Episode 252: Dr Claire St Peter Part 3: Talking to One Another

Language matters. I know what I mean by the words I use. But do my meanings match your understanding of the same words? And what nuances are there in the definition that I may never have considered? I may be okay when I am speaking to someone in my own community who understand the terms I use in much the same way that I do, but what happens when we move outside of our community? What happens when animal trainers talk to behavior analysts? Do we understand one another? Or do we sow confusion every time we try to converse. This sits at the heart of today’s episode. We begin by considering what criterion means.

And because we’ve been talking about behavior analysis, in the second half of the episode I ask Claire what behavior analysts do. What types of careers does a degree in behavior analysis prepare you for? The answer was a long and very useful.