Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers [RENTAL EDITION]

"Why do people behave as they do? Why do some people behave in socially approved ways and others in a manner condemned or despised by society? Is it possible to predict what people are likely to do? What can be done to change behavior that is harmful to an individual or destructive to society? In an effort to answer questions like these, human beings have offered explanations ranging from possession by demons to abnormal quantities of chemicals in the brain. Suggested answers have been debated, written about, attacked, and defended for centuries and continue to be offered today. There are good reasons for continuing to investigate human behavior. Information about the development of certain behaviors in human beings may help parents and teachers find the best way of childrearing or teaching. If we know how people are likely to behave under certain conditions, we can decide whether to provide or avoid such conditions. Those of us who are teachers are particularly concerned with changing behavior; that is, in fact, our job. We want to teach our students to do some things and to stop doing others. To understand, predict, and change human behavior, we must first understand how human behavior works. We must answer as completely as possible the "why" questions asked above. Therefore, Alexander Pope's dictum that "the proper study of mankind is man" (perhaps rephrased to "the proper study of humanity is people") needs no other revision; it is as true in the 21st century as it was in the 18th"--