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Staff behaviour and challenging behaviour: A reply to Clegg's commentary
Author(s) -
Hastings Richard P.,
Remington Bob
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1994.tb01142.x
Subject(s) - blame , psychology , objectivism , challenging behaviour , epistemology , social psychology , developmental psychology , philosophy , learning disability
In her commentary on our integration of the literature on challenging behaviours and care staff behaviour (Hastings & Remington, 1994 b ), Clegg (1994) discussed three main issues. Firstly, she argued that a behaviour analytic approach to challenging behaviours is ‘deeply impoverished’. Secondly, she claimed that our analysis laid the blame for challenging behaviours on the shoulders of care staff. Finally, she presented our philosophical position as objectivist. In this paper, we reply to these comments by summarizing the richness and considerable potential of an approach to challenging behaviours based on behaviour analytic theory. This summary serves to clarify the fact that we consider care staff behaviour, including actions that may contribute to the development and maintenance of challenging behaviours, to be under the control of environmental contingencies and verbal rules that are part of the service environment. We also describe briefly the nature of our philosophical approach to psychological research and inquiry.