Recorded: Understanding Misinformation Through the Lens of Behavior Analysis

**This course will provide the participant with 2 General Learning Type BACB CEUs**

Description of Learning Type CE Event: This presentation explores misinformation through a behavior-analytic lens, examining how reinforcement history, rule-governed behavior, and social contingencies sustain false beliefs and sharing behaviors online. Participants will analyze how algorithms, verbal communities, and cultural-level contingencies contribute to misinformation’s persistence. Drawing from research in behavior analysis, behavioral economics, and digital literacy, the presentation highlights strategies such as precommitment, nudging, and the SIFT framework as potential interventions to reduce misinformation sharing and promote accuracy-driven social media practices.

About the Instructor: Dr. Liza Geonie, PhD, BCBA-D, is a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 25 years of experience in the field of applied behavior analysis. Her work spans special education, staff training, and research on digital behavior and misinformation. Dr. Geonie’s dissertation investigated precommitment and direct instruction interventions to promote responsible information-sharing on social media. She regularly presents at ABAI and NYSABA conferences and is passionate about expanding behavior analysis beyond traditional applications to address contemporary societal issues like digital literacy, misinformation, and social influence.

Target Audience: Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs, BCBA-Ds), graduate students, and professionals interested in applying behavior-analytic principles to real-world challenges such as misinformation, digital literacy, and social media behavior. Intermediate level — assumes working knowledge of behavioral principles and their application to social systems and verbal behavior.

Learning Objectives for Participants: As a result of this course participants will be able to …

• Describe key behavior-analytic principles that explain why misinformation spreads and persists
• Apply concepts from cultural selection and metacontingencies to analyze how individual online behaviors can contribute to larger patterns of misinformation or truth-promoting practices.
• Evaluate behavior-analytic strategies as potential interventions for promoting accurate information sharing on social media.

To earn credit, you will be required to watch all video portions and pass a quiz about it with a score of 80% or higher. You can retake the quiz as many times as needed, but you may not receive exactly the same questions each time.