Improving the social validity of applied behavior analysis is vital to the survival of our field. Given criticisms from some consumers of ABA, there have been several recent calls for behavior analysts to apply our science using a more compassionate and socially valid approach. This talk will discuss several recent reviews of social validity in the behavior analytic literature. We will explore important findings of these reviews related to assessment methods (e.g., how, when, what type) and the limitations related to assessment respondents (e.g., who gets included and excluded from social validity assessments). We will also discuss practical implications for improving social validity assessment in our practice, including how to design more inclusive assessments that can accommodate respondents of all abilities.

Focusing on areas of social significance is a requirement for applied behavior analysis services provided to clients. In fact, it is the founding purpose of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, as Montrose Wolf (1978) wrote. Social validity, as outlined by Wolf, should be evaluated by the social significance of the goals, procedures, and effects. How should we do this? According to Wolf “we must develop systems that allow our consumers to provide us feedback about how our applications relate to their values, to their reinforcers. (Wolf, 1978, p.213). If this is true for our clients and their caregivers, then what of our supervisees and trainees? Our science and our code of ethics require that our supervisory practices are founded on the principle of behavior analysis and that we evaluate the outcomes. However, many of us are never taught how to do this and we may struggle to generalize social validity strategies and measures from our clinical practice to our supervisory practice. In this workshop we will focus on strategies that result in developing supervisory relationships that invite our trainees and supervisees to provide us with feedback about how our practices align with their values and reinforcers. We will also collaborate to build skills and resources that will allow us to measure the social validity (goals, procedures, and effects) of our supervisory practices. And we will probably have some fun too!