What does ABS mean?
Return to the "ABS" Feedback Page discussion
The Search
for the True Meaning of
"ABS"
This discussion began with my
criticism of counselors who displayed their credentials as
follows: John Doe, MA, ABS--which they explained meant
they had a master of arts degree in applied behavioral science
and claimed the ABS was important to consumers because it
explained the type of degree they had been issued. My
stand is that MA by itself is adequate indication of the degree
and that the use of ABS (or similar initials from a degree) is
misleading to the public and implies additional licensure or
certification that the counselor does not possess. The
public not only doesn't know what ABS stands for, but would have
difficulty finding out what it means.
It is true that there is a wealth of information on the web--in fact there
is often too much information. The client who goes on the web to
find out what "ABS" means could go to the website,
Acronym Finder, where they would find over 100 definitions for the acronym ABS.
At the end of the list, Acronym Finder adds a footnote mentioning
an additional 250 definitions are available in another location.
So the client searching for the true meaning of "ABS"
would find it defined as: Antilock
Braking System, or Abstract, Absolute, Absent, Absorb, or possibly Able-Bodied Seaman,
Amniotic Band Sequence, Automated Bond System, Australian Bureau of
Statistics, Antiblockiersystem, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, American
Bureau of Shipping, American Bible Society, Asset-Backed Security, Animal
Behavior Society, Aston Business School, Amman Baccalaureate School,
Albino Black Sheep, American Bladesmith Society, Alabama Southern
Railroad, American Boychoir School, American Ballet School, Association of
Broadcasting Staff, Anti-Blockier-System, Access and Benefit-Sharing,
Anti-Blocking System, American Board of Surgery, Association of Business
Schools, Automatic Backup System, Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene
Terpolymer, Agent-Based Simulation, American Brachytherapy Society, Air
Brake Switch, American Back Society, Automatic Block Signal, Alkyl Benzene
Sulfonate, American Bonanza Society, Apple Business Systems, American
Bamboo Society, Alto Broadcasting System, Antley-Bixler Syndrome, Adult
Basic Skills, Always Better Service, Air Base Squadron, Asian Bomb Squad,
American Budgerigar Society, American Bonsai Society, Alternative Billing
Service, Automatic Braking System, Active Battle System, Army Broadcasting
Service, Absolute Time Code, Applied Behavioral Sciences, Automated
Billing System, Association of Black Students,
American Boxwood Society, American Board of Sexology, Advanced Brake
System, Association for Borderlands Studies, Abu Simbel, Airborne
Bathymetric Survey, Automated Battle Book System, Ashland Bus System,
Amended Budget Submission, Adams-Bashforth Scheme, Automatic Backup
Shutdown, Affordable Business Structure, Automated Briefing System,
Artificial Buoyant Seabed, Agile Business Suite, Atomic Beam Scattering,
Activation Binding Site, Air Base Survivability, Anchor Bolt Stabilizer,
Automated Balancing System, Alcohol Breath Screening, Acoustic
Backscatter System, Air Base Security, Air Breathing System, Arc Bond
Sputter, American Breeders Services, Air Base Systems, Average Busy
Stream, Automated Brokerage Service, Annual Beneficiary Summary, Automated
Brokerage System, Amphetamine-Based Stimulants, Assault Ballistic Rocket
System, ArchLinux Build System, Afghan Banana Stand, Agile Beam System,
Air Base Simulator, Automated Bridge System, Assisted Breaking System,
Agents Business Systems, Airbrushed Steel, Alternate Bit Synchronization,
Amman Baptist School, Axial Bay Simulator, Aperture Blind Subassembly,
A-Band Spectrometer, Acute Bitching Syndrome, As-Built Specification, or
Advanced Battle Stimulation [or possibly one of the 250 other meanings
in the Acronym Finder's "
Acronym Attic"].
Even if a member of the public were
to correctly guess that the ABS stood for "applied behavioral
science" the next question would be, "And what the hell does that
mean?"
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