MALKA214 Experimental Design and Functional Analysis Course description

Single-case research designs and functional analyses are characteristics of behavior analysis. Their historical and scientific basis are covered in MALK403 (Behavior Analysis and Radical Behaviorism); the application in experimental settings in MALKA213 (Laboratory Exercises — Experimental Analysis of Behavior).These experimental methods are used in order to demonstrate functional relations between changes in independent variables and their effects on dependent variables. The topics of this course are theoretical and practical concerns of experimental designs in general, and basic concepts, principles, and methods of statistics.

Coursework requirements from MALK4000-401, MALK4000-403, MALKA211, MALKA212 or equivalent must be approved to participate and submit coursework requirements in MALKA214.

On successful completion of the course, the student has the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can discuss reliability
• can discuss the term generality
• can discuss validity, threats to inference, and different types of validity
• can explain the role of replications when employing experimental designs
• can discuss variability related to single subject designs and group-designs
• can describe and discuss advantages and disadvantages of various experimental designs
• can explain repeated measurements and when to conduct such measurements
• can describe how to conduct a component analysis to decide the effective components in treatments
• can consider how to conduct a parametric analysis to determine which values of consequences, like size and duration, are effective
• can describe fundamental elements of inferential statistics
• can describe and discuss functional analysis of behavior and describe how to conduct such analysis
• can describe the basic principles for hypothesis testing using the binominal and normal distributions
• can describe typical developmental milestones in children

Skills

The student

• can design simple Experiments
• can interpret graphical displays of behavioral data and to present data in graphical form

Competence

The student

• can analyze data in a behavior change project

Teaching and learning methods include lectures discussions and exercises. Students must have download and installed SPSS on their computers before the course starts

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• 2 individual written assignments, each with maximum 30 000 keystrokes

Individual written examination with invigilation, 4 hours. Exam questions are in English. Students may submit their exams in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Coursework requirements from MALK 4000-401, 4000- 402, MALKA 211 and 212 or equivalent must be approved to participate and submit coursework requirements in MALKA220.

On successful completion of the course, the student has the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can describe and discuss the main distinctions between neoclassical economics, behavioral economics and behavior analysis
• can define behavioral economics and describe the origins
• can define the concepts of bounded and unbounded rationality
• can define the core concepts of discounting
• can define "beliefs, biases and heuristics" and describe typical heuristics
• can define core principles in game theory
• can describe and define the relations between nudging and prompting

Skills

The student

• can discuss the concept of rationality to the standard economic model and behavioral economics
• can discuss discounting in relation to the standard economic model and behavioral economics
• can discuss discounting in relation to behavior analysis
• can describe and discuss the concepts of rule-governed and contingency shaped behavior in the light of discounting.
• can discuss how "beliefs, biases and heuristics" affects choice behavior, and analyze these concepts in behavioral analytic terms
• can discuss game theory and how this affects choice behavior
• can discuss how nudging can affect choice behavior, and analyze nudging in behavioral analytic terms OK
• can discuss the concept of selection at the behavioral and cultural level in relation to micro- and macroeconomics
• can discuss the contribution of behavior analysis to behavioral economics
• can describe instances of cognitive biases and heuristics, and analyze them in behavioral terms

Competence

The student

• can present core principles of behavioral economics to others in a way that meets the requirements of professional scientific communication
• can present core principles of behavioral economics to the public
• can discuss how behavior analysis can contribute to the field of behavioral economics
• can present evidence based research from behavioral economics, and discuss different methods and applications
• can discuss how the field of behavioral economics can contribute to further understanding of choice behavior

The course will include lectures, student exercises, individual papers, discussions.