EAB5780
Ethical and Professional in
Applied Behavior Analysis
SYLLABUS
Department of Psychology
Florida State University
Panama City Campus
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Ethical and Professional Issues
In Applied Behavior Analysis
EAB 5780
Course Objectives
This course prepares students for the professional practice of applied
behavior analysis. It is one of the required courses in the Master’s Degree
Program in Psychology Specially in Applied Behavior Analysis at the
Panama City Campus.
Since this Master’s degree program is in psychology we will focus our
attention initially on ethical issues in the broader framework of psychology
~ As behavior analysts you will be representing our field and interaction the
full range of other professionals, thus we expect you to hold a high
standard of professional conduct and ethics at all times. Issues to be
discussed here include core ethical principles for any professional, the
enforcement or ethical conduct and understanding the core ethical
competencies of contemporary behavior analysts. In addition we will cover
issues of privacy, confidentiality and record keeping, the ethics of data
collection for treatment purposes and dealing with multiple role
relationships. As behavior analysts engaged in professional practice you
will also need to deal with the management of interpersonal relationships,
managed care and billing issues. Finally we will cover concerns dealing
with presenting behavior analysis to the public, dealing with colleagues
and managing ethical dilemmas in work settings. Since our field
encourages teaching and the collection and publication of data, we will
discuss ethics in the classroom and research ethics as well.
Aside from ethics behavior analysts must be aware of their own daily
demeanor in dealing with consumers and professionals. For this I will have
you read Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, the
standard work for nearly 50 years on behavior in the workplace.
We will have a number of guest lecturers this semester who will bring their
expertise in a variety of areas to our class. Drs. Jerry Shook, Mary
Riordan, Maxin Reiss, Ellen Beder and Brian wata have all agreed to
share their wisdom with us.
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In the class we will discuss and debate scenarios based on real-world
ethical situations in applied behavior analysis.
Evaluation
The class will consist of lectures, discussions, class exercises, homework
assignments, student-led presentations, regular weekly essay exams and
a final term paper and final exam. Weighting of these requirements for
grading purposes will be as follows:
12 Weekly Essay Exams=50%
Class participation=1 0%
 Homework assignments=1 0%
Term Paper=30%
Absenteeism
Class attendance and active participation are essential for this class.
Mastery of the ethics and professional standards is essential for
practitioners in this field. Seventy percent of the final grade is dependent
directly or indirectly on regular attendance (12 Weekly Essay Exams=50%;
Class participation= 10%; Homework assignments=1 0%). A point system
will be in place which manage the requirements described above.
Unexcused absences will lower the student’s grade by 3.1% each.
CBA Interview on Ethical Issues
I would like you to conduct an interview with a Certified Behavior Analyst
(20-30 mm long) to determine ethical issues that he/she may have
encountered in their practice. It would be best to begin contacting CBAs
early in the semester (i.e. the first 2-3 weeks). A paper describing your
interview will be turned in as homework on Feb. 8. Students will also be
selected to present the results of their interviews to the class.
Term Paper Requirements
The intent of requiring you to write a term paper on ethics is to give you
practice in integrating the lecture, class exercises and extra reading
material. Your term paper should have a “thesis”, i.e. some central point
that you want to make. You may wish to elaborate on a specific ethical
standard or review research related to it. Your paper should be word
processed, 10-15 pages, double spaced, and prepared according to APA
style. Students are required to present their paper in class in order to get
credit for it.
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ADA Policy
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should:
1.Register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability
Resource Center (SDRC);
2. Bring a letter to the instructor from the SDRC indicating you need
academic accommodations. This should be done within the first week of
class. This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative
format upon request.
Academic Honor System
“The Academic Honor System of The Florida State University is based on
the premise that each student has the responsibility to: 1) Uphold the
highest standards of academic integrity in the student’s own work, 2)
refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity i the academic
community, and 3) Foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility
on the part of the University community.” (1996-97 FSU General Bulletin,
pg. 65).
Students are responsible for understanding the “Violations of the
Academic Honor Code” described on p.65 of the aforementioned FSU
General Bulletin.
Text, Time and Location
The major text for the course will be Ethics in Psychology: Professional
Standards
and Cases by Koocher & Keith-Spiegel. We will also use Dale Carnegie’s
How to Win
Friends and Influence People. to cover additional issues of professional
behavior.
Additional articles from the references listed below may also be used.
