The Fuzzy Concept of Applied Behavior Analysis Research

Abstract

A seven-dimension framework, introduced by Baer, Wolf, and Risley in an iconic 1968 article, has become the de facto gold standard for identifying "good" work in applied behavior analysis. We examine the framework's historical context and show how its overarching attention to social relevance first arose and then subsequently fueled the growth of applied behavior analysis. Ironically, however, in contemporary use, the framework serves as a bottleneck that prevents many socially important problems from receiving adequate attention in applied behavior analysis research. The core problem lies in viewing the framework as a conjoint set in which "good" research must reflect all seven dimensions at equally high levels of integrity. We advocate a bigger-tent version of applied behavior analysis research in which, to use Baer and colleagues' own words, "The label applied is determined not by the procedures used but by the interest society shows in the problem being studied." Because the Baer-Wolf-Risley article expressly endorses the conjoint-set perspective and devalues work that falls outside the seven-dimension framework, pitching the big tent may require moving beyond that article as a primary frame of reference for defining what ABA should be.

Keywords: Applied behavior analysis; Historiography; History; Social validity; Translation.

Fig. 1

Top, left: the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis as described by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968). All of behavior analysis is Behavioral, Analytical, and Conceptual. ABA’s focus on problems of social importance is a subset of Behavioral, since not only selected behaviors are bound up in social concerns. ABA creates Technological Interventions that are Effective under the conditions in which they are implemented and also produce General outcomes. Top, right: mean number of scholarly citations per year of the Baer et al. article. Bottom: example of a textbook summary of the seven dimensions. Reproduced from Mayer et al. (2012) by permission of the Sloan Publishing Company

Fig. 2

Examples of Effective interventions that can be questioned on at least one of the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis of Baer et al. (1968). Solid rectangles identify dimensions that are clearly reflected in the research. Dashed rectangles identify dimensions about which some behavior analysts might have concerns. See text for further explanation

Fig. 3

Examples of clinical interventions that are not Effective. Solid rectangles identify dimensions from Baer et al. (1968) that are clearly reflected in the research. Dashed rectangles identify dimensions about which some behavior analysts might have concerns. See text for further explanation

Fig. 4

Examples of research on socially important topics that lack a clinical intervention. Solid rectangles identify dimensions from Baer et al. (1968) that are clearly reflected in the research. Dashed rectangles identify dimensions about which some behavior analysts might have concerns. See text for further explanation