A note on the absence of a Santa Claus in any known ecosystem: a rejoinder to Willems.
Talk like a human if you want other humans to use behavior analysis.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Baer (1974) wrote a short, sharp reply to a critic.
The piece urges behavior analysts to watch their tone.
Speak so colleagues listen, not roll their eyes.
What they found
No data were collected; the paper is pure advice.
The core message: drop claims your peers reject.
Offer actions they can actually take.
How this fits with other research
Critchfield et al. (2017) later proved the point.
They showed our jargon sounds harsher than everyday words.
Freedman (2016) turned the same idea into a playbook: lead with warm, plain outcomes when you talk to parents or reporters.
Shyman (2019) keeps the thread alive, warning that fuzzy philosophy still trips us up.
Together these works form a 45-year chain urging kinder, clearer speech.
Why it matters
Next time you write a report or speak at an IEP, swap "mand" for "request" and "reinforcer" for "reward." Your listeners will nod instead of glaze over. Clear talk builds trust, and trust gets procedures approved faster.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In general, this is a usefully irritating argu- ment, cogently and gracefully presented, and it should be published. However, in this re- viewer's opinion, four major complaints can be specified. The paper merits publication even if it does not answer these complaints. However, it would have more effect on its audience of behavior analysts if it avoided imputations they will not accept as characteristic of them, or rec- ommendations they cannot follow. Because this argument should be as effective as it possibly can be in modifying its audience's behavior, I wish that the author had written the paper dif- ferently. This is not for the author's sake, but for his readers', and their clients in the society. The author will recognize this as an ecological view.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1974 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1974.7-167