Degree Name
Master of Science
Department or Program
Behavior Analysis and Therapy
Advisor
Koch, Darwin, S.
Abstract
AN ABSTRACT OF THE RESEARCH PAPER OF
Timothy Justin Wiseman, for the Master of Science degree in Behavior Analysis and Therapy
TITLE: USING DISCOUNTING WITHIN A FRAMEWORK OF CONTEXTUAL BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE USE OF EXTRA-CREDIT IN HIGHER EDUCATION POLICIES AND DECISION MAKING.
MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Darwin Shane Koch.
Since the advent of behaviorism, our field has experienced numerous revolutions and subsequently, multiple paradigm shifts. Within this growth and development of a science of behavior was the development and synthesis of educational technologies embedded within a frame of radical behaviorism. With the change in tides and the growing influence of functional contextualism, this paper aims at highlighting the significance of evaluating educational policies and decision making, but more specifically, the use of discounting procedures within a framework of evolution and contextual behavioral science to evaluate the function of providing extra-credit opportunities from the perspective of both, the professor and the student, and the significance of it’s influence in the learning and development of undergraduate and graduate students.
Keywords: Education, Extra-credit, discounting, evolution, contextual behavioral science.