Normative Emotional Responses to Behavior Analysis Jargon or How Not to Use Words to Win Friends and Influence People

Abstract

It has been suggested that non-experts regard the jargon of behavior analysis as abrasive, harsh, and unpleasant. If this is true, excessive reliance on jargon could interfere with the dissemination of effective services. To address this often discussed but rarely studied issue, we consulted a large, public domain list of English words that have been rated by members of the general public for the emotional reactions they evoke. Selected words that behavior analysts use as technical terms were compared to selected words that are commonly used to discuss general science, general clinical work, and behavioral assessment. There was a tendency for behavior analysis terms to register as more unpleasant than other kinds of professional terms and also as more unpleasant than English words generally. We suggest possible reasons for this finding, discuss its relevance to the challenge of deciding how to communicate with consumers who do not yet understand or value behavior analysis, and advocate for systematic research to guide the marketing of behavior analysis.

Spreading the News: History, Successes, Challenges and the Ethics of Effective Dissemination

“…extinction, deprivation, discrimination) that have unpleasant connotations for everyday communication and that may elicit unpleasant emotional responses in the listener (see Foxx, 1996 for a discussion on the use of the term 'punishment'). Critchfield et al (2017) found that behavior analysis terms have a tendency to register as more aversive than other English words, including other professional terms. Foxx (1996) suggested that behavior analysts have been arrogant and deaf to the feedback about the use of jargon, and the continuing rigid adherence to the use of technical language may, ultimately, impair wider dissemination efforts.…”

“…Non-experts do not feel informed by this technical language and regard such scientific jargon as "abrasive, harsh, and unpleasant" (Critchfield et al, 2017;p. 97).…”

“…For example, Johnson (2017) recommends that the language of dissemination for behavior analysts working within the education setting should occur within the context of the current jargon, buzz words, and practices of education, such as response to intervention, common core standards and executive functioning. Critchfield et al (2017) advise behavior therapists to avoid using FRTs when establishing a relationship with a client, and wait until the behavior analyst becomes a conditioned reinforcer before introducing technical terminology.…”

Open Educational Resources in Behavior Analysis

“…For instance, instructors could teach students to create educational materials to evaluate whether students can accurately describe behavior-analytic content in a way that is both technologically precise and easy to understand for a novice audience. This ability to quickly and effectively switch to verbal behavior that best communicates content to the listener is of paramount importance for a field sometimes accused of having a communication problem (Bailey, 1991;Freedman, 2016), especially if using reader-preferred language yields improvements in treatment acceptance (Critchfield et al, 2017) and procedural fidelity (Jarmolowicz et al, 2008). The ability to explain behavioral concepts using both technical and nontechnical language is a critical skill for practitioners, referenced in both the fourth and fifth edition task lists (BACB, 2012(BACB, , 2017.…”

The Future of Verbal Behavior: Together Is Better

“…This was done in part to address the "marketing problem" of behavior analysis (Bailey, 1991). In fact, a recent demonstration clearly exposes the pitfalls of our vernacular (Critchfield, Becirevic, & Reed, 2017a;Critchfield et al, 2017b). My own commitment with the Verbal Behavior Matters blog is to highlight the work of behavior analysts studying a wide array of related content and to sprinkle each entry with hyperlinks to relevant research published in TAVB in an effort increase the visibility of the journal.…”