When Rules Are Not Enough: Developing Principles to Guide Ethical Conduct
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DISCUSSION AND REVIEW PAPER
When Rules Are Not Enough: Developing Principles to Guide Ethical Conduct Elizabeth M. Kelly 1
&
Kaitlin Greeny 1 & Nancy Rosenberg 1 & Ilene Schwartz 1
Accepted: 11 September 2020 # Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020
Abstract Currently, certified behavior analysts are required to adhere to the ethical rules established by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) known as the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB, 2014; hereafter referred to as the BACB Code). Applying these rules without context, however, can result in an overly simplified and mechanistic approach to ethical problem solving. Ethical rules that lack guiding principles may also pose dissemination challenges for behavior analysts tasked with communicating the field’s ethical ideals to nonbehavioral colleagues and stakeholders. This article describes the process that our applied behavior analysis organization used to develop a set of guiding ethical principles to supplement the BACB Code. These principles guide our members’ ethical decision making and assist them in disseminating our organization’s ideals. Following a description of the principle development process, we present our organization’s ethical principles and discuss how behavior analysts can use them to make clinical and ethical decisions, and address dissemination challenges. Keywords Applied behavior analysis . Behavior analysis . Dissemination . Ethical decision making . Ethics . Principles
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a natural science approach to studying behavior in context. One of the most important defining characteristics of ABA is its attention to the relationship between the behavior of interest and the context in which the behavior occurs. Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) initially addressed this idea when they proposed that behavior analysts study behaviors that are important to individuals in the environments in which they naturally occur, rather than those that may be more convenient for the researcher or the therapist. Since Baer et al. (1968), many other behavioral researchers have proposed a contextual approach to the analysis of behavior (e.g., Biglan & Hayes, 1996; Morris, 1988). This approach supposes that context contributes to a behavior’s relevance, and it therefore encourages ABA researchers and practitioners to consider context, as well as behavioral function, when developing intervention strategies for the individuals they serve. Knowledge of both function and context is critical for effectively and meaningfully improving the quality * Elizabeth M. Kelly [email protected] 1
College of Education, University of Washington, Box 357925, Haring Center, 1981 NE Columbia Rd., Seattle, WA 98195, USA
of life for individuals receiving ABA services (Carr et al., 2002; Moes & Frea, 2000; Verdugo, Schalock, Keith, & Stancliffe, 2005). Ethical behavior warrants the same contextual consideration as all other behavior. Currently, certified behavior analysts are required to adhere to the
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