Behavior analysts accept gifts during practice: So now what?

Abstract

No data exist on whether behavior analysts accept gifts during their practice, an act considered to be an ethical violation. Sixty behavior analysts from around the globe provided answers to a survey regarding their gift-related practices and views. Results show that many behavior analysts do accept gifts as part of their practice, some of whom justify the act. A call to empirically investigate the practice of accepting gifts, particularly in relation to ethical standards and the therapeutic relationship, is made.

Behavior Analysts’ Training and Practices Regarding Cultural Diversity: the Case for Culturally Competent Care

“…Furthermore, some of our professional guidelines appear to be incongruent with incorporating cultural variables. One rather contentious example is whether behavior analysts should accept gifts (Witts, Brodhead, Adlington, & Barron, 2018). There is no consensus across areas of psychology; however, Simon (1992) asserts that although some therapists are fine with accepting gifts of small monetary value, compensation of one's services should be received from the fee received from the patient and professional gratification from providing high-quality services.…”

Culture Always Matters: Some Thoughts on Rosenberg and Schwartz

“…Rosenberg and Schwartz serve as one example-one that takes issue with the mandated compliance required by the BACB and the rule-based BACB Code. Witts et al (2018), Graber and O'Brien (2018), and serve as three other critical analyses of the BACB Code that I am aware of. Surely, there are other scholars who have comments on the BACB Code (either for or against), and I encourage them to step forward and join the discussion.…”

“…The recommendation that cultural analysis is "nonsensical" is incongruent with what is known to be best practice in cultural competence in human-service delivery (Fong, Catagnus, Brodhead, Quigley, & Field, 2016;Witts, Brodhead, Adlington, & Barron, 2018). Cultural competence, in fact, is a two-way street, a respectful convergence of ideas (e.g., cultural variables) that results in the development and implementation of optimal treatment (Bolling, 2002).…”

“…Given the current trend in behavior analysis to further understand the role of culture in service delivery and to advocate for cultural competence (e.g., Beaulieu, Addington, & Almeida, 2018;Brodhead et al, 2014;Fong & Tanaka, 2013;Fong et al, 2016;Li, Wallace, Ehrhardt, & Poling, 2017), including an ethical analysis (Rosenberg & Schwartz, 2019;Witts et al, 2018), I am encouraged that the next revision of the BACB Code will resolve some of the confusion surrounding culture. In all likelihood, different problems may emerge that spark additional scholarly conversations.…”

The Potential Role of Applied Behavior Analysis in the Cultural Environment of Māori Mental Health

“…This practice is not one that is unique to Māori, and in fact, behavior analysts will likely encounter similar practices across many other cultures. Research suggests that behavior analysts do in fact regularly accept small gifts, and that concerns for the therapeutic relationship can be an impetus for doing so (Witts, Brodhead, Adlington, & Barron, 2018).…”