Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a natural science dedicated to using behavioral principles to address socially important problems. One area in which behavior analysts have made compelling gains in the last 50 years is in developing, evaluating, and disseminating effective interventions for people with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities. As the science of ABA has matured, many practitioners, researchers, and consumers have questioned how our field should define appropriate outcomes of behavioral interventions. In this article, we propose that improved quality of life should be the ultimate outcome for consumers receiving behavioral interventions. We explore definitions of quality of life and suggest some strategies that behavior analysts can apply to modify practices to more clearly center quality of life as an outcome variable.

应用行为分析 (ABA) 是一门自然科学，致力于使用行为原则来解决重要的社会问题。在过去 50 年中，行为分析师取得令人瞩目的成就的一个领域是为有严重智力和发育障碍的人开发、评估和传播有效的干预措施。随着 ABA 科学的成熟，许多从业者、研究人员和消费者质疑我们的领域应该如何定义行为干预的适当结果。在本文中，我们建议改善生活质量应该是接受行为干预的消费者的最终结果。