Online Group Class
We offer online group classes covering various topics from a basic and philosophical understanding of the science of behavior and the Constructional Approach to the practical applications and programming based on the Constructional Approach to solve various behavioral challenges! We continue to add more group classes based on the feedback and request from our community!
Currently, the group class below is open:
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Training for Bonding with Constructional Affection - Registration is open! This group class starts on 5/2!
**Constructional Approach to Animal Welfare and Training is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides behavior support and training for individuals and organizations that cannot afford it. All the profits from the group classes will fund these programs for individuals and facilities that oversee the care of animals.
Training for Bonding with Constructional Affection
This group class will provide you with everything you need to start building the kind of relationship you desire with your companions. We will introduce the philosophy and training techniques of the Constructional Affection to change how we live with our animal companions, and to teach our animals how to ask for and receive our affection. We will also cover how we can transfer calm behaviors to situations important to you, such as calm greetings with visitors, separation anxiety, sharing affection with multiple animals, nail care, etc.
Constructional Aggression Treatment
This 4-week group class will teach you the underlying philosophy of the Constructional Approach and Degrees of Freedom (Goldiamond, 1974), the functional analysis of fearful and aggressive behaviors, and Constructional Aggression Treatment. Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) is constructional approach to turning fearful or aggressive behaviors into friendly interaction (Rosales-Ruiz, 2021).
Enhancing Efficiency:
Measurement, Data Collection, and Beyond!
We all collect data on things important to us. For example, we collect data on our bank accounts, dietary needs, calories, weight, sleep and exercise patterns, educational progress, and so much more. Collecting data on these things allows us to know where we currently are regarding some goal and helps us chart our path towards that goal. In this group class, we will practice setting behavioral definitions, choosing desirable measures for training goals, and taking data. We will practice collecting data and testing definitions by watching videos of real animal behavior. This group class will be fun as we practice refining definitions to be more objective to sharpen our data collection!
Behavioral Assessment:
Setting a Solid Foundation for Training
In this 4-week group class, we will explore the role of behavioral assessments in professional animal training/consulting. Conducting behavioral assessments is critical to identify contingencies maintaining behaviors we are interested in changing. We will introduce ways to assess behaviors and identify existing contingencies that maintain the behavior. Strategies and guidelines will be presented to help ensure the assessment process is pragmatic for those working in the field. We will practice examining behavior during assessments to determine the contingency maintaining the behavior. We will also explore how monitoring behavior changes during training can constitute an ongoing behavioral assessment to guide training decisions and the benefits of adopting this approach.
Introduction to the Science of Behavior
(Part 1)
This 4-week group class introduces the basics of the natural science of behavior, “B=f(x) under c” to understand functional relations between behavior and its environment. You will learn each variable in B=f(x) under c and learn to think about various situations through Sean and Maasa’s lens.
We will use Dr. Israel Goldiamond's book "Goldiamond's Functional Analysis of Behavior (known as "The Blue Books)" to guide us through understanding and analyzing the functional relations of behavior and environment. We will be building up to some complex topics during this class, so we encourage you to attend the Open House sessions and feel comfortable asking questions!
We now offer a special discounted price! The group class starts on October 1st!
Introduction to the Science of Behavior
(Part 2)
This 4-week group class introduces the basics of the operant paradigm - Consequential contingency. We will focus on the effects of variables, including consequences and schedules, on behavior and how each variable interacts to change, increase, and attenuate behavior. You will learn each variable in the consequential contingency and how to think about various situations through Sean and Maasa’s lens.
*We recommend taking group class part 1 before part 2, but it is not mandatory.
We will use Dr. Israel Goldiamond's book Goldiamond's Functional Analysis of Behavior (known as "The Blue Books) and Dr. T.V. Joe Layng and his colleges' book Nonlinear Contingency Analysis: Going Beyond Cognition and Behavior in Clinical Practice to guide us through understanding and analyzing the consequential contingencies. We will be building up to some complex topics during this class, so we encourage you to attend the Open House sessions and feel comfortable asking questions!
We now offer a special discounted price! The group class starts on October 29th!
*We recommend taking group class part 1 before part 2, but it is not mandatory.
Introduction to the Science of Behavior
(Part 3)
In this group class, we will talk about the theme of "motivation." The big questions are: How can we make behavior more likely to happen? How can we make a consequence more potent and effective? What kinds of procedures are there to potentiate occasion and behavior relations? Deprivation and satiation are two procedures that are well described under "motivation." However, there are more procedures than these two procedures. The Blue Books by Dr. Israel Goldiamond and Donald Thompson refer to it as a potentiating variable. We will use Dr. Israel Goldiamond's book "Goldiamond's Functional Analysis of Behavior (also known as "The Blue Books)" to guide us through understanding potentiating variables. Potentiating variables are critical to understanding and analyzing behavior, and implementing various behavior change programs to achieve our training goals!
In this 4-week group class, we will explore various types and procedures of potentiating variables. Potentiating variables look at what we can do to make a stimulus function as an effective or potent reinforcer, what we can do to make the behavior more likely to happen under a specific occasion. Deprivation and satiation are just one type of potentiating variable. There are many different types of potentiating variables! We will explore the difference between drive theory, motivating operation, and potentiating variables, learn about different types of potentiating variables, and speculate on the effect of the organism on each type of potentiating variable (ethical problems, coercion, etc.). You will not only learn to analyze behavior through contingency (occasion and consequence), but also through potentiating variables that influence the contingency.
*Introduction to the Science of Behavior (Part 1) and (Part 2) are prerequisites to take this class. This class accumulates knowledge from Part 1 and Part 2 group classes.