James W. Diller

Evaluating Components of Behavior-Analytic Training Programs

This study investigates the consistency of behavior-analytic training with the Behavior Analysis Certification Board’s task list. A survey about the content of behavior-analytic training programs was sent to Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)-approved training program directors. There were many program directors that felt particular areas do not have sufficient coverage (e.g., Behavioral Pharmacology, Biological Bases of Behavior, Organizational Behavior Management), and several program directors reported that their course sequence does not adequately prepare students in basic research. Results suggest that the evaluation of behavior-analytic training content may be warranted.

E-Mailed Prompts and Feedback Messages to Reduce Energy Consumption: Testing Mechanisms for Behavior Change by Employees at a Green University

ABSTRACT E-mail is a common mechanism for communication within organizations. Extending prior research on effects of informational messages on behavior change, the present study evaluated effects of e-mailed prompts and feedback on energy consumption at a green university. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of messages to occupants of 5 campus buildings over a period of 12 weeks. Energy consumption changes were tracked using the university’s energy dashboard. Results and implications for further research and organizational behavior change efforts are discussed.

Effective Dissemination Requires Effective Talk: a Comparison of Behavior-Analytic Journals.

We explored language used in three behavior-analytic journals (the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB), and Behavior Analysis in Practice (BAP)) to evaluate differences in factors related to the ease of comprehension. Using a linguistic analysis tool, we compared the first three paragraphs of the introductions of research articles in ten issues of each of the journals. JEAB was found to use language that was less concrete, meaningful, and imageable than the two applied journals. Implications for the field are discussed.

How Hume’s Philosophy Informed Radical Behaviorism

The present paper analyzes consistencies between the philosophical systems of David Hume and B. F. Skinner, focusing on their conceptualization of causality and attitudes about scientific behavior. The ideas that Hume initially advanced were further developed in Skinner’s writings and shaped the behavior-analytic approach to scientific behavior. Tracing Skinner’s logical antecedents allows for additional historical and philosophical clarity when examining the development of radical behaviorism.