ABA this week
06/21/26-06/27/26
Scholarly publications
Includes peer reviewed journals within and adjacent to behavior analysis
(Starred journals available to BCBAs through the BACB portal)
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis *
6/22 Lemons, A., & Wilder, D. A. (2026). The effect of varied versus constant high-probability instructional sequences on cooperation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 59(3), e70073. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.70073
3 children got either varied or constant high-p sequences; 1/3 performed better with varied sequences, while 2/3 saw the same performance in both conditions
Behavior Analysis in Practice
6/24 Kestner, K.M., St. Peter, C.C., Cucinotta, K.A. et al. Variations of Shaping to Increase Academic Engagement. Behav Analysis Practice (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-026-01202-z
Two variations of a percentile schedule, plus standard shaping, were used in an extended school year program with 3 students. The percentile schedules were not effective in teaching skills, perhaps because changes were sometimes too small to contact reinforcement
Sun, T., Chang, H. & Sivaraman, M. Effects of a Contingent Imitation Intervention on Generalized Imitation in Young Children with Developmental Delays. Behav Analysis Practice (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-026-01204-x
3 children with developmental delays were taught with a generalized imitation procedure wherein they introduced imitation for known actions, then novel actions. When probing additional novel actions, all learners improved their imitation skills
Yeo, Y., Sivaraman, M., Sun, Y. et al. Establishing Oral Motor Imitation Using Video Modeling. Behav Analysis Practice (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-026-01199-5
3 autistic preschoolers were taught oral motor imitation using video models and the selfie screen on a tablet (instead of a mirror); all learned 9 movements. Additionally the participants increased accuracy on echoics and engaged in novel vocalizations
Behavioral Interventions *
6/22 Mitteer, Daniel R., Casey I. Helvey, Andrew R. Craig, Grace E. Sigwanz, and Samantha L. Breeman. 2026. “Sexual Harassment in Behavior Analysis: Findings From a Preliminary Sample of Practitioners and Recommendations for the Field,” Behavioral Interventions: e70119. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.70119
(Open access) In a survey of 345 practitioners, 82% of respondents had experienced some type of sexual harassment, mostly remarks or unwanted attention from coworkers or families served, particularly in junior roles
6/26 Leow-Dyke, Natalie, Rhys Jones, Maria Rossi, and Athanasios Vostanis. 2026. “Teaching Mathematics to Autistic Students in Special Education by Integrating Learn Units Within Precision Teaching,” Behavioral Interventions: e70118. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.70118
(Open access) 4 kids with special needs were taught using precision teaching to match equivalent amounts of money, using flashcards and worksheets. All increased fluency in the skill
Behavior and Social Issues
6/22 Zagury Tourinho, E. Sustainability, Inclusion, and Negative Cultural Cusps. Behav. Soc. Iss. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-026-00263-7
(Open access) Some “sustainability” projects will displace native communities, and the author labels these “negative cultural cusps”
Ijanc Neto, C., Aggio, N. Assessing the Explicit and Implicit Attitudes of Brazilians Toward Venezuelan Immigrants. Behav. Soc. Iss. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-026-00262-8
(Open access) 102 Brazilians were subject to using the FAST to measure attitudes towards displaced Venezuelan immigrants. None had explicit negative attitudes, but performance on the FAST showed that some participants may have implicit negative attitudes
Behavior Modification *
6/24 Walker, V. L., Carpenter, M. E., Edwards-Bowyer, M., Pinczynski, M., Aiono-Conradi, L., Snodgrass, M. R., & Harris, R. (n.d.). A Systematic Review of School Personnel’s Involvement in Function-Based Intervention for Students With Extensive Support Needs. Behavior Modification, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01454455261449774
In a literature review, the authors find that, in the case of students with Extensive Support Needs (ESN), researchers are often designing function-based interventions while school personnel are often implementers, but there are few studies
