Applied Behavior Analysis

What Is Applied Behavior Analysis?

Applied Behavior Analysis is a well-developed discipline among the helping professions, with a mature body of scientific knowledge, used to improve socially significant behaviors. Applied Behavior Analysis is one of two main branches in the field of Behavior Analysis. It is both an applied science that develops methods of changing behavior and a profession that provides services to meet diverse behavioral needs.

Professionals in applied behavior analysis engage in the specific and comprehensive use of principles of learning in order to address behavioral needs of widely varying individuals in diverse settings. Examples of these applications include: building the skills and achievements of children in school settings; enhancing the development, abilities, and choices of children and adults with different kinds of disabilities; and augmenting the performance and satisfaction of employees in organizations and businesses.