July 2015


Words, Sticks, Stones, and Feedback

By Scott Herbst, PhD bSci21 Contributing Writer Many of us struggle with giving difficult feedback.  It isn’t fun.  We want people to do well and we want to tell them they did well.  Just last night, I went out of…


JEAB: Behavior Insensitive to Consequences in Major League Baseball

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D Founding Editor, bSci21.org A research team lead by Alan Poling of Western Michigan University sought to determine how well the behavior of major-league baseball players matches up to consequences experienced during any given game….


Entrepreneur Magazine: Lead by Positive Reinforcement

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D Founding Editor, bSci21.org Entrepreneur Magazine recently touted positive reinforcement as the preferred leadership style to get the best out of your staff and customers.  Citing the work of business consultant Colin Shaw, the article…


JABA Study Increases Recycling Behavior at Texas University

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D Founding Editor, bSci21.org A study by O’Connor, Lerman, and Fritz in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Houston – Clear Lake found a simple solution to encourage recycling on campus. The study…


Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports in Union Maine

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D Founding Editor, bSci21.org The Bangor Daily News recently reported on the efforts of Union Elementary School, in Union Maine, to change the culture of the school through Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The…


An Incentive System to Reduce Smoking During Pregnancy

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D Founding Editor, bSci21.org A team of UK researchers lead by David Tappin recently published a Randomized Controlled Trial in the BMJ evaluating the effectiveness of financial incentives in a smoking cessation program for pregnant women. The…


Building Childrens’ Communication Skills via Telehealth

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D Founding Editor, bSci21.org A crucial skill emphasized by behavior analysts working with children with autism is communication, encapsulated via Functional Communication Training (FCT).  If a child can gain communication skills, the probability that many…


Predicting Earthquakes With Animal Behavior

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D Founding Editor, bSci21.org Normally, when seismic activity is on the rise and earthquakes are predicted, we hear form organizations such as the U.S. Geological Survey that provide quantitative data from seismometers, which measure movements within…