What did I just say? An individualized behavior skills training for listening behaviors of adult participants in romantic relationships

Abstract

The current study investigated the effects of a behavior skills training on listening behaviors of adults in romantic relationships. Participants’ partners selected desired criteria ranges for six potential behaviors to target through pretest surveys, video questionnaires, and verbal report. The researcher then selected three behaviors to target (e.g., minimal encouragers, supportive statements, and paraphrasing) and used a behavior skills training to train those behaviors to the desired amount. The results showed that the training was effective for four participant couples in increasing effective listening behaviors in their relationships. Participants’ performances generally maintained at criterion during confederate probes and partner probes after the skills training with the researcher.

Keywords:

• Behavior skills training
• listening behaviors
• head nodding
• minimal encourager
• supportive statements
• paraphrasing

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the individuals who were part of the research team on this project, including Lauren Kante, Alison Bihler, and Jeffrey Marquez.

Disclsoure statement

The authors have no interests to declare. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nathaniel Lachica

Jessica Gamba PhD, BCBA-D (she/her) is the Director of Training and Research at Waypoints, and has also taught and designed behavior-analytic coursework since 2011. She has developed classroom and programmed instruction on a wide range of topics including verbal behavior, experimental analysis of behavior, functional assessment and intervention, and radical behaviorism – the common thread of the science of human behavior is what excites her as both a teacher and an eternal student.

Nathaniel Lachica M.S., BCBA (he/him) is a Customer Success Manager at Apixio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Health and a minor in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He has practiced in Northern California, Southern California, and the Chicagoland area working with children and adults with developmental disabilities. Nathaniel has a passion to expand the reach of behavior analysis in non-traditional spaces to continue making meaningful changes in people’s everyday lives.

August Stockwell

August Stockwell PhD, BCBA-D (they/them) is the Associate Director of Research in the Applied Behavior Analysis Department of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Chicago campus. Over the past decade, their research has focused on topics including meditation, polyamory, jealousy, communication in relationships, gender, sexual behavior, and effective skill-building strategies. August has a vision of using precise measurement and an individualized approach to connect people to affirming, accessible interventions that create meaningful change.