There are several causes of technological change in applied behaviour technology. The first one is the need to increase efficiency and lower costs in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Technology enhances and supports behavioural intervention programs. One of the most notable changes in recent years is the video chat or teleconferencing which provides services to medical personnel and patients. iCommunicate and TouchChat enable patients and professionals to implement behavioural intervention programs (BIPs) which increase efficiency and lower costs in the process. Visual communication is important for patients with behavioural problems. Technology provides powerful tools to implement techniques to help therapists with their work. One important issue to note is that the primary reason for integration of technology in the society is to help people complete tasks easily and effectively.
Technology change in Applied Behavioural Analysis enables medical professionals to identify new ways to solve the problems that they encounter. It helps in understanding behaviourism and developing further solutions for emerging issues in the field. In recent years researchers noted new problems in Applied Behaviour Psychology. The best example is in autism. The changes in the field of technology help in developing products that enable therapists to increase efficiency in dealing with such patients at low costs.
The second cause of technological change in Applied Behavior Psychology is determinism. Technology in ABA affects the interactions between patents and therapists. The two stakeholders do not have a choice on how they affect technology; rather the latter determines their interactions with each other. The society is in constant change. For instance, communication, working practices, culture, morality, and many other concepts change and evolve. In recent past, technological change speed increased in the medial sector. As it changed there arose a need for stakeholders to change with it. In essence, it is technology that determines the kind of changes that take place in Applied Behavior Analysis. It is the technology that has the influence, not the society.
The existing social order, values, and cultural beliefs are determining factors on how the community uses the technology. As options develop, patients and therapists choose how to adopt the technology in practice. For instance, the computer applications that are useful in dealing with children with autism are not all useful. The use of the applications to improve the adaptability, communication, reasoning, and learning of the patients will depend on the available forms and the response of the patient. Some autistic children respond to better to video chats than others. It is the technology and the patient that determine the usefulness of applications in Applied Behavior Analysis.
The third cause of technological change in Applied Behavior Psychology instrumentalism. It is a technological theory in applied behaviour that argues that technology is neutral in the field. It states that there is a constant evolution of technological advancements from previous ones. If one takes this viewpoint, the conclusion is that technological change is for the good of the community, and people do not have the power to decide on how it affects them. Accordingly, instrumentalism affects the costs of acquisition and utility of forms of technology and behavioural reinforcement. The need to reduce the costs of different forms by clients drives changes in the field. Behavioral reinforcement relates to the skills that patients learn by setting up an effective therapeutic environments which the technology determines. Behavioral analysis focuses on the changing behaviours that arise with patients. Technology is instrumental in pinpointing the stimulus for it. Changes in technology address the problems that arise. They also give alternative solutions to the problems that arise, giving psychologists and therapists the help that they need. Instrumentalism defines the nature of the technology as it plays its role in behavioral therapy.