Saying the Same Thing Differently : Behavioral Jargon's Influence on the Social Acceptability of School-Based Behavioral Interventions

Abstract

Behavior analysis, which is used by school psychologists, is often criticized for its lack of accessibility to people outside of the field (Critchfield et al., 2017; Leighland, 2002). In schools, teachers and other educators are often asked to implement behavioral interventions without this background. The purpose of the present study was to extend the current literature and the understanding of behavioral jargon’s impact on social acceptability. This was done in part to help school psychologists refine their practices when working with other professionals who do not have a background in behavior analysis, in order to help support the best outcome for the student (Reimers et al., 1987). Participants included 39 pre-services teachers attending a midwestern university. A mixed design was used to compare the social acceptability ratings regarding four vignettes on behavioral interventions commonly used in schools. Using a two-way, mixed effects ANOVA, results showed a statistically significant interaction between the intervention and the language used on social acceptability (p = .030). Surprisingly, there was one intervention, differential reinforcement, that was positively impacted by the use of jargon (p < .001). Additionally, results show a statistically significant effect of intervention on social acceptability ratings in both the jargon condition (p < .001) and the conversational language condition (p < .001). These results add to the long and complex literature surrounding behavioral jargon’s influence on social acceptability by once again show that jargon may influence the way participants view certain behavioral interventions, The results from this study may have implications on how school psychologists and other professionals with a behavior analysis background discuss interventions for teachers or other professionals who may not have a background in behavior analysis.