Ethics and 3 Fundamental Questions
What is the right thing to do?
(one of the three fundamental ethical questions)
Ethics vs. Legality
What is legal but unethical?
What is both illegal and unethical?
Ethical Codes are:
What is worth doing?
(one of the three fundamental ethical questions)
Social Validity
2 Ways to Assess Social Validity
What does it mean to be a good behavior analyst?
(one of the three fundamental ethical questions)
3 Reasons why we abide by ethics
MHS- My hairy sister
What are professional standards?
BACB and the Association for Behavior Analysis
BACB- certifies individual practitioners
Association for Behavior Analysis- accredits university programs
5 Documents Describing Standards of Professional Conduct and Ethical Practice for ABA
TLCEPBT- TLC Eating Peanut Butter Together
1.0 Responsible Conduct of Behavior Analysts
“Behavior analysts maintain the high standards of behaivor of the profession”
A behavior analyst refers to an individual who holds the BCBA or BCaBA credential, an individual authorized by the BACB to provide supervison, or a coordinator of a BACB Approved Course Sequence. Where Code elemetns are deemed relevant to the practice of an RBT, the term behavior analyst includes the behavior technician.
1.01 Reliance on Scientific Knowledge
Behavior analysts rely on professionally derived knowledge based on science and behavior analysis when making scientific or professional judgments in human service provision, or when engaging in scholarly or professional endeavors.
1.02 Boundaries of Competence
(a) All behavior analysts provide services, teach, and conduct research only within the boundaries of their competence, defined as being commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience.
(b) Behavior analysts provide services, teach, or conduct research in new areas (e.g., populations, techniques, behaviors) only after first undertaking appropriate study, training, supervision, and/or consultation from persons who are competent in those areas.
1.03 Maintaining Competence through Professional Development
Behavior analysts maintain knowledge of current scientific and professional information in their areas of practice and undertake ongoing efforts to maintain competence in the skills they use by: reading the appropriate literature, attending conferences and conventions, participating in workshops, obtaining additional coursework, and/or obtaining and maintaining appropriate professional credentials.
CLAC
1.04 Integrity
(a) Behavior analysts are truthful and honest and arrange the environment to promote truthful and honest behavior in others.
(b) Behavior analysts do not implement contingencies that would cause others to engage in fraudulent, illegal, or unethical conduct.
(c) Behavior analysts follow through on obligations, and contractual and professional commitments with high quality work and refrain from making professional commitments they cannot keep.
(d) Behavior analysts’ behavior conforms to the legal and ethical codes of the social and professional community of which they are members.
(e) If behavior analysts’ ethical responsibilities conflict with law or any policy of an organization with which they are affiliated, behavior analysts make known their commitment to this Code and take steps to resolve the conflict in a responsible manner in accordance with law.
1.05 Professional and Scientific Relationships
(a) Behavior analysts provide behavior-analytic services only in the context of a defined, professional, or scientific relationship or role.
(b) When behavior analysts provide behavior-analytic services, they use language that is fully understandable to the recipient of those services while remaining conceptually systematic with the profession of behavior analysis. They provide appropriate information prior to service delivery about the nature of such services and appropriate information later about results and conclusions.
(c) Where differences of age, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status significantly affect behavior analysts’ work concerning particular individuals or groups, behavior analysts obtain the training, experience, consultation, and/or supervision necessary to ensure the competence of their services, or they make appropriate referrals.
(d) In their work-related activities, behavior analysts do not engage in discrimination against individuals or groups based on age, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, socioeconomic status, or any basis proscribed by law.
(e) Behavior analysts do not knowingly engage in behavior that is harassing or demeaning to persons with whom they interact in their work based on factors such as those persons’ age, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status, in accordance with law.
(f) Behavior analysts recognize that their personal problems and conflicts may interfere with their effectiveness. Behavior analysts refrain from providing services when their personal circumstances may compromise delivering services to the best of their abilities.
1.06 Multiple (Dual) Relationships and COnflicts of Interest
(a) Due to the potentially harmful effects of multiple relationships, behavior analysts avoid multiple relationships.
(b) Behavior analysts must always be sensitive to the potentially harmful effects of multiple relationships. If behavior analysts find that, due to unforeseen factors, a multiple relationship has arisen, they seek to resolve it.
(c) Behavior analysts recognize and inform clients and supervisees about the potential harmful effects of multiple relationships.
(d) Behavior analysts do not accept any gifts from or give any gifts to clients because this constitutes a multiple relationship.
Definition of Multiple Relationship:
one in which a behavior analyst is in both a behavior analytic role and non behavior analytic role simultaneously with a client or someone closely associated with or related to the client
Information on Conflicts of Interest
1.07 Exploitative Relationships
(a) Behavior analysts do not exploit persons over whom they have supervisory, evaluative, or other authority such as students, supervisees, employees, research participants, and clients.
(b) Behavior analysts do not engage in sexual relationships with clients, students, or supervisees, because such relationships easily impair judgment or become exploitative.
(c) Behavior analysts refrain from any sexual relationships with clients, students, or supervisees, for at least two years after the date the professional relationship has formally ended.
(d) Behavior analysts do not barter for services, unless a written agreement is in place for the barter that is (1) requested by the client or supervisee; (2) customary to the area where services are provided; and (3) fair and commensurate with the value of behavior-analytic services provided.
Definition of a Client
2.0 Behavior Analysts’ Responsibility to Clients
Behavior analysts have a responsibility to operate in the best interest of clients.
The term client as used here is broadly applicable to whomever behavior analysts provide services, whether an individual person (service recipient), a parent or guardian of a service recipient, an organizational representative, a public or private organization, a firm, or a corporation.
2.01 Accepting Clients
Behavior analysts accept as clients only those individuals or entities whose requested services are commensurate with the behavior analysts’ education, training, experience, available resources,
and organizational policies. In lieu of these conditions, behavior analysts must function under the supervision of or in consultation with a behavior analyst whose credentials permit performing such services.
2.02 Responsibility
Behavior analysts’ responsibility is to all parties affected by behavior-analytic services. When multiple parties are involved and could be defined as a client, a hierarchy of parties must be established and communicated from the outset of the defined relationship. Behavior analysts identify and communicate who the primary ultimate beneficiary of services is in any given situation and advocate for his or her best interests.