Being as it is the Halloween season, we can have some fun, right? Dr. Kennon Lattal wrote two blogs for the Aubrey Daniels Institute about zombies from a behavior analytic perspective. Why not? Dr. Lattal is on sabbatical currently (in 2019), but was gracious enough to respond to my email questions. Let’s suspend the “dead man rule” in behavior analysis (where we say that if a dead man can do it we do not accept it as an intervention, i.e., “stay in one place,” “don’t make any noise,” etc.) and instead apply an undead rule as we seek to understand how to deal with zombies through behavior analysis.
Show Highlights:
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Why is shaping as a concept so important, and is it misunderstood – or just NOT understood at all?
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What makes social relevance important and how do we determine what might be socially relevant in one instance or another?
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How does one go about deciding where to start in terms of shaping behavior and how fast one should proceed from one step to the next? Do you find people are frustrated in the success of shaping because, with zombies or people, the progress can be quite slow?
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What is resurgence, and how can it serve as an explanation for societal problems such as addiction or criminal recidivism?
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How can resurgence result in behavior generally seen as positive (unlike what we usually see out of zombies)?
Dr. Lattal’s page on West Virginia University:
https://psychology.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty-directory/kennon-lattal
How to Shape a Zombie
https://www.aubreydaniels.com/blog/how-shape-zombie
Zombies and Resurgence: A Halloween Analysis
https://www.aubreydaniels.com/blog/zombies-and-resurgence-halloween-analysis
Article on Shaping (Ekerman, et al., 1980):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1332956/pdf/jeabehav00082-0006.pdf
Article on Resurgence in the Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis:
http://rmac-mx.org/category/vol-41-no-2-numero-monografico-2015/
Day of the Dead (1985)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088993/
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
Zombie (1979)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080057/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
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Thank you for listening!
Criminal Behaviorology
Episode # 68
Title: An Intro to Crime and Behavior Analysis
The entire presentation can be found on the YouTube channel:
@criminalbehaviorology -
The views of our guests do not necessarily reflect those of Criminal Behaviorology, nor our sponsors.
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Once a student. Now I lecture. I graciously accepted this opportunity to speak at my alma mater. I hope this lecture serves as an introduction to this field. As I have discussed in previous episodes, there are many different areas to cover in this subspecialty. I did not include the questions from students, but one can deduce from my answers what the focus is. Also, from the highlights below.
Highlights:
- Literature in support of using ABA in Forensic Psychology
- Association for Behavior Analysis International Special Interest Groups
- Different forensic settings where ABA can be applied
- The challenge of implementing ABA in forensic settings
- ...
Criminal Behaviorology
Episode # 67
Title: The Scope of Forensic Behavior Analysis: One Panelist’s Point of View
The entire presentation can be found on our YouTube channel:
@criminalbehaviorology -
The views of our guests do not necessarily reflect those of Criminal Behaviorology, nor our sponsors.
Donate to Criminal Behaviorology Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/u81930699
Towards the end of 2025 I was invited on a panel to discuss applied behavior analysis and scope of practice. My specialty area had to do with (you guessed) crime and behavior analysis. I saved my modest contribution, and will present it here now. Just my point of view. Enjoy.
Highlights:
- My beginnings in the field, and where I see the combined specialties of crime, forensics, and behavior analysis at this point in time.
- How graduate students can prepare themselves for their own work in this area.
- Inpatient care, and how behavior analytic interventions can gain greater acceptance.
- Other licenses and ...
Criminal Behaviorology
Episode # 66
Note: To purchase a CE (1.0) for this episode, BCBA & BCBA-Ds, write to: [email protected]
Title: Behavior Analytic Supervision is a Process - Part II
The entire presentation can be found on our YouTube channel:
@criminalbehaviorology -
The views of our guests do not necessarily reflect those of Criminal Behaviorology, nor our sponsors.
Donate to Criminal Behaviorology Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/u81930699
All four authors of an upcoming book on supervision join the podcast for this overview of supervision. This extraordinary panel focused on behavior analytic supervision, featuring a discussion between Michael, Valeria, Lynn, and Joe about the challenges and best practices in supervising behavior analysts. This is a follow up to our discussion with Joe and Michael from the last episode.
Highlights:
- The participants explored the importance of competency-based models, ethical considerations, and the need for ongoing supervision beyond initial...
Criminal Behaviorology
Episode # 63
Title: The Concept of Forensic Behavioral Analysis - A Conference in Wisconsin
The entire presentation can be found on our YouTube channel:
@criminalbehaviorology -
The views of our guests, should he have any, do not necessarily reflect those of Criminal Behaviorology, nor our sponsors.
Donate to Criminal Behaviorology Patreon:
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With the help of some of my friends, a panel discussion on forensics, language, and two intriguing criminal cases.
Highlights:
- Deception, language, and forensic behavior analysis by Kodey.
- AKA, "The Imposter" - A french fraudster impersonates a missing child from Texas. His skill as a liar reaches an unimagined level in one of the most shocking cons. How did he develop the skill to fool so many, so easily? What are the circumstances around the case that help us understand how this could have happened?
- "When in Wisconsin." Jeffrey Dahmer, and the ABC of behavior. An examination of the environmental variables....
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/criminalbehaviorology/episodes/2018-05-06T14_35_56-07_00
I would go on to interview Tony Biglan himself just this year.
