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A Review of Radical Behaviorism for ABA Practitioners by James M. Johnston Johnson, J. M.: Radical Behaviorism for ABA Practitioners Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY: Sloan Educational Publishing, 2013, 240 pp., (ISBN-13: 978-1597380430)
James M. Johnston's Radical Behaviorism for ABA Practitioners (RBAP) is a 200-page apologia for the notion that qualified behavior analytic practitioners must be conversant with the philosophical rationale for B. F. Skinner's Radical Behaviorism. The book also provides a brief sketch of that theory of scientific knowledge. RBAP articulates orthodox radical behaviorist epistemology, written for beginning behavioral practitioners. It often succeeds in being accessible to the target audience but meanders into more arcane territory later in the book.
The author suggests that radical behaviorist theory should inform the daily activities of behavior analytic practitioners, as well as provide an ideological infrastructure for their approach to clients' challenges. This premise is widely, but not universally, accepted within professional behavior analysis circles. Those with the least direct involvement in providing behavior analytic services are often most enthusiastic about this idea, apparently based on the belief that the field's intellectual roots should be a shared knowledge base. That idea gained sufficient currency to warrant the addition of a course requirement on behavior analytic theory for qualifying for the certification examination by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board.
RBAP can be viewed two ways. The first is as a textbook for use in master's degree Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) training programs to satisfy a course requirement to qualify for the certification examination. That may be the book's main practical purpose. The second use is as a mandatory survey of theoretical issues concerning behavior analysis in practice, regardless of its utility in satisfying BCBA course requirements. These purposes are overlapping but not identical.
As a BCBATfextbook
As Chapters 1 through 4 are examined, it becomes clear that the book is intended for candidates who aspire to become Certified Behavior Analysts. Each chapter begins with an italicized example describing a client and a BCBA who is analyzing and overseeing that individual's services. James Johnston has been a leader among members of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board and the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts and is understandably interested in promoting such certification. The book is laid out like a typical textbook, with...