To individuals who are unfamiliar with or are not fluent in behavior-analytic terminology, the language can seem displeasing and off-putting. Many technical terms used in the science have a very different meaning than their everyday use and may even have a negative connotation. Behavior analysts emphasize the importance of dissemination, but if we aren’t communicating in a way others will listen to and understand, who are we really disseminating information to?
From a behavioral perspective, behavior always has a function or a reason why specific behaviors are occurring. When we select words to disseminate information, we should choose the words that will have an impact on the listener, not on us. If our behavior-analytic language is not achieving buy-in from the public, then our verbal behavior is not functioning as effective dissemination, and we need to change how we speak about the field and our practices to achieve that buy-in
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