The class will meet on Tuesdays from 5-7:3Opm CT at the Panama City
Campus and 6-8:30 EST on the Tallahassee Campus.
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References
APA Code of Ethics: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code.html
Bailey, J.S. (1991). Marketing behavior analysis requires different talk. Journal of Applied
Behavior Analysis,24, 445-448.
Block, P. [1981]. Flawless consulting. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Butterfield, E.C. (1990). Serious self- injury: The ethics of treatment and research. In A.C.
Repp & N.N. Singh (Eds.). Perspectives on the use of nonaversive and aversive interventions
for persons with developmental disabilities. Sycamore. IL: Sycamore Publishing. Pp. 255-260.
Carnegie, D. [1981]. How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Pocket Books.
Griffith, R.G. (1983). The administrative issues: An ethical and legal perspective. In
Axelrod & Apsche (Eds.), The effects of punishment on human behavior. New York: McGrawHill. Pp. 317-337.
Hayes, L.J., Hayes, G.J., Moore. S.C.. and Ghezzi. P.M. [1994]. Ethical issues in
Developmental Disabilities. Reno: Context Press.
Kelley, RE. [1981]. Consulting. New York:.Charles Scribners Sons.
Koocher, G. P. & Keith-Spiegel. P. [1998]. Ethics in Psychology: Professional Standards
and Cases 2 nd Edition. New York: Oxford university Press.
Krapf I, J.E. & vargas, E.A.. [1977]. Behaviorism and Ethics. Kalamazoo: Behaviordelia
Inc.
Martin, G. & Pear, J. (1999). Behavior Modification: What it is and how to do it. Chapter
29: Ethical issues, Pp. 433-450. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Robinson, D. and Robinson. J. [1996]. Performance Consulting. San Francisco: BerrettKoehler Publishers, Inc.
Singh, N.N., Loyd, J.W., & Kendall, K.A. (1990). Nonaversive and aversive interventions:
Issues. In Repp & Singh. Pp. 3-16.
Stein, T.J. (1975). Some ethical considerations of short-term workshops in the principles
and methods of behavior modification. JABA, 8,113-115.
Stolz, S. & Associates [1978]. Ethical issues in behavior modification. San Francisco:
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Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers.
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v~ Houten, R., Axelrod, S.. Bailey, J.S., Favell, J.E., Foxx. R.M., Iwata. BA., & Lovaas, I.
[1988]. The right to effective behavioral treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21,
381-384.
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EAB5780
Reading & Course Assignments Schedule
Date
Ch 5 Ethics in psychotherapy: Techniques
Ch. 6 Privacy, confidentiality, and record
keeping
Jan 4
Jan11
Jan 18
Jan 25
Lecture/Discussion Topics No Class
Ch 7 Psychological asse%:
~sting
tribulations
*lnte~iews presented and papers turned in
Ch 8 Multiple role relationships and conflicts
of interest
Guest Lecture: Jerry Shook
Behavior Analysis
Certification Board
5
Febi
6
Feb8
7
Feb 15
Riordan
Guest Lecture: Mary
BMC, lnc.
8
Feb22
(~
~L. d~f~
Z2
F~Ut~j
10
Mar7
11
Mar14
Reading or Other
Assignments
Ch 1 On being an ethical psychologist
Ch 2 Enforcement of ethical conduct
Ch 3 Knowing thyself: Competence and
credentials
Ch 4 Ethical obligations in
psychotherapy
16 Apr18
Ch 9 Attraction, romance, and sexual
intimacies ChiC Money matters and managed
care
Ch ii Psychologists in the marketplace Ch 12
Presenting psychology to the public
NO CLASS SPRING BREAK
1 2 Mar 21
Guest Lecture: Maxin Reiss
BMC, Inc.
1 3 Mar 28
Guest Lecture: Ellen Berler
Dept of Psychology, FSU
14 Apr4
1 5 Apr 11
Guest Lecture: Brian Iwata
Univ of H
Ch 13 Relationships with colleagues,
supervisees, and employees
Ch 14 Ethical dilemmas in specrfic work
settings:
Juggling porcupines
Ch 15 Psychologists in the legal system Ch
16 Psychologists as teachers: Classroom
conundrums
Ch 17 Scholarly publication and research
ethics Dale Carnegie Part One
Dale Carnegie Part Two & Part Three
Dale Carnegie Part Four
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Term papers presented and turned in
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