Assent—the active, voluntary agreement of a client to participate in treatment—has long been considered a foundational element of ethical research. Its translation into routine clinical ABA practice has been slower and more contested.
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Join Free →In research, it is required to gain participant informed consent and to identify behaviors participants might engage in that indicate assent withdrawal. It is considered ethical research practice to halt procedures when a participant withdraws assent. This is rarely considered once treatment begins. Existing research supports that lower rates of problem behavior occur when choices are given. It would stand to reason that providing assent withdrawal as a choice would reduce problem behavior while allowing clinical practices to proceed in a more ethical manner, thereby increasing treatment acceptability. This study sought to evaluate the effects on skill acquisition and problem behavior by providing choices of reinforcers within sessions, including assent withdrawal. A second phase assessed preferences for conditions with and without choice and opportunity to withdraw assent. Results showed little differentiation in skill acquisition across conditions but differentiation in conditions when it came to problem behavior. The study did not definitively demonstrate the connection between assent withdrawal despite occurrence of only low severity level behaviors according to response class. Social validity measures showed a preference for choice conditions across participants as well as therapists and parents.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Ethics |
Kristin Tindell recently earned her doctoral degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She conducted her dissertation on the effects of choice and assent revocation procedures on skill acquisition and behavior management for children with autism spectrum disorders.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.