Janet Twyman – Can Behavior Analysts Behave Ethically?

About the presentation:

Ethics is said to represent the moral code that guides one’s choices and behaviors; a moral code that often extends beyond one person to include what is right or wrong for groups, organizations, or society at large. Most humans share a common belief that we all should behave ethically, both personally and professionally. Inherent in the idea of ethics or morality is the perception of free choice. Given a conflicting situation one should choose to behave ethically. Yet in a deterministic science such as behavior analysis, behavior is viewed as a product of the intersection of genetic inheritance, learning history, current conditions, and available alternative contingencies. Can a behavior analyst (or anyone) choose to behave ethically? When behavior tacted as unethical occurs, is it right to blame or punish the individual? As B.F. Skinner famously noted, “the rat is always right.” Given the stance that behavior is lawful, how should we as a field view and respond to unethical professional behavior? These issues will be analyzed from a non-linear perspective which will lead to suggestions towards a more systemic, contingency-analytic approach to ethical behavior.