ABA this week
02/08/26-02/14/26
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 *
2/11 Braren, J. T. B., Reed, F. D. D., Vance, H., Bartle, G. E., Goben, E. J., Laske, M. M., Ruby, S. A., & Sellers, T. P. (2026). Teaching self-advocacy skills to direct care staff. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 59(2), e70056. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.70056
5 direct care staff were trained using BST and tested in 2 conditions: wherein they received a positive response with no solution, or a negative response with a solution. Of the 5 staff in 2 conditions, 8/10 were correct responses, and all staff rated the training as socially significant
Aggarwal, I., O’Brien, M. J., Pauls, A. M., Jeglum, S. R., Franck, C. T., Martinez-Perez, C. N., & Podlesnik, C. A. (2026). Renewal of challenging behavior in an intensive outpatient clinic: Replication and extension to task changes. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 59(2), e70057. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.70057
(Open access) The authors examined renewal (e.g., a return of previously extinguished behavior) in the context of task changes, finding that of 63 patients in an outpatient clinic who experienced at least 1 task change, over half experienced renewal. They also found that these behaviors rarely returned to initial levels
Behavior Analysis in Practice
2/12 Bottini, S., Conine, D.E. Strategies to Prevent and Detect Fraudulent Responses in Online Research: A Cautionary Tale and Tutorial. Behav Analysis Practice (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-026-01163-3
The authors provide concrete steps to maintain the validity of online survey data, which is increasingly gamed by bots
Moore, T.F., Diaz, D.A., Edwards, G.E. et al. Using Remote Behavioral Skills Training to Teach University Students Literature Searching Skills. Behav Analysis Practice (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-025-01155-9
6 undergrads were trained remotely to access and search their university library; all increased skills compared to baseline (though some required “multiple hours” of training)
Cox, D.J., Godwin, J., Filer, M.R. et al. A Guide to Choosing a Balanced Outcomes Measurement Portfolio for ABA Organizations. Behav Analysis Practice (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-026-01164-2
Individualized goal-centric planning can ignore global changes, while standardized test scores can capture global changes while ignoring individual needs. The authors outline how to balance the two. The primary author has written about value-based care etc., and has some interesting studies on assessment that are in preprint
Parker, M.O. The Inoculation Fallacy: Why Early Enrichment Cannot Compensate for Poor Adult Environments. Behav Analysis Practice (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-026-01158-0
(Open access) Environmental Enrichment (EE) for animals confers significant benefits over impoverished environments. However, these benefits don’t necessarily last if the animal is placed into an impoverished environment later on. Speculation on our part follows: this is exactly the explanation for why gains from Head Start do not appear to confer lifelong benefit (though in fact, as we’ve written, Head Start does confer lifelong benefit)
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management *
2/9 Warren, R., Espericueta Luna, W. A., & Gravina, N. (2026). Evaluating the generalization of improved ergonomic positioning following the provision of video feedback using an artificial intelligence-powered app. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/01608061.2026.2628767
A previous study showed that an app could improve neck posture during seated work by providing feedback. This extension used two more activities, but it was effective in 5/7 and 4/7 participants in each task
Behavioral Interventions *
2/9 McDevitt, Sarah D. H., Denise Pichardo, Alison M. Kozlowski, and Carrie S. W. Borrero. 2026. “ Incorporating Mealtime Barriers During Caregiver Training of Behavior-Analytic Feeding Interventions,” Behavioral Interventions: e70079. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.70079
Caregivers were trained without barriers (e.g., in clinic) and with barriers (e.g., at home). Treatment integrity increased when training included common barriers
2/11 Zhou, Liming, Xiaoyi Hu, Xueting Qi, et al. 2026. “ Foreign Language Instruction in Chinese-Speaking Neurotypical and Neurodivergent Children,” Behavioral Interventions: e70076. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.70076
The authors used Chinese to English intraverbals in 12 kids (6 conventionally developing and 6 neurodivergent), and found that the intraverbal training resulted in untaught tacts, listener responses, and English to Chinese intraverbals
Perspectives on Behavior Science
2/10 Johnston, J.M., Ahearn, W.H. The Status of Radical Behaviorism. Perspect Behav Sci (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-026-00495-3
Is radical behaviorism ok?
