Recent scholarship in applied behavior analysis has focused on the conceptual development of decision-making algorithms (DMA) to assist professionals in making practice-related decisions. A DMA is typically portrayed as a decision tree or flow-chart. By answering a series of questions, the user is guided through the DMA towards a specific answer. Though a DMA may allow for standardization of employee decision-making, the ethical issues and limitations surrounding their use requires discussion. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss outcomes from a series of studies that have evaluated DMAs in the context of visual analysis in order to highlight some of the ethical issues and limitations associated with their use in practice.


Learning objectives:

Participants will identify examples of decision-making algorithms in behavior-analytic research.


Participants will identify ethical-issues associated with the development of decision-making algorithms.


Participants will identify ethical-issues associated with the use of decision-making algorithms in behavior-analytic practice.

About the Presenter

Matthew Brodhead
Matthew T. Brodhead is an assistant professor at Michigan State University. He is the Director of Spartan Caregiver Support, a service that provides free and evidence-based support to caregivers of people with autism within the State of Michigan. He is also the Research Director of the Early Learning Institute. Dr. Brodhead’s research examines focused social skill interventions for children with autism. He also writes about conceptual issues relating to the ethical and professional behavior of practicing behavior analysts. Through workshops and consultation, he has established multiple school-based programs for children with autism, and he has provided training to teachers, related service providers, and behavior analysts both nationally and internationally. Finally, he specializes in program evaluation for both applied behavior analysis and public school placements for individuals with autism. Dr. Brodhead received both his B.S. in Psychology in 2008 and his M.A. in Behavior Analysis in 2010 from Western Michigan University. In summer of 2010, he moved to Logan, Utah and attended Utah State University, where he received his Ph.D. in Disability Disciplines in 2014 under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Tom Higbee. Dr. Brodhead holds a BCBA credential with a doctoral designation (i.e., BCBA-D). He is also a licensed behavior analyst in the State of Michigan.
Liza F.

Behavior University offers evidence-based research studies and delivers great information about the BA field. Great speakers and various topics are available and best for continued education.

Christopher M.

Dr. Brodhead presented a set of ideas that will be of major utility to my work in schools, and supported those ideas with his own research. This lecture was as interesting as it was helpful! Thanks!

Anonymous

Nice pace

Sinead F.

I found this course to be practical and meaningful. The presenter does a wonderful job describing a fairly technical process in a meaningful and digestible manner. I also loved all of the visuals/ examples.

Course information

  • Title: Ethical Issues in Standardizing Decision-Making
  • Presenter: Matthew Brodhead Ph.D., BCBA-D
  • CEUs: 2 Learning - Ethics
  • Duration: 1 hour and 40 minutes
  • Customer Rating: (390)
This course is no longer available for purchase.

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