Date of Award
12-1-2024
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Behavior Analysis and Therapy
First Advisor
Baires, Natalia
Abstract
Mentalistic constructs and theories have been spouted since the dawn of mankind to explain the many behaviors of humans. These philosophies, however, leave many unanswered questions in society’s understanding of why complex behaviors (e.g., the multifaceted behaviors between police officers and citizens) occur. Society has entered an era of policing reform. Moreover, society is in search of answers as to why violent and seemingly complex behaviors are on the rise between law enforcement officials and citizens. The purpose of this study was to teach police officers the four functions of behavior utilizing equivalence-based instruction (EBI). Three active-duty law enforcement officials completed web-based stimulus equivalence procedures via Qualtrics to learn the behavioral functions. Results suggest that using web-based software and EBI can increase correct responding. When taught the behavioral functions, police officers may be able to predict and anticipate an individual’s behaviors more readily. Furthermore, the ability for police officers to apply their newly acquired understanding of the functions of behavior has the potential to occur across all scenarios and environments that they will encounter; therefore, reducing use of force incidents as the needs of persons in distress can be more readily understood and met in a safer manner.
Access
This thesis is Open Access and may be downloaded by anyone.
