Episode 334 - The Changing Criterion Design

ABA Inside Track

Robert Parry-Cruwys

Social Sciences, Science, Education

4.7 • 634 Ratings

🗓️ 28 January 2026

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Finally, after nearly 10 years, it's the changing criterion design's time to shine! While often seen as the little brother to our more robust experimental designs, this week we discuss when the changing criterion could be your design of choice in research and practice and look at some of the more convincing cases of how the little step-wise graph that nobody liked should really be a key player in your visual display toolbox.

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Klein, L.A., Houlihan, D., Vincent, J.L., & Panahon, C.J. (2017). Best practices in utilizing the changing criterion design. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 10, 52-61. doi: 10.1007/s40617-014-0036-x

De Luca, R.V. & Holborn, S.W. (1992). Effects of a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule with changing criteria on exercise in obese and nonobese boys. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 671-679. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1992.25-671

Brady, M.P., Kearney, K.B., Downey, A., Torres, A., & McDougall, D. (2022). Using mnemonics, remote coaching, and the range-bound changing criterion design to teach college students with IDD to make employment decisions. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 57, 303-319. doi: 10.1177/215416472205700

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, everybody.
0:14.4	Welcome to ABA Inside Track, the podcast that's like reading in your car, but safer.
0:19.2	I'm your host, Robert Perry Cruz, and with me as always are my fabulous co-hosts.
0:24.0	Oh, it's me.
0:27.0	It's me, Jackie McDonald's.
0:29.1	Time number two for the next 12 months.
0:33.3	And it's me, Diana Perry Cruz.
0:35.0	Hello, hello.
0:36.2	I'm so glad you guys have created this weird rule.
0:39.2	I think I've said that. I'm tired of mine. You said that a lot of times now. Okay. Well, you've also said
0:43.2	that you're going to make the change repeatedly. All right, this bit is, it's done. We're moving on.
0:47.7	We're going to talk about behavior analysis and behavior analytic research, which is what we do every week on this here podcast. We talk about relevant
0:56.1	research articles around some sort of behavior analytic theme. See, look at that. I tried a new
1:01.1	opening. I liked it. You liked that one? Yeah. I should have written it down. Oh, well,
1:05.8	we'll go back to the old one another time. You can actually re-listen to it because it is a podcast.
1:10.7	You know what? I don't want to
1:11.7	listen to is my own podcast. You're an intro? No, I used to do that. I don't need to do that anymore.
1:18.3	You're pretty consistent, honestly. I know. I am great. Because I've been looking at the transcripts
1:22.4	for fun. Yeah. And you're pretty consistent in your intro and your outro.
1:26.6	I mean, according to the transcript, the first thing anyone on this podcast says is the word foreign. I think that was like, maybe it's like the sound it makes when it plugs in or something. I don't know. We've never said that to start a podcast. Yeah. And we're not saying it to start this podcast. Well, what are we going to talk about this week, folks? well, we're going to talk about the changing criterion design.
1:48.0	That's right. It's the unicorn of experimental designs. What, in the sense that nobody uses it? Yes. It's rare. It's rare. It's super rare. The only people who want to use changing criterion designs or grad students, it's their first
2:01.7	study ever, and they're like, I'm going to do this. Probably. No, I don't think so. Sometimes.
	...

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