Behavior Analysis in Practice - The History of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s Ethics Codes

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang

As the primary certification organization in behavior analysis, the BACB has published nine ethics-based documents and codes since its inception in 1998. The ethics standards in these publications have guided ethics education and disciplinary enforcement in applied behavior analysis for more than two decades. To support professional development and later historical analysis, the article describes how the BACB’s ethics-based documents and codes were developed and evolved over time.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

Early Certification in Florida and National Expansion

Establishment of the BACB and Initial Certification Requirements

Absence of Formal Ethics Codes and Rationale for Standards

Evolution of Requirements and Ongoing Review Approach

Accreditation and Certification Program Milestones

Behavior Analysis in Practice [https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00803-2](https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00803-2) The History of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s Ethics Codes Tyra P. Sellers1 · Holly A. Seniuk2 · Sarah N. Lichtenberger2 · James E. Carr2 Accepted: 13 April 2023 © The Author(s) 2023 Abstract As the primary certification organization in behavior analysis, the BACB has published nine ethics-based documents and codes since its inception in 1998. The ethics standards in these publications have served as the basis of ethics education and disciplinary enforcement in applied behavior analysis for over 2 decades. As it is important for developing professions to document their evolution for later historical analysis, the purpose of this article is to describe the development and evolution of the BACB’s ethics-based documents and codes. Keywords BACB · Certification · Ethics · Ethics codes · History From 1985 until the early 2000s, Florida operated the first successful certification program for practicing behavior analysts, the Florida Behavior Analysis Certification Program (Starin et al., 1993). By the mid-1990s, the program had been so successful that state departments and professional associations in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, and Oklahoma arranged to use Florida’s examinations to replicate similar certification programs in their own states (Johnston et al., 2017) . At this point, it was evident that there was a need fora national behavior analyst certification program. Indeed,“as other states became increasingly interested in using the Florida examination, Florida officials decided that it would be wise for an appropriate entity to accept national responsibility for the examination program”(Johnston & Shook, 2001, p. 78) . Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Shook,1 one of the original architects ofthe Florida certification program, founded the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) in 1998 and contracted with Florida to eventually assume its certification program operations. By 2003, all six state-based certification programs had This article was written when the first author was affiliated with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. The authors thank Misty Bloom for her assistance with the article, and Gina Green and Jon Bailey for sharing their histories. * James E. Carr [carr@bacb.com](carr@bacb.com) 1 Association of Professional Behavior Analysts, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA 2 Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 7950 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton, CO 80127, USA ceased operating their own certification programs and transferred their certificants to the BACB (Johnston et al., 2017) . The first BACB certification requirements constitutedan elevation above what any of the six states that operated certification programs had required. For example, the initial Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) requirements included a master’s degree or higher, 180 hr of behavior-analytic coursework (approximately four 3-credit semester courses), and 12 months of supervised experience or 18 months of mentored experience (Johnston & Shook, 2001) . Although BACB certificants were required to adhere to a set of disciplinary standards (see Professional [Disciplinary] Standards [1999] below), there was no formal BACB ethics code at that time. Even though the initial BCBA certification requirements were more rigorous than any of the certification programs in the original six states, the requirements—a master’s degree, four graduate courses in behavior analysis, 12–18 months of loosely defined practical experience) were arguably lower than many in the profession would have wanted at the time. The primary rationale for a strategically lower starting point was the considerable variability in where and how behavior analysts had been trained. In general, behavior analysts received their training from a few dozen university programs, most of which were not explicitly programs in behavior ana

FAQs

What is the purpose of the article?

To describe the development and evolution of the BACB’s ethics-based documents and codes for later historical analysis.

When did the BACB publish its ethics-based documents and codes?

Since its inception in 1998, the BACB has published nine ethics-based documents and codes.

How did the BACB handle revisions to its certification requirements?

It used subject matter experts to conduct periodic reviews, enabling incremental revisions sensitive to changes in the profession.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang

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