Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 2
Development & Behavior Analysis
By Dr. Jack Gewirtz and Dr. Martha Pelaez
The Developmental Behavior Analysis SIG has focused on behavior-analytic functional relations in a developmental frame, that is, where those relationships are examined across two or more points in a developmental sequence. The SIG’s emphases are upon environmental-unit behavior-unit interactions in basic and applied contexts, in mammalian species, and across any sequences or combinations of developmental points (and, in initial phases, at single developmental points). Species-specific considerations are taken into account in relation to the functional relationships. Use of demographic independent variables is not encouraged, except when they could facilitate uncovering the underlying behavioral processes. Occasionally, the environment-behavior interactions in a developmental frame are grouped under a superordinate concept (e.g., “attachment,†“learned helplessnessâ€), to allow the behavior-analytic description/explanation to be evaluated against an alternative description/explanation. More generally, the SIG examines how different theoretical positions, within and without behavior analysis, approach identical questions. The historical bases of behaviorism, and of behavior analysis as a scientific or applied field, may be examined also.
In this context, the Developmental SIG routinely produces a full program for each annual meeting of ABA, in which symposia, papers, invited addresses, tutorials, and panel discussions covering the range of interests noted above are represented. At the 2006 Atlanta convention, we added to our program applied behavior analysis symposia (autism treatment, specifically) in a developmental frame.
The SIG produces a journal titled Behavioral Development that includes refereed articles on theory and research under the conception of developmental behavior analysis outlined above. Finally, the SIG devises behavioral symposia that are submitted to mainstream developmental conferences (e.g., International Society of Infant Studies, Society for Research in Child Development , Touch Research Institute) to provide examples of behavior-analytic approaches and solutions to diverse developmental issues.
In this frame, the Developmental Behavior Analysis SIG welcomes members from those working in basic and/or applied behavior analysis. Dues are $15 per year and include a subscription to the SIG journal Behavioral Development. Please contact Dr. Martha Pelaez, College of Education, FIU, Miami FL, 33199, USA. Members are encouraged to send articles for publication in Behavioral Development to Martha Pelaez and papers, symposia, debates, and the like, for inclusion on the SIG program of the annual ABA convention to Jack Gewirtz, Department of Psychology, DM294, FIU, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.