Advancements in Using a Behavioral Systems Approach to Improve Ethical and Professional Behavior

Understanding and developing a systems to guide our professional and ethical behaviors have become a central focus of the ABA field. Professional and ethical behaviors are critical for high quality care and consumer protection. By using behavioral systems, behavior analysts may increase the probability of employees engaging in professional and ethical behaviors because systems may describe "what to do" instead of "what not to do" when faced with a professional or ethical issue. In this webinar, Dr. Brodhead will share the advancements in thinking and practice that have evolved over the last several years, building on the foundation of recent work. 

This presentation will discuss examples of behavioral systems that accomplish this goal. Specifically, it will discuss systems designed to teach and maintain professional and ethical behavior in an organization, build and maintain relationships in interdisciplinary settings, and define scope of competency. These examples will serve as a starting point for how professionals may integrate customized systems into their own organization.

Objectives

Participants will learn to describe how to develop a basic behavioral system

Participants will learn how to identify ethical problems using behavioral systems

Participants will learn how to identify their own areas of clinical competency using behavioral systems

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.