Ethics for BA Case Study

Case 1: The Case of Emily

Your newest client is 6-year-old Emily who was referred to you by her pediatric psychologist because she has been engaging in challenging behaviors. Her parents tell you that her challenges started when she started first grade. She told her parents that she did not want to go to school because it was not fun anymore. Initially, she was just reluctant to go but now she is having screaming tantrums in which she cries and bangs her head on the floor. At the same time that the tantrums started occurring, Emily also began to refuse to sleep in her own bed; she would only fall asleep if she was in her parents' bed. Sometimes, Emily's parents would wait until she fell asleep and then carry her back to her own room. However, Emily often would wake up and then cry and scream and wake the entire family. Both parents feel tired and frustrated and have now resigned themselves to allowing Emily to sleep in their room. Her parents have been very concerned about these outbursts and initially let her stay home from school while they tried to figure out what was bothering her. A meeting with Emily's teacher revealed that she generally behaves well at school and her basic academic skills appear to be at grade level. As a behavior analyst, you need to decide what to do first to help Emily and her family.

Case 2: The Case of Mr. Smith

Mr. Smith just walked into your office because he is having problems at work and he needs the help of a behavior analyst. Mr. Smith owns a company that manufactures custom figure skates. It is a small company with 30 employees who are all trained to do the highly specialized work it takes to make these skates. For the last year, absenteeism has become a big problem. In fact, so many employees are absent so often that the company has not been able to keep up with their productivity in order to meet important deadlines. This has threatened the health of the company. Mr. Smith first tried offering coffee and donuts in the morning to show his employees that they were highly valued. This did not change anything. He also held a meeting and explained to everyone that if the absenteeism continued and their productivity continues to drop, the factory may have to close down permanently. This made the absenteeism worse. So Mr. Smith has come to your office hoping you can help him with his employees.