Private Events

1. Private Events Justin Daigle, MA, BCBA, LBA Program Director

2. Private Events Covert (not seen) events that occur within humans that may or may not affect behaviors. - Thoughts - Feelings - Emotions

3. 3 Questions Do private events have a place in ABA? Do private events affect our overt (observable) behaviors? Should we attempt to modify private events?

4. Psychology? The study of behavior? The study of the mind? The study of the self? The study of consciousness? Everyone is taught differently.

5. Modern Movement Psychology as a field is moving towards a behaviorist approach - or - Psychology is splitting into traditional and behavioral

6. Clarifications Behaviorism – The school of thought that research and practice should focus on behaviors. Radical Behaviorism – Skinnerian view is that behaviors could be within the skin. (Coined the term “Private Events”)

7. Behavior? Watson 1924 (Behaviorism) – Behavior is defined by it’s form – muscle movements and glandular secretions. Skinner 1945 (Radical Behaviorism) – Behavior is anything that operates on the environment.

8. The Great Debate Psychology has Nature vs Nurture. People argued both sides. Most now fall in the middle and think the debate is not needed.

9. The Great Debate In Philosophy the debate is monist vs dualist. Monist believe there is one plain of existence (or conscience). Dualist believe there are two plains of existence (or conscience).

10. Monist Was, and is, not a popular view. The ancient Greeks were opposed to it. John Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689). Locke (Empiricist) believed in a “blank slate” (Tabula Rasa). Favored Nurture over Nature.

11. Monist Locke never denied the existence of a second existence (or conscience). Was more concerned with what he could physically “feel”. Everything else didn’t matter. “You are a product of your environment.”

12. Monist Locke’s most popular phrase in America: “Man... hath by nature a power.... to preserve his property - that is, his life, liberty, and estate - against the injuries and attempts of other men.”

13. Monist He would be furious if he ever saw the American translation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

14. Monist Locke’s thoughts?: “What is happiness?” “How does one (physically) ‘feel’ happiness?”

15. Dualist The most popular of the two options. Greeks said “Body and Soul”, but were not “dualist” per se. Renè Descartes (1641) “Mediations of First Philosophy” was the first to identify the monist vs dualist debate. He was a complete dualist.

16. Dualist Descartes believed what Locke did (you need to feel to prove), but only for one plain of existence (which he called matter). Descartes believed that additional proof was needed for the second plain of existence (which he called mind).

17. Dualist Descartes famously found proof of the second existence: “Cogito ergo sum”

18. Dualist Descartes famously found proof of the second existence: “Cogito ergo sum” “Think there am”

19. Dualist Descartes famously found proof of the second existence: “Cogito ergo sum” “Think therefore am” “I think, therefore I am”

20. Dualist Thinking became Descarte’s “feeling” within the second plain of existance. Remains mostly undisputed until the 1920’s when Pavlov decided to study spit.

21. Monist vs Dualist Now the question exist and behaviorism in the only person standing on the other side. There reasoning: Occam’s Razor (or the Law of Parsomony)

22. Philosophy Watson (Behaviorism) was a Dualist. Believed the mind should be separate from everything else Skinner (Radical Behaviorism) was a Monist. Believed the mind followed the same principles as everything else (can be reinforced, etc).

23. Mind Reinforcement Studies have been done where neurons have been reinforced for ‘firing’. They were reinforced with serotonin. Theoretically you can re-map a neuron path using reinforcement. So we lean towards Skinner’s monism.

24. What type of behaviorist are you?

25. Methodological Watson Behaviorism Dualist Strong view, but has flaws

26. Cognitive Ex Hayes Cognitive Behavioral Monist/Dualist? Emerging fields of studies

27. Radical Skinner Radical Behaviorism Monist (no skin barrier) Strong and growing evidence

28. 3 Questions Do private events have a place in ABA? Do private events affect our overt (observable) behaviors? Should we attempt to modify private events?

29. Answer 2/3 Forms of Behaviorism says “yes” Methodological says “no” Studies have been conducted that show that despite what you “feel”, private events is an area of growing concern and importance.

30. Role of Private Events So now that we resolved that private events should have a place, let’s attempt question 2: Do private event affect our overt behaviors?

31. Schools of Thought Methodological (doesn’t matter) Cognitive (absolutely, yes) Radical (Maybe, but there is currently no research methodology to support such claims. It should be considered.)

32. Radical Research? Because of these complications, many radical behaviorist have not made an attempt to study private events. Some studies that have focused on overt behaviors have reportedly helped with private events such as “fear”, “anxiety”, and “depression”

33. Interesting Most radical behaviorist will readily consider a private event (such as an emotional state) as a “setting event”.

34. Cognitive Research? Cognitive Behaviorist have attempted to study private events but have yet to secure proper research methodology that is universally accepted. This limits the acceptance of their studies.

35. Assumptions Cognitive Behaviorist have to make the following assumptions: Private Events operate the same as overt behaviors (monist) Private Events (consistently) influence behavior Private Events can be measured through self-report or overt behaviors Individuals comply with instructions for private events

36. 3 Questions Do private events have a place in ABA? Do private events affect our overt (observable) behaviors? Should we attempt to modify private events?

37. Answer Assumed: “Yes” No proof Currently, no way of gaining proof We don’t know how it does.

38. Applying Science Can we Should we Attempt to change a person’s private events?

39. Hayes of ACT Fame Hayes is often one of the professionals that is mentioned as studying private events. Focuses on HOW private events might influence overt behaviors.

40. Are they needed? Are private events needs to change behavior?

41. Baseball Coach yells “Visualize yourself hitting the ball.” Studies have shown that this will increase the likelihood of batter connecting with the ball.

42. 3-Term Contingency Cognitive Behaviorist: Antecedent : Visualization (private event) Behavior: Hitting Ball Radical Behaviorist: Antecedent : Verbal SD (overt behavior) Behavior: Hitting Ball

43. Limitations Can we prove that the batter actually visualized hitting the ball? How did the batter visualize hitting the ball and how did it differ from other participants? Is it important to know? To Hayes, it is VERY important

44. Conclusion There large amounts of speculation about private events. Research is lacking, because there is no way to study it. I won’t tell you what to believe, but it’s important to know the information.

45. Further Readings “Behaviorism and Private Events” by Steven Hayes (8/14/05) – ACBS website “Private Events: Do they belong in a science of human behavior” by Anderson et al. (2000). Behavior Analyst.

46. Further Readings “About Behaviorism” by B.F. Skinner Quiz on-line