisition and be able to apply these concepts in real life situations. (III) 5. Define, explain, and apply various schedules of reinforcement. (IV) 6. Compare, contrast, and apply differential reinforcement and stimulus discrimination. (V) 7. Apply the concept of generalization in real life situations. (V) 8. Conduct literature review on the effectiveness of various behavioral procedures and use as the theoretical basis for research project. (V) 9. Review and explain the results of various motivating operations. (VI) 10. Design and implement research study that include(s) a behavior change procedure, methods of measurement and data collection and evaluation of outcomes utilizing various principles of ABA. (VII) 11. Discuss social validity of behavior change intervention (VIII) 12. Describe legal and ethical implication of behavior change programs in community settings. (VIII)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.

MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Functions of behavior A. Functional Analysis (FA) Model - Social positive and negative reinforcement, automatic positive and negative reinforcement B. Escape, Attention, Tangible, Sensory (EATS) Model II. Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) A. Indirect assessment B. Direct assessment C. Experimental design D. Assessment tools E. Practice with design and implementation III. Components of behavior change and skill acquisition A. Discrete trial training B. Naturalistic teaching C. Discrimination training D. Stimulus control transfer E. Prompting and fading IV. Schedules of reinforcement A. Differential Reinforcement (DR) 1. Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior (DRO) 2. Differential Reinforcement of Alternative behavior (DRA) 3. Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior (DRI) 4. Differential Reinforcement of High rates (DRH) or Low rates (DRL) of behavior B. Fixed ratio and interval C. Variable ratio and interval D. Extinction V. Various behavioral procedures A. Differential reinforcement B. Stimulus discrimination training C. Generalization VI. Motivating operations A. Establishing Operations (EO) B. Abolishing Operations (AO) C. DISC Model (Miller, 2005) VII. Lab project(s) A. Development of a behavioral definition B. Determination of best methods for measurement and data collection C. Design of behavior change procedure D. Implementation E. Data analysis and presentation F. Evaluation of methodological effectiveness VIII. Legal and ethical implications A. Social validity B. Article 9 - Arizona Department of Economic Security, Development Disabilities Division

MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: February 28, 2017

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.