Socially Significicant Behaviour
In our last lesson, we talked about ABA interventions being applied and effective. This means that they should target important behaviours where behaviour change will lead to a meaningful improvement in a client?s life. We sometimes refer to such behaviours as being socially significant.
In short, socially significant behaviors are behaviors that can improve the life experience of an individual. This is a simple principle that should underpin the selection of every intervention.
However, there are other factors related to ethics and values that also need to be considered. For example, similar to many other helping professionals, a first principle for ABA professionals is to do no harm.
Social Validity
Social Validity is a concept that is related to the concept of social significance. Social Validity means that the goals, procedures, and results of an intervention are socially acceptable to the client, the behaviour analyst, and society.
One of the differences between social significance and social validity is that social validity places an emphasis on the acceptability of procedures. ABA professionals and paraprofessionals should ensure that they do not use procedures that are harmful, degrading, painful or dehumanising when trying to achieve socially significant goals.
Using procedures that are harmful, degrading, painful or dehumanising leads to negative side-effects for clients ? even if a socially significant outcome is achieved. This violates our obligation to do no harm.
Habilitation
A third term that ABA uses when looking at goal and procedure selection is habilitative validity or habilitation.Habilitation refers to the extent to which an individual?s skills maximises the overall benefits and minimises the overall costs to an individual, those around them and wider society (Hawkins, 1986). We do this by looking at the things like combining consumer satisfaction reports with more objective forms of data to detect the short and long term impacts of interventions.
Sometimes, we simplify the concept of habilitation to being a right to be taught the skills needed to live as independently as possible. However, it is important to note that an essential part of this is honouring somebody?s right to choose and refuse. In short, we teach people how to be as independent as possible while also acknowledging the right to make unwise decisions.
Quality of Life
Another goal of behaviour analysts is to improve Quality of Life.
Quality of life is defined by the World Health Organisation as ?individuals? perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns?.
It is important to note that Quality of Life is contextual.
Various frameworks are proposed for examining Quality of Life.? We will take a look at one framework designed by Schalock and colleages. There are 7 domains within this quality of life framework. Each relates to a person?s human rights
- Self ?determination ? a right to make decisions
- Emotional well-being ? a right to safe, predictable environment that minimise stress/anxiety and promote contentment
- Interpersonal relations – a right to relationships with family/friends and a supportive social network
- Material well-being ? a right to safe housing, employment and housing security
- Personal development ? a right to life-long learning and authentic participation in meaningful activities
- Physical well-being – rights related to diet, exercise and healthcare
- Rights and inclusion ? a right to be respected, afforded dignity and be included in society
Behaviour analysts should consider any potential goal or procedure within the context of quality of life and the impact these might have on their human rights.
Summary
As you can see, selecting goals and procedures within ABA requires consideration of a variety of different factors and principles. Behaviour analysts must always consider the social significance of goals, the social appropriateness of procedures and the social importance of effects. These considerations should including identifying both potential short and long term factors, a person?s rights and the research base regarding effectiveness.
Consent from a client (or a client?s legal proxy) is always required but, in addition, impacts on those around the client and wider society also need to be considered. We need to be careful to ensure that we do no harm.
Later in this course, we?ll talk a little a little more about some concepts, rights and principles that are particularly relevant when working with vulnerable people. However, hopefully, has given you a broader understanding of what we mean by Applied and Effective.