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Social Thinking®: Science, Pseudoscience, Or Antiscience?

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Social Thinking®: Science, Pseudoscience, Or Antiscience? Behav Analysis Practice DOI 10.1007/s40617-016-0108-1 DISCUSSION AND REVIEW PAPER Social Thinking®: Science, Pseudoscience, or Antiscience? Justin B. Leaf1 & Alyne Kassardjian1 & Misty L. Oppenheim-Leaf2 & Joseph H. Cihon1 & Mitchell Taubman1 & Ronald Leaf1 & John McEachin1 # Association for Behavior Analysis International 2016 Abstract Today, there are several interventions that can be has been utilized by behaviorists and non-behaviorists. This implemented with individuals diagnosed with autism spec- commentary will outline Social Thinking® and provide evi- trum disorder. Most of these interventions have limited to no dence that the procedure, at the current time, qualifies as a empirical evidence demonstrating their effectiveness, yet they pseudoscience and, therefore, should not be implemented with are widely implemented in home, school, university, and com- individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, espe- munity settings. In 1996, Green wrote a chapter in which she cially given the availability of alternatives which clearly meet outlined three levels of science: evidence science, pseudosci- the standard of evidence science. ence, and antiscience; professionals were encouraged to im- plement and recommend only those procedures that would be Keywords Applied behavior analysis . Evidence based . considered evidence science. Today, an intervention that is Social behavior . Social thinking . Autism commonly implemented with individuals diagnosed with au- tism spectrum disorder is Social Thinking®. This intervention In 1996, Green wrote a seminal chapter entitled, Evaluating Claims about Treatments for Autism.Inthischapter,Green * Justin B. Leaf described three levels of science (i.e., science, pseudoscience, [email protected] and antiscience) which can be utilized as a guide to evaluate treatments for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum Alyne Kassardjian disorders (ASD). Science was defined as relying Bon direct, [email protected] objective observation and measurement of phenomena, sys- Misty L. Oppenheim-Leaf tematic arrangement of events, procedures to rule out alterna- [email protected] tive explanations for what is observed, and repeated demon- Joseph H. Cihon strations by individuals working independently of one [email protected] another^ (Green 1996, p. 15). Pseudoscience was defined as treating Bphenomena that do not have the hallmarks of scien- Mitchell Taubman [email protected] tific methods or evidence as if they were scientific. Beliefs that are not based on objective facts are ‘dressed up’ to superficial- Ronald Leaf ly resemble science^ (Green 1996, p. 16). Antiscience was [email protected] defined as Bthe outright rejection of the time-tested methods John McEachin of science as a means of producing valid and useful [email protected] knowledge^ (Green 1996,p.16). In addition to these definitions, Green (1996) provided 1 Autism Partnership Foundation, 200 Marina Drive, Seal several hallmarks of pseudo- and antiscience, which included, Beach, CA 90740, USA but were not limited to, the promoters of the treatment: (a) 2 Behavior Therapy and Learning Center, 200 Marina Drive, Seal claiming they can produce high levels of success quickly Beach, CA 90740, USA across a variety of disorders; (b) providing little to no objective Behav Analysis Practice data to support effectiveness, but rather providing anecdotal (Winner 2000)) and several different treatment procedures to evidence (e.g., testimonials or personal stories) to demonstrate help guide professionals; treatment procedures include teach- the procedure’s effectiveness; (c) stating that other proven ther- ing a Social Thinking® vocabulary (Winner 2007a), using apies are unnecessary, harmful, or inferior with no objective various worksheets (Winner 2005b), exercises in theory of proof to support these claims; (d) stating that the procedures mind/social cognition (Winner 2005a, b), using a rubber would be difficult to evaluate using scientific methods; and (e) chicken (Winner 2007a), me binders (Winner 2007a), using slogans that have face validity as a way to market their superflex® (Madrigal and Winner 2008), and the social detec- therapy. Normand (2008) also provided several characteristics tive (Winner and Crooke 2008). The approach differs from of pseudoscience while discussing some requirements to be applied behavior analysis (ABA) in terms of the definition considered evidenced based. These included, the use of testi- of what constitutes a behavior, perspectives on how behavior monials in favor of objective data, dismissing scientific evi- change is achieved, the conceptualization of social behavior, dence based on unfounded problems with the