Journal of Behavioral Education
6/22 Joslyn, P. ., Najafichaghabouri, M. & Preston, E. Toward Improved Measurement of Academic Engagement. J Behav Educ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-026-09638-7
The authors used measures of “on-task behavior” (e.g., looking at materials, holding materials, etc.) and compared them to work products (e.g., completed worksheets) with 6 students in 5 different reinforcement conditions (e.g., work completion, on-task, work accuracy). In 3/6 students, there was a correspondence between on-task behavior and work completion. In 3/6 students there was at least 1 condition with high on-task behavior but low work completion
6/23 Kirkpatrick, M., Peña, H., Rogers, J. et al. Using a Video Activity Schedule and Social Scripts to Teach Cooperative Game Play and Social Communication to Autistic Children. J Behav Educ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-026-09640-z
6 autistic children at an inclusive summer camp were put in 3 dyads, then used antecedent social scripts and video modeling to teach games. The children increased their appropriate game play but there was no clear effect on social communication
Book publications
Textbooks, handbooks, manuals, or mass-market
Upcoming:
Nonlinear Contingency Analysis: Going Beyond Cognition and Behavior in Clinical Practice, Layng, Andronis, Codd, Abdel-Jalil (Eds.) (Nov 2026)
Case Studies and Applications in Nonlinear Contingency Analysis, Abdel-Jalil & Linnehan (Eds.) (Oct 2026)
Personal Narratives on the Behavior Analysis of Human Language and Cognition: Stories from Around the World, Harte et al. (Eds.) (Jul 2026)
WAVE Prosocial Assessment and Curriculum, Rehfeldt & Dixon (Pre-order)
Digital Technologies in Behavior Science: Theoretical and Practical Applications, Crone-Todd, Hantula, Layng (Eds.)
AIM Navigators, Dixon (Pre-order)
Promoting Language for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Verbal Behavior Guide for Practitioners, Vladescu & Kissamore (Eds.)
Navigating Ethics in Behavior Analysis: Dealing with Gray Areas, Carr
Podcasts
ABA Inside Track
Medical Toleration
Blogs
Generally these are produced by professionals
ABAI
Carolina Bori and Creating the Conditions for Science
The story of one of the first Brazilian behaviorists
Screen Time Behavior Regulation & Some [sic]
A guest post discussing “behavior regulation” that we might characterize as allocation
Behavior Analysis Meets Artificial Intelligence: A Framework Built on Ethics First
no
Steve Hayes
We Were Built to Be Seen: Why I am getting on planes again — and why some things still do not travel through a screen.
Why Steve Hayes personally goes to trainings instead of using Zoom
OAR
Culturally Adapted Approaches to Supporting Arabic-Speaking Individuals with Autism
Licensing & professional organizations
ASAN
ASAN Condemns OLC Memo Threatening Community Living
Take Action to Protect Our Health Care!
Continuing the fight against work requirements
Business world
Autism services, behavioral health, etc.
GLP-1 drugs may reduce the risk of substance abuse disorders up to 75% and the federal government is publicizing Medicaid fraud from behavioral health providers, including one that fraudulently billed $75 million
Would it be unreasonable to suggest that behavioral health patients will someday be pushed into taking GLP-1s, while federal funds for standard treatments dry up?
Accidentally behavior analysis
A mainstream news article that relates to behavior analysis
‘I get a gold star when I go to the gym’: the adults using sticker charts for motivation, The Guardian
These types of articles often have a certain tongue-in-cheek nature – “sticker charts are for kids,” they begin, as does this article. But the author herself notes that, while she doesn’t use stickers, she tracks various behaviors she wants to increase, including exercising and eating fruits and vegetables.
While we do tend to agree with Catania that “self-reinforcement is a misnomer,” there are known benefits of tracking behavior in and of itself.
Continuing education
UPCOMING:
BehaviorLive has free events: 7/2 (ETH), 7/9, 7/15, 7/20, 7/22 (ETH), 7/23 (SUP), 7/27 (SUP), 7/29
Flashback
The Harvard pigeon lab
BF Skinner and RJ Herrnstein give us a tour of the pigeon lab, complete with pigeon ping pong and green light-induced pigeon fights. This was released in 1960.
We also see teaching machines, and speculation that maybe this crazy pigeon stuff can be used with people.