Behavior and Social Issues
2/8 Geller, E. Experiential Teaching and Learning: Reflections on an invaluable but declining dynamic of higher education. Behav. Soc. Iss. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-025-00243-3
A description of how E. Scott Geller has taught an applied behavior science class that has worked on everything from improving vehicle safety to increasing positive comments
2/10 Fong, E., Riggleman, S. Examining Trends in Diversity Sessions at the Annual Conferences of Professional Behavior Analysis Organizations. Behav. Soc. Iss. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-025-00244-2
Presentations and poster sessions from 2018 to 2023 at ABAI and APBA were searched for keywords related to diversity
Behavior Modification *
2/12 Parvizi, S., Jokar, F., Ostadi, M., & Poorjavad, M. (2026). Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Validation, and Factor Analysis of a Persian Version of the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale. Behavior Modification, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01454455261416517
The Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) works in Persian (Farsi)
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior *
2/9 Gomes-Ng, S., Austin, T., Bai, J. Y. H., Landon, J., & Cowie, S. (2026). Divided control by past behavior, present stimuli, and future outcome value in a concurrent-chains procedure. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 125(2), e70087. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.70087
(Open access) Pigeons responded to a smaller-sooner or larger-later key, which each included lights meant to serve as an SD. In analyzing pigeon behavior, there was a complex interplay of behavior, signals, and reinforcement
2/10 Arntzen, E., Vlachokyriakou, E., & Nordenstam, C. (2026). Sorting test as a measurement of expansion of equivalence classes. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 125(2), e70085. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.70085
As equivalence classes expand, participants (mostly) accurately sorted and matched to sample
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior
2/12 McCarthy-Pepin, M., Axe, J.B. A Pilot Study on the Effects of Visual Imagining Teaching With and Without Scenic Picture Prompts on Intraverbal Categorization with Students with Autism. Analysis Verbal Behav (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40616-026-00226-4
The authors extended a previous study on teaching visual imagery to increase intraverbals by training autistic kids. They asked them to imagine categories and/or showed images related to a question (e.g., “What are some animals?”). The kids increased correct responding
The Psychological Record
2/8 Traxler, H.K., Franck, C.T. & Koffarnus, M.N. Toward a Predictive Model of Success in Contingency Management: A Proof of Concept Study Utilizing Behavioral Economic, Clinical Severity, and Alcohol Use Severity Measures. Psychol Rec (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-025-00671-y
(Open access) The authors analyzed 15 factors in the contingency management-based treatment of alcoholism in 38 participants. They found that delay discounting of alcohol, age, and anxiety scores were predictive of treatment outcomes
2/10 Newland, M.C., Brogan, K.M. & Rapp, J.T. How Reinforcer Magnitude and Delay Interact in Delay Discounting: A Concatenated Choice Analysis. Psychol Rec (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-026-00673-4
(Open access) Justice-involved youth and college students were tested with hypothetical delays, and both the delay and magnitude of the rewards were manipulated. It appeared that JIY discounted more steeply due to being insensitive to the relative magnitude of reinforcement
Journal of Behavioral Education
2/12 Smith, C.J., Perry, H., Oliveira, J.S.C.D. et al. Comparison of Discrete-Trial and Stimulus-Pairing Procedures in Computer-Assisted Language Learning. J Behav Educ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-026-09621-2
College students engaged with a computer training program that had active student responding (e.g., typing a response) after each SD, or a training with stimulus-stimulus pairing (e.g., the question and answer together). There were no differences during probes within the training, but the ASR condition had more correct responses in a post-test and in a one-week follow-up
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
2/11 Mitigating Racial Bias in a White Sample Using a Prophylactic Functional Response Class Training Method
(In press) (Open access) 116 white Americans were trained to form a relational class that was either consistent with racial bias, inconsistent with bias, or flexible, plus a control group. They then played a first-person shooter video game; the racial bias group more quickly shot armed Black avatars, and shot unarmed Black avatars more often. The group trained to be inconsistent with bias and the flexible group showed no such bias
Book publications
Textbooks, handbooks, manuals, or mass-market
Upcoming:
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.) (Pre-order Feb 25, 2026)
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
(UNLOCKED) The Science of Consequences Book Club
Behavioral Observations
Resilience Is a Skill — Raising Capable Kids in a Fragile World: Session 324 with Paulie Gavoni and Steve Ward
Blogs
Generally these are produced by professionals
ABAI
Panda Logic: Twenty Years Later, The Future of Applied Behavior Analysis Remains Under The Dome
Tom Critchfield introduces and reposts a classic Pat Friman plea to do more mainstream research
Cultural Responsiveness and Sensitivity in Applied Behavior Analysis Practice and Research
A guest post on the importance of cultural sensitivity and responsivity in service delivery
Licensing & professional organizations
Business world
Autism services, behavioral health, etc.
Centene Says Behavioral Health Accounts for Half of Excess Costs
To tamp down some of its cost pressures, Centene formed an ABA task force in 2025 with the aim of analyzing data, identifying utilization patterns and improving care quality.
This is regurgitating the reasoning of a CEO, but it’s insulting. “Improving care quality” in this sentence is supposed to also imply “cutting costs.” There are ways that can be done – for example, reducing fraud – but this sudden concern for quality is framed squarely in the middle of a conversation about cost.
Accidentally behavior analysis
A mainstream news article that relates to behavior analysis
Reliability of LLMs as medical assistants for the general public: a randomized preregistered study, Nature Medicine
Well, it’s another journal article, and we apologize for that. But in reference to cost control, AI is surely the next stop for ABA. And here, we see that in medicine, AI is not as effective as a doctor at identifying and communicating a diagnosis.Still, effectiveness is not the point; the point is to eliminate expensive humans from the equation, and hence these efforts will continue.
Continuing education
UPCOMING:
BehaviorLive has free events: 2/20, 2/24, 2/25, 2/26, 2/28
Flashback
The expectant pigeon
Gail B. Peterson wrote a previously-featured brief article about Skinner’s discovery of shaping by hand – and how it was later than you might think. She also had a very interesting career of her own; frankly it was hard to choose only one of her works to feature here. But in reference to a JEAB article this week on control of pigeon behavior by cues and history, here is a 1988 article that describes pigeon behavior as controlled by memories and expectations.
After a learning history is developed – for example, wheat follows a green light key press – then there may be an “expectation” after a presentation of the reinforcer. The pigeon in this example may press the green key, in what we might now term induction.
Similarly, the pigeon may have received differential reinforcement for a delayed matching-to-sample response. For example, a green light illuminates, is turned off, and after a delay, a green and red key are illuminated. The pigeon “remembers” the green light if it consistently presses the green key.
“Expectation” outperformed “memories” alone, but the most accurate pigeon performance was for expectation and memories combined.
I enjoyed reading Panda Logic: Twenty Years Later, The Future of Applied Behavior Analysis Remains Under The Dome. I hope ABA gets out of the autism services dependency. They make an excellent point about applying behavior analysis in areas other than autism. What will happen to ABA if autism services become unprofitable? There is a good chance that may happen.