Association for Behavior Analysis International

Behavioral economics is a productive blend of behavioral principles and micro-economic theory. Behavioral economic research has revealed that the concepts, principles, and methods that economists conventionally apply to decision-making at the population level have important parallels at the individual level. Armed with this understanding, behavior analysts gain a variety of useful analytic tools with potential for enhancing instructional and therapeutic arrangements. In this tutorial, Dr. IserGuillermo DeLeon will describe some basic tenets of behavioral economics, what one needs minimally to grasp its relevance for practice. He will then review and discuss studies, some from the behavior analytic literature and some from his own work, that show how these tools have been used to enhance our understanding of functional relations and improve our outcomes in work with people with autism spectrum disorder.

BCBAs, BCaBAs

1. Participants will be able to explain basic behavioral economic concepts that include the law of demand, demand elasticity, substitutability, complementarity, and the impact of open vs. closed economies.
2. Participants will be able to discuss how these concepts map onto common behavioral interventions to address the instructional or therapeutic needs of persons with ASD.
3. Participants will understand what demand curves can offer beyond more conventional methods of gauging relative reinforcer effectiveness.

Converging evidence suggests that 5-HT2AR agonist psychedelics (classic hallucinogens) may hold a future in addiction treatment. Observational studies have reported addiction recovery associated with the ceremonial use of 5-HT2AR agonists (mescaline, dimethyltryptamine) by indigenous cultures. A meta-analysis of randomized studies from several decades ago showed that administration of 5-HT2AR agonist lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in alcoholism treatment resulted in significantly less alcohol misuse than randomized control conditions, with a large effect size (odds ratio ~2). Research with 5-HT2AR agonist psilocybin in nonaddicted individuals shows effects suggestive of antiaddiction efficacy, including positive behavior change as assessed by experimentally blinded community observers, increased personality openness, and high ratings of personal meaning at long-term follow ups. In a recent open-label pilot study of psilocybin as an adjunct to cognitive behavioral smoking cessation therapy in 15 treatment-refractory participants, 80% showed biologically verified smoking abstinence at 6-month follow-up. Although not definitive, these results are substantially greater than typical treatments. Another recent pilot study suggested safety and efficacy of psilocybin as an adjunct to Motivational Enhancement Therapy for alcoholism. This presentation will review this research, describe ongoing randomized trials, and discuss potential behavioral mechanisms.

Applied and basic behavior analysts interested in research on the use of hallucinogens in the treatment of addiction.

From a behavioral perspective, depression is a summary label for a set of responses emitted in a context, not an internal (neurobiological or psychological) defect within a person. As such, depressive symptoms should be treatable by changing environment-behavior interactions and the context in which they occur. Behavioral activation (BA) is a well-developed approach to treating depressive symptoms in adults with an emerging literature for adolescents. The goal of BA is to promote contact with positive reinforcement by engaging clients in focused activation strategies to counter passive avoidance/withdrawal and to increase goal-directed and values-guided behavior. The tutorial will briefly review of major components of BA, including: (1) the rationale and model of depression; (2) mood and activity monitoring; (3) conducting a values assessment; and (4) scheduling pleasurable, mastery-related, and values-based activities.

Anyone interesting in the seeing the application of behavior analysis to depression, a common mental health problem. Also attendees, particularly students, who may have broad applied interests.

Try to picture all that's known about biology and behavior: Genes, epigenetics, neurophysiology, operant and respondent principles, hormones, history ... and much more. Like other sciences, ours has always been part of a grand interdisciplinary effort, and the biobehavioral system is large and complex indeed. Developmental Systems Theory attempts to encompass everything, including the many complex, nonlinear interactions across all levels. The operant principles in which behavior analysts specialize have proved to be an important part of the empowering flexibility in the larger system. Our work on the benefits of enriched environments, the causes and treatments for autism spectrum disorders, the surprising flexibility of "instincts," and rehabilitation for victims of stroke and traumatic brain injury, to name a few examples, are all part of much larger efforts. In turn, system interactions are critical influences on our own work. Scientists always knew a better understanding of the full nature-and-nurture system would bring surprises, and this tutorial will show how the reality has exceeded expectations.

Psychologists, behavior analysts, practitioners, and graduate students.

1. To describe developmental systems theory.  At the conclusion of the event, participants will be able to explain how DST encompasses the entire biobehavioral system, including many complex, nonlinear interactions across all levels. 
2. To show how operant and respondent behavior principles play a critical role in developmental systems theory.  At the conclusion of the event, participants will be able to describe how behavior principles influence and are influenced by the other system variables.
3. To show the philosophical similarities between behavior analysis and developmental systems theory, including for example anti-reductionism.  At the conclusion of the event, participants will be able to describe these similarities.  Participants will also be able to describe the value to behavior analysts of understanding and contributing to developmental systems theory. 

Throughout the Renaissance, the arts and science were both often practiced by women and men of scholarship of all sorts. The very notion of a "Renaissance Man or Woman," speaks to the idea that today we have somehow lost our way, and expect divergence not integration. It was more common than not, that scientists also were practitioners of some form of painting or artistic writing, and the converse. From Leonardo da Vinci to B.F. Skinner, the two have more often than not been interwoven. The notion that the two are separate endeavors emerged after the Renaissance when science and the humanities diverged, reaching its culmination during and after World War II when C.P. Snow presented his famous Rede Lecture, "Two Cultures." The arts are integral features that create the context within which our practices as research and applied behavior analysts are conducted. Artistic factors also are behavioral variables in our analysis of behavior. They are also uniquely effective in creating the context for socio-cultural conditional learning and discriminations. As we look about us, we are compelled to ask, "Why do artists create art?" "Why can people with severe disabilities often create stunning artistic products while being unable to speak an intelligible sentence?" "Why do so many of us feel artistic activities are uplifting and add a dimension to our lives that exceed those of our science, alone?" "How can the concepts of the arts and sciences be integrated to mutual benefit?" In today's discussion, Dr. Travis Thompson will explore the intrerplay of artistic activities and behavior analytic endeavors, where they intertwine and separate. *The title is from a comment by the first American woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell in the 19th century.

Psychologists, behavior analysts, practitioners, and graduate students.