experimental and the approaches utilized. Behaviorists look to change the arrangement, and rejection as a form of evidence. individual’s environment and use consequences (reinforce- Today, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of interventions ment and punishment) to change social behavior; implemen- for individuals diagnosed with ASD (Freeman 2008; Lerman ters of Social Thinking® want to change an individual’ssocial et al. 2008; National Autism Standards 2015; Research Autism cognition. Proponents of ABA define behavior as on observ- Improving the Quality of Life 2015 http://www. able and measurable event; proponents of Social Thinking® researchautism.net/autism-interventions/types), many of are more concerned about the internal behaviors (e.g., thought which would be considered pseudo- or antiscience (Freeman process) of the individual. From a behavior analytic perspec- 2008). Some have even stated, Bone would be hard pressed to tive,behaviorchangeisachievedwhenanindividualdemon- find an area more widely affected by rampant pseudoscience strates the behavior; from a Social Thinking® perspective, a than that of autism treatment…^ (Normand 2008,p.42).One change in an individual’s thought process is more valued, as treatment approach that is gaining popularity and is being in- opposed to overt behaviors. creasingly implemented with individuals diagnosed with ASD is Social Thinking®. Social Thinking® is being utilized in school districts, home programs, and clinic settings by both What is the Scientific Evidence? non-behaviorists and behaviorists; however, the question that has not been asked or answered is: Would Social Thinking® be To date, there have only been two published studies evaluating considered science, pseudoscience, or antiscience? The pur- Social Thinking® for individuals diagnosed with ASD or any pose of this paper is to briefly evaluate Social Thinking® and other populations. The first study was conducted by Crooke et attempt to determine which level of science it falls under. al. (2008) and was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The second study was conducted by Lee and colleagues (2009) and was published in Overview of Social Thinking the non-peer-reviewed Hong Kong Journal of Mental Health. Both studies utilized a one-group pretest-posttest design, Social Thinking® is based on a combination of three major the- which is considered a pre-experimental design (Campbell ories: (a) central coherence theory, (b) executive dysfunction, and and Stanley 1968). Crooke and colleagues collected objective (c) theory of mind. Social Thinking® also incorporates compo- data and found an increase in positive behaviors and a de- nents of cognitive behavioral therapy (Winner 2007a,p.v–viii). crease in undesired behaviors following intervention. Lee Social Thinking® is concerned with a person’s ability to gauge and colleagues created their own subjective rating scale and their own thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and social knowledge; to found small increases in overall social behavior following understand another person’s thoughts in a given social situation; intervention. Both studies had serious methodological flaws and to change their own social behaviors based upon their ability which minimize the usefulness of their findings. For one, both to think about social behaviors. Ultimately, it is a mentalistic studies did not clearly define their independent variables, approach; it works off the hypothesis that by changing your making it difficult for researchers and practitioners to replicate thought process (e.g., thinking), you can improve your social the procedures. The requirement for researchers to operation- behaviors, social interactions, and relationships. Social ally define procedures so that others can replicate has long Thinking® can be implemented with multiple populations but been a standard of good scientific practice. Second, only one is commonly utilized for individuals diagnosed with ASD. of the studies utilized objective measurement. The use of ob- The procedure was first developed, implemented, and dis- jective measurement is also an important component of scien- seminated (through curriculum books, the internet, and work- tific standards as it helps ensure that behavior was actually shops) by Michelle Garcia Winner (2000, 2005a, b, 2007a, b). changed. Third, and most importantly, both studies utilized a Winner has created a framework (i.e., the I LAUGH model pre-experimental design that does not control for six of the Behav Analysis Practice eight threats to internal validity and none of the threats to furnishing any empirical evidence. A common theme found external validity (see Campbell and Stanley 1968). Finally, in many of the Social Thinking® products are claims of im- only one of the studies was published in a journal that utilizes portance
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