Social Validity - Term Paper Example

Typically, in the field of behavioral studies, the objective of intervention has been to diminish a challenging behavior (i.e. aggression, property destruction, self-injury). Nonetheless, as research and practice in behavior analysis have matured to address the point of behavioral functions, there has been an analogous shift in the selection of target behaviors and interventions (Horner and Carr, 1997; Horner et al, 1990). Within the last few years, investigators and practitioners applying competent supportive technologies within characteristic school and community settings have been established to identify and to teach socially covetous alternative behaviors such as communication, social skills, and choice-making (Koegel, Koegel, Harrower, and Carter, 1999; Todd, Horner, and Sugai, 1999).

Accordingly, practitioners have increasingly identified significant outcomes of behavioral interventions to not only decline in problem behavior but also rise in one or more substitute behaviors. Therefore the measurement of multiple outcomes for a person with problem behaviors has started to reflect a more complex evaluation model (Carr, Levin, et al, 1999).In spite of this sensible expansion, most of the research on PBS has not advanced beyond considering diminishing problem behavior or increasing alternative behavior as the sole criteria for measuring intervention success (Carr, Horner, et al, 1999).

Certainly, only now is there considerable evidence of discussion, research, or clinical practice that reflects concern for the quality of life and social validity issues (Carr, Dunlap, et al, 2002).Quality of LifeHealth and human service agencies over the last several decades have adopted the concept of quality of life both as a sensitizing impression and as an overarching principle of service delivery (Schalock, Bonham, and Marchand, 2000). As a sensitizing notion, the idea of the quality of life provides a sense of guidance from the person’s point of view and allows for emphasis on critical aspects of his or her environment.