Applying the Task List in Everyday Life

OK, you’ve been working on mock exam questions like crazy. You’ve been writing out your definitions, you’ve been working on modules, taking courses, and even writing out questions that apply to the BACB Task List. This is great!

But…have you ever thought about applying the items on the task list into your every day life? Think about it. There are a lot of things on the Task List, and you don’t just have to put it in a clinical perspective to completely understand each and every single item on the task list.

So how can you apply the task list in every day life? Here’s a few tips.

Start by finding some terms you feel you know inside and out. One area of the Task List I was able to kill was forms of measurement — more specifically: rate, duration, frequency, latency, and interresponse time.

I took mental notes of how I could apply these terms. Just in writing this blog, I can apply those terms to the following events:

– Rate: on average, I type about 65 words/minute. (frequency / time)

– Duration: I have been typing this blog for about 5 minutes. I am also listening to a TV show and I have been listening to it for over an hour. (how long I engaged in an activity for)

– Frequency: I typed 38 words in the first paragraph. (count)

– Latency: I was told I needed to write a blog, and it took me 5 minutes to get started. (time between demand in place and me starting the demand)

– Interresponse Time: While typing this blog, I kept scratching my knee every 5 minutes (time in between 2 behaviors in the same response class).

See what I mean? Now once you have the mastered items, start focusing on the items that are most difficult.

When I was studying, I used Milo (my 4-year-old pug) for a lot of my questions. I took videos of myself training Milo.

One thing I did was used shaping to teach Milo how to give me a high five and give the most successful approximation reinforcement. The topography of the high five would be my hand near my face, and his paw smacking my hand.

So at first, I’d give him a treat if he moved his paw closer to my hand. Then I’d reinforce his behavior of giving me paw. Then I’d move my hand up higher and higher until he gave me a high five. It didn’t take many tries for him to master the behavior of giving me a high five.

I also attempted to do a Paired Stimulus Preference Assessment with him with two treats… and well, it didn’t work. He tried to get both at the same time… haha.

Think about the conversations you have with the people in your every day life. You can easily apply Verbal Behavior.

For example: you ask your kid if they can give you a glass of water — your requesting behavior is a mand. You are the speaker. And if your kid gets the water for you, the child is the listener.

Think about some of the behaviors you engage in every single day. One behavior I do every day is drive. I got into a car accident when I was 16 that I caused, and I was afraid to drive for several years. I had to use systematic desensitization to get myself back behind the wheel after telling myself I was ready. And even now, I get startled when a car drives too close to me.

It’s a cliche tip, but it’s so important to have fun! Studying doesn’t always have to be looking at a book, completing a module, or doing a quiz. You could go people watching and observe their behavior (without having any observer reactivity, of course. Don’t want to be noticed right?)! Fun, right?

There are so many ways to apply the task list in your every day life. Now I challenge YOU to do it. How do the items on the task list apply to your own life? Write those examples down and then nail that exam!

All My Love,

Michelle