The course provides a survey of key areas of relevance in behavioural modification across a variety of settings.   As an introduction to behaviour modification, the course tackles the fundamental goals and applications of behavior analysis as both a scientific and philosophical pursuit. This course exposes students to the history and various theoretical approaches to the study of learning and behavior modification. Students have opportunities to learn applied behavior modification techniques including observing and recording behavior and formulating and writing behavioral objectives.

 At the end of this course students should be able to: 

The primary goals of this course are to provide a basic understanding of current and historical views on behavioral modification and increase students’ basic research, writing, and critical thinking skills.  

• Demonstrate mastery of the fundamental principles and assumptions of operant and classical conditioning.
• Gain an understanding of research methods used to investigate behavioural modification strategies.
• Learn to critically analyze theories, research results, and treatments used in behavioral modification programs.
• Learn to design a programme geared at modifying behavior for service in the human services profession.
• Learn to conduct Functional Behavioural Assessment