Dr. Jim Moore returns to Behavioral Observations in this session. And I'm so thankful he had the time to chat, because this episode is jam-packed with great information for practitioners at all experience levels.

We spent a few minutes catching the audience up on some of the changes in Jim's life since his last appearance on the show. In particular, we discuss his new job as Chief Clinical Officer of Apollo Behavior and his move to the Atlanta area.

Afterwards, we managed to touch on several important issues in clinical practice, including the following:

• Our differing (initially) views on what it means to engage in scientific behavior... i.e., who is and is not a scientist.
• How identifying research questions differs in academia and practice.
• Solving behavior problems by examining overly strict rule adherence (and what to do about it).
• What to pay attention to when interviewing caregivers about problem behavior.
• How to trouble shoot stalled learner progress.
• Using Socratic questioning during clinical supervision (if you listen to any part of this episode, listen to this one!).
• A preview of what sounds like an incredibly interesting talk at the upcoming Stone Soup Conference (and if you're interested in attending this incredibly affordable and informative event, use the code PODCAST to save even more at checkout).
• Jim's point of view on the varying functional analysis practices that are being discussed in the literature.

We also recorded about 20 or so minutes of bonus content, which is available to Patreon subscribers (check out this link to learn more). In this segment of the show, Jim went into some detail regarding his ups and downs with his health and fitness, and how he's trying to get back on track, what it's like to be a Saints fan in the Atlanta Metro area, the parallels between good coaching and good leadership, and lots more.

Lastly, Jim was too gracious to shamelessly plug his practice group, but if the type of practice he describes interests you, hit him up on LinkedIn, or elsewhere on social media, as he's pretty easy to find.

Here are links to some resources we discussed:

• Jim's Research Gate page (lots of cool stuff!).
• Hayes, et al., 1986. Instructions, Multiple Schedules, and Extinction: Distinguishing rule-governed from scheduled-controlled behavior.
• Hayes, et al., 1986a. Rule-governed behavior and sensitivity to changing consequences of responding.
• Skinner's Six Attitudes of Science Quizlet (credit: Hillary Robbins).
• The Seven Steps to Instructional Control.

Quote #1:

The differences between applied and basic research are not differences between that which “discovers” and that which merely “applies.” Both endeavors ask what controls the behavior under study

                                         Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968)

Quote #2:

An applied behavior analysis will make obvious the importance of the behavior changed, its quantitative characteristics, the experimental manipulations which analyze with clarity what was responsible for the change, the technologically exact description of all procedures contributing to that change, the effectiveness of those procedures in making sufficient change for value, and generality of that change

                                         Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968)

Quote #3:

Applied research is designed to solve practical problems of the modern world, rather than to acquire knowledge for knowledge’s sake. One might say that the goal of the applied scientist is to improve the human condition.

                                         Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory

This episode is brought to you by:

• The aforementioned Stone Soup Conference, again, use the promo code PODCAST to save, and hear talks from folks like Drs. Linda LeBlanc, Adithyan Rajaraman, Jordan Belile, and more!
• Behavior University. (who incidentally is sponsoring the Stone Soup Conference!) Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.

I'm not a gamer... well, at least not at this stage of my life. But that aside, I really enjoyed this conversation with FIT doctoral student, James Riswick-Estelle.

We talked about his he got into ABA in the first place, a brief history of eSports, the current status of eSports, and then, how he uses behavior analytic principles to enhance the performance of athletes.

To be honest, I was blown away with how vast and popular eSports is right now. So popular that Florida Tech now has their own department dedicated to it! And James and I discussed how he "pitched" the use of ABA to the eSports director, and shared his thoughts on how to do this successfully.

We went on to discuss some of the specific interventions that he and his colleagues have used to optimize player performance. I think you'll find it quite interesting. Even if you're not a gamer, I believe there will be many parallels that you'll likely readily identify.

In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:

• James on LinkedIn.
• Department of Behavior Analysis at FIT.
• FIT eSports Department.
• FIT eSports on Twitch.
• FIT eSports on Instagram.
• FIT eSports on Twitter.
• FIT eSports Discord.
• The practice of gifting books.
• The movie Moneyball.
• A background on eSports.
• "Don't Wag the Dog: Expanding the Reach of Behavior Analysis," Normand & Kohn.
• A primer on Implementation Science.

Today's episode is brought to you with the support of the following sponsors:

• The ABA Marketing Minute from Rich Brooks at Flyte New Media. If you're wondering how to successfully market your ABA practice, go to takeflyte.com/abaminute, and check out Flyte New Media's free 35 minute lesson on building effective websites.
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.

In Session 165, I spoke with Brett Yarris, founder of The Bx Movement and co-founder of the Pro Football Network.

I first heard about Brett when he was featured on The Controversial Exchange podcast with Ryan and Dimitri. In that episode, I recall how passionately Brett advocated for a wider application of our science, and in this regard, he is really leading by example.

In this episode, we discussed how he found his way into Applied Behavior Analysis, how his frustration with the status quo led him to start his own company, how he got into coaching elite-level football players, and how he broke into the crowded and noisy field knowns as the NFL sports media.

In addition to these topics, I think the two most interesting segments of this show came from his discussion of how he devotes a significant amount of consultation and training time to helping individuals with Developmental Disabilities improve their physical health, and then later on in the show, where Brett shares his thoughts on the relevance of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. That part of the show came towards the end, and without spoiling things too much, Brett doesn't hold back, so you'll definitely want to listen all the way through.

I should also note that there are some over-arching lessons in this conversation, mainly about identifying one's occupational interests and values, and offering novel solutions and/or services to common problems, all while using behavior-analytic principles as a guide. As such, if you've been contemplating striking out on your own, this is a must-listen episode, regardless of whether you care about the NFL, sports, wellness, and so on.

Lastly, for Patreon subscribers, Brett hangs out a little while longer and answers some questions about the upcoming NFL season. In particular, we discuss the 2021 prospects of my son's favorite team, the LA Chargers, and then of course, the New England Patriots. With regard to the latter, Brett shared some insider insight as to why New England cut Cam Newton, and we discussed the AFC East more generally. We ended the Patreon segment with Brett's prediction for the Superbowl.

Here are the links to the resources we discussed in this episode:

• Brett's company, The Bx Movement.
• Pro Football Network.
• The Controversial Exchange episode with Brett.
• The More Than Football show.
• "Don't Wag the Dog: Extending the Reach of ABA," (Normand and Kohn, 2013).
• Dr. Kim Berens' 2nd appearance on the BOP.
• The Offensive Value Metric.
• Precision Teaching in One Minute (Ryan O'Donnell and Amy Evans).

This podcast is brought to you by:

• The ABA Marketing Minute from Rich Brooks at Flyte New Media. If you're wondering how to successfully market your ABA practice, go to takeflyte.com/abaminute, and check out Flyte New Media's free 35 minute lesson on building effective websites.
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.
• The 2021 New Hampshire ABA Conference! If you're in New England on September 11th, 2021, take the short drive to beautiful Concord, NH to attend this year's event. If you're not local to the region, don't worry, the event is available virtually as well! This year's program features both clinical and business tracks, a free lunch, an afternoon ice cream social, oh, and there will be great talks too, including Drs. Kelsey Ruppel, Paulie Gavoni, Byron Wine, Peter Gerhardt, Antonio Harrison, and more! Go to NHABA.net, and click the conference tab for details. While you're there, use the promo code Matt2021 to save at checkout.
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.