Practitioners of applied behavior analysis need to create a model for developing and evaluating behavioral technology consistent with the approach of other natural sciences. The model should focus on developing an experimental literature that is comprehensive in both its attempt to understand target behaviors and its search for the how and why of…

This response to four papers on the nature of reinforcement focuses on the implications for application of theory to practice. The response addresses: reversibility of single-incentive selective associations; response deprivation, reinforcement, and economics; the substitutability of reinforcers; and delay reduction. (DB)

Emphasis on technological precision and methodological sophistication in the field of applied behavior analysis has brought about a deemphasis of theoretical and philosophical concerns. For theoretical development of the field to move ahead, applied behavior analysts must develop the principles needed to describe ways of predicting and controlling…

There should not be an intentional reduction of the technological focus in applied behavior analysis research to expand the theoretical focus. The manner in which applied behavior analysis has beneficially affected the field of developmental disabilities services demonstrates how technologically related research plays a necessary role. (JDD)

This essay discusses the significance functional analysis has had for applied behavior analysis of aberrant behavior. The methodology has lessened the field's reliance on default technologies and promoted analysis of environment-behavior interactions maintaining target responses as the basis for selecting treatments. It has also contributed to the…

To the extent that applied behavior analysis represents a scientific and practical approach to the study of behavior, its technological character is essential. The most serious problem evident in the field is not that the research being done is too technical but that more good research of all types is needed. (JDD)

The claim that applied behavior analysis is overly technological is refuted, arguing that instead there is a lack of understanding of how technologies proficiently evolve. The solution lies in integrating basic and applied research sectors and coordinating efforts toward specific goals that are defined and valued by the culture. (JDD)

The field of applied behavior analysis is not overly technological but emphasizes technology in some areas, such as research procedures, and not others, such as adoption of intervention programs. Efforts are often focused on program implementation, with little attention to the preparation needed to implement or to leave an effective program in…

This paper responds to commentaries on an original article which proposed decreasing the training of applied behavior analysts as if they were going to be researchers, because most are not. The paper supports high quality research but opposes inculcating proresearcher, antipractitioner values in graduate education and recommends trying harder to…