Responsibility to Supervisees and Trainees and Responsibility in Public Statements
In Weeks 6 and 7, we look at a behavior analyst’s responsibility as a supervisor and responsibility to public statements.
Choose one of the three scenarios below and answer the following (please put in the subject line which scenario you are discussing):
- Describe how you would handle the scenario.
- Discuss how the scenario meets or violates the specific ethics codes.
Scenario 1
In our district, there is a BCBA who charges the school district and other agencies a lot of money for providing services to children with autism—and I mean a lot of money. He tells people who are more than just a BCBA that he is one of the very few behavior analysts in the country nationally certified as a “Behavior Analyst for Verbal Behavior.” What should I do about this? I am not inclined to approach him and would rather deal with someone else.(Bailey & Burch, 2016, p. 269)
Scenario 2
A group of local behavior analysts gets together quarterly for a continuing education presentation followed by a group social and informal dinner. One of the members of our group is the owner of a large consulting firm. At a recent dinner, he mentioned that on Saturday morning, he was having some parents of clients come to the office to have their photos taken for his new web page. “We’ll have a statement from each one about the great things we did for their child,” he said. Someone at the table told him that behavior analysts were not supposed to solicit testimonials. His response was that doctors, dentists, and other professionals did this and that there was no problem as long as the parents could choose to not participate. Was he wrong about this? Is there any situation under which testimonials would be acceptable? He said what he was doing was not what the Code referred to in the section on testimonials. (Bailey & Burch, 2016, p. 272)
Scenario 3
Share your own scenario relevant to a specific ethics code from Section 5 of the “Ethics Codes for Behavior Analysts.”
Response Guidelines
Review the posts of other learners who chose a scenario different from yours and respond to at least one. Provide feedback regarding their positions and whether they appear to be supported by the literature cited. Whether you agree or disagree with their positions, please be sure that your feedback is respectful and professional.
Reference
Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. R. (2016). Ethics for behavior analysts (3rd ed.). Routledge.
What You Need to Know
Responsibility in Public Statements
The Internet has changed a lot about our field. Social media is used by many, and information, both accurate and inaccurate, is readily available. Posts on social media, as well as any other information intended for general consumption, is considered a public statement. This week, your readings will address how to be responsible with public statements, as well as provide an introduction to research in the field. Anyone can conduct research, but the BACB has specific ethics codes in place to ensure that research is done in an ethical manner.
Read the following:
- Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. R. (2022). Ethics for behavior analysts (4th ed.). Taylor & Francis Group.
- Chapter 10, “Section 5: Responsibility in Public Statements,” pages 247–271.
- Brodhead, M. T., Cox, D. J., & Quigley, S. P. (2022). Practical ethics for effective treatment of autism spectrum disorder (2nd ed.). Academic Press.
- Chapter 7, “Standardized Decision-Making.”
- Jacobs, H. E. (1991). Ya shoulda, oughta, wanna, or, laws of behavior and behavioral community research. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24(4), 641–644.
- O’Leary, P. N., Miller, M. M., Olive, M. L., & Kelly, A. N. (2017). Blurred lines: Ethical implications of social media for behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 10(1), 45–51.
Review the BACB ethics codes.
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts [PDF]. https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Ethics-Code-for-Behavior-Analysts-210106.pdf
- Section 5 – Responsibility in Public Statements.