Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 3 | 2011 | Number 2 | Online ISSN: 2151-4704
Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior
By Eric Jacobs and Manish Vaidya
The mission of the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Special Interest Group (EAHB SIG) is to promote basic experimental and translational research with human participants. The EAHB SIG works toward this mission in several ways:
- Sponsoring an annual Student Paper Competition. The goal of the paper competition is to encourage basic experimental and translational research by recognizing the best exemplars from the work of students. Student submissions receive journal-style reviews from established researchers in the field. Finally, the winners are recognized at the ABAI annual convention meeting of the EAHB SIG where students are asked to present their experiments to the audience.
- Sponsoring an annual Distinguished Career Award. The goal of this award is to recognize the contributions of behavioral scientists whose work has helped to define EAHB as an interesting and viable area of study. Prior recipients have included Alan Baron, Murray Sidman, Joe Brady, Joe Spradlin, A. Charles Catania, David Schmitt, Grayson Osborne, and Travis Thompson.
- Sponsoring the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin (EAHB Bulletin). The EAHB Bulletin (ISSN 1938-7237) is an online, ongoing journal (www.eahb.org) dedicated to the publication of original, peer-reviewed empirical articles, notes on research in progress, technical notes, and descriptions of other activities related to human operant research. Thanks to the efforts of Manish Vaidya, many of the past hard copy volumes of EAHB Bulletin are now available online. We are grateful to the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas for technical support in this endeavor.
- Sponsoring an annual meeting for interested parties at the ABAI annual convention. The goal of these meetings is to discuss the business of the EAHB SIG, the EAHB Bulletin, and the general state of affairs in EAHB, the experimental analysis of behavior, behavior analysis, and the world at-large. The SIG also uses this meeting to recognize our Student Paper Competition winners and to deliberate and decide upon the next recipient of the EAHB Distinguished Career Award.
Report of 2010–2011 activities
The EAHB SIG held its annual meeting at the ABAI annual convention in San Antonio, TX. The SIG recognized the winners of the Student Paper Competition, April N. Kisamore for "Effects of a Visual Problem-Solving Strategy on Complex Categorization Task Performance" (James Carr, sponsor) and Nicholas Vanselow for "Describing Naturally Occurring Schedules: Analysis of Feedback Functions for Shooting During Basketball Games" (Jason Bourett, sponsor). The SIG is indebted to Chata Dickson for coordinating the competition and to all participants and reviewers who made the event possible.
Finally, the SIG was excited to present its 2011 Distinguished Career Award to Dr. Travis Thompson. Dr. Thompson gave an award address titled, "Can We All Get Along? A Case for Blended Autism Interventions," on Tuesday, June 1. The SIG thanks Timothy D. Hackenberg for chairing the event.
Upcoming plans for 2011–2012
Plans for the upcoming year will continue to remain focused on our three primary goals: promoting the experimental analysis of human behavior and basic behavioral research by encouraging student research and scholarship in the experimental analysis of human behavior, recognizing outstanding career-long contributions to the field, and maintaining an outlet for publishing human operant research.
Progress toward these goals has been made by recognizing the 2010 Student Paper Competition winners at our meeting in Denver. These students' contributions were selected out of several submissions because of the quality of their work and because of their potential to contribute to our understanding of the determinants of human behavior.
The EAHB SIG presented the Distinguished Career Award to Dr. Jack Michael. To honor Dr. Michael and his many contributions to the field, we organized a symposium featuring presentations by former students and colleagues. The speakers include Teodoro Ayllon, Caio F. Miguel, Henry D. Schlinger, and Mark L. Sundberg. The symposium (#418) was held on Monday, May 30, 2011 in room 406 of the Convention Center. Thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate the career of Dr. Michael and to all of the participants who contributed to this special event.
The EAHB SIG continues to increase the size of its membership (currently 30 ABAI members) by (1) presenting a poster at the ABAI Expo, (2) promoting the annual Distinguished Career Award address, and (3) increasing the visibility of the EAHB Bulletin.
During this year's meeting, we also discussed business related to the EAHB Bulletin including election and term limits of the publication's editorial board and strategies for increasing its impact. We will also discuss possible nominees for next year's Distinguished Career Award.
Additional information on the EAHB SIG, the EAHB Bulletin, and membership can be found at www.eahb.org. Those interested in the student paper competition should consult the website for contest rules and instructions. We are accepting nominations for next year's Distinguished Career Award. Submissions to the EAHB Bulletin are always welcome.