ABSTRACT
Behavior analysts have, in their vast catalog of work to be done, a clear set of responsibilities to their colleagues. If you are a practitioner or therapist, you may be concerned about possible ethical violations of other behavior analysts. It should —rst be understood that attending to a situation like this does not make you a “busybody” or “snitch.” Most of us have been culturally conditioned by parents and teachers to “mind your own business,” and in your private life this is a pretty good rule to follow. How others conduct their lives really is their own business, unless, of course, it a˜ects your life in some way. ‹is is basically the situation you confront when you believe that a behavioral colleague has violated the Behavior Analyst Certi—cation Board (BACB) Guidelines for Responsible Conduct. It becomes your business by virtue of the fact that an unethical colleague can damage not only their reputation but also yours. It is in this vein that Guideline 8.01 is written to encourage you, despite how uncomfortable it may make you feel, to bring the issue in question to the attention of the person and seek a resolution. Ideally, the
individual will quickly see the error of his or her ways, apologize, and correct the situation with appropriate action. It is not your job to dictate the action but rather to serve as a “trusted colleague” for the person on behalf of the —eld and possibly the client who may have been involved.* In this role you should seek an ethical solution to the problem and then fade from the picture as quickly as possible. ‹is works most of the time. However, it might happen that the colleague stubbornly resists recognizing the problem or refuses to do anything about it. ‹is will present you with a dilemma that the Guidelines do not cover. If this happens, you may want to check the “Disciplinary Standards, Procedures for Appeals” section of the BACB Web site (BACB, 1998-2010) for further details on what to do next.
