Association for Behavior Analysis International

There are many fields interested in the behavior of consumers (e.g., consumer psychology, consumer analysis, marketing, behavioral economics). Most of these are not behavior analytic, however behaviorists have ventured into these fields, expanding the Organizational Behavior Management literature in a discipline termed Consumer Behavior Analysis (Foxall, 2010). This symposium provides four demonstrations of applied behavior analysis applied to understanding the impact on consumer behavior. Rocha will be presenting on the transfer of care as it relates to patient care and patient safety at a hospital. Assemi and Rafacz will focus on behavior analytic methods to identify stimuli that may function as motivating operations and the utilization of these stimuli to increase healthy food selection at the point-of-purchase by consumers. Biagi and Rodriguez will present data and thoughts on the need for further behavior analytic approaches to examining the long-term impacts marketing and other strategies have in influencing consumer choice. Finally, Stratton et al., will be presenting a 5-year study aimed to determine whether increased availability and point-of-purchase promotion of healthy concession food options influenced consumer acceptance at county-owned waterparks.

Communication is a central process that can enhance or hinder Patient Safety and affect Patient Experience. Shift Change meeting is a tool commonly used to report on patients conditions during transfer of care. The shift change meeting is designed using an easy and concise standardized framework highlighting important aspect of patients care that need to be discussed, commonly referred to as an SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation). This report investigated the effects of a checklist plus a verbal feedback procedure on the percentage of SBAR components discussed at a shift change meeting. This checklist included the following components: background, observation level, risk, strategy, and outcome. The study used an ABAB reversal design, which compared the percentage of all checklist components reported during baseline and intervention. Results showed that the percentage of components of SBAR discussed during the meeting increased when the intervention phase was implemented. Time spent on off-task behaviors and the length of the meeting substantially decreased during the intervention. In addition, follow up data indicated that rates of assaults and aggression, and the incident rate level on the unit steadily declined during three months following the intervention.

Antecedents can influence consumer decision-making during point-of-purchase (POP) transactions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether increased availability and POP promotion of healthy concession food options influenced consumer acceptance at county-owned waterparks. An applied, five-year study was conducted at two Greenville County, South Carolina, waterparks serving between 75,000 and 100,000 patrons each season (10 weeks). Several POP antecedent interventions were assessed, where healthy options were labeled on menu boards and promoted throughout the park via banners and A-frame displays during the treatment seasons. Weekly sales data for each healthy concession option (summed as healthy sales) and all concession options (total sales) were collected during the comparison season in 2011 and in each intervention season (2012-2015). Consumer selection of healthy food options was assessed by analyzing unit and net sales data. Findings indicate increased availability and POP promotion of healthy menu options may positively influence consumer acceptance. Sustained acceptance of healthy menu options for four years is promising, but additional promotional methods may be warranted to further increase consumer acceptance of healthy options. Implications for behavior analysis work in consumer behavior and marketing practices will be presented.