Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 3
International Development: Progress and Change
By Dr. Simon Dymond
Over recent years, behaviour analysis has experienced enormous growth. Witness, for instance, the increasing number of academic positions seeking well-trained behaviour analysts, the demand for behavioural services in fields such as developmental disabilities, the research funding opportunities that are opening up behavioural research to new audiences, and the growing student membership levels of professional organisations. Such indicators of growth are all the more impressive when we consider that behaviour analysis is still a relatively young discipline and that growth is occurring all over the world. Behaviour analysis programmes are springing up in places where before there was no behavioural presence. In many countries, behaviour analysis is no longer the preserve of an isolated few, but of a growing critical mass of basic and applied researchers making important inroads in research and also training the next generation of behaviour analysts. For instance, my alma mater, University College Cork, was once referred to as one of several centres on the "Celtic Fringe" of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland where individual behaviour analysts ploughed an often-lonely furrow. Not anymore. Wales and Ireland now have multiple sites offering BACB-approved certification courses and some of the highest research output of any lab in Europe.
Perhaps now more so than ever, behaviour analysis can be said to be truly international. Behaviour analysts from more than 32 countries attended the 2006 annual convention of the Association for Behaviour Analysis International (ABA). Several countries publish their own-language behavioural journals and BACB-certification is now an international phenomenon. ABA has always played a central role in the international dissemination of behaviour analysis. It is perhaps salutary to consider the ways in which both ABA and the Society for the Advancement of Behaviour Analysis (SABA) continue to support international development and their achievements:
- SABA provides funding through its International Development Grant for behaviour analysts to host a workshop, set up a university course, or any other such activity that will contribute to the international dissemination of behaviour analysis. Competition for this award is fierce, and the number of applications has steadily grown over the years.
- SABA also provides an award for International Dissemination of Behaviour Analysis, and a glance through the list of previous recipients highlights the extraordinary range of talented behaviour analysts who have been honoured with this award.
- ABA has organised several international delegations, funded entirely by delegates and hosts, to countries such as China and Jordan. Such delegations have helped establish academic programmes in behaviour analysis where none existed before.
- Every two years, ABA organises an International Conference in a country outside of the U.S. The three conferences held so far (the next is in Sydney, Australia, August 12-14th 2007), have all been hugely successful in helping to raise the profile of our field by directly involving local members in the organisation, planning, and hosting of the International Conference. (Incidentally, proposals to host the 2009 conference are currently being sought.)
- There are currently 29 international affiliated chapters of ABA, and their combined total membership is greater than that of the U.S. chapters’ membership. ABA has recently established two email list-serves to facilitate communication among representatives from all of the 60 U.S. and non-U.S. affiliated chapters.
These are some of the ways in which ABA and SABA support international development. Apart from these organisational mechanisms, I believe that there are other ways in which individuals can support the international growth and profile of our field. In what follows, I offer a personal view, reflective of my own academic research bias, of some of the opportunities that lie ahead and how we can capitalise upon them.
1. Let’s stick together
ABA is a membership organisation and the policies and activities it pursues are undertaken on behalf of the membership. As in any other democratic organisation, there exist mechanisms by which members may make suggestions or comments about existing policy. By sticking together, we are better placed to maintain the gains we have made and overcome the challenges of the future.
2. Choose your bedfellows wisely
Behaviour analysts can win friends and influence the future of their science by collaborating with specialists from other fields. As an example, consider current interest in cognitive neuroscience methods, in particular functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). From a behaviour-analytic perspective, most fMRI research may be considered demonstration research in that differential brain activity is compared either in response to different stimulus events or by virtue of pre-existing group differences. Behaviour analysts can, and increasingly do, contribute to this research agenda by, for instance, designing experimental paradigms or by modelling, ab initio, the relevant task or group differences in the lab. Cognitive researchers are becoming increasingly interested in "learning," and we have something unique to bring to these collaborations. We should choose our collaborators wisely and not be afraid to "dance with the devil" in order to push forward our research agenda.
3. Don’t pin your colours to just one mast
In most parts of the world, behavioural services for treating autism and other developmental disorders are increasing in demand, which represents a golden opportunity to make a lasting impact on the lives of many children and their families. However, we should be cautious and guard against our field becoming perceived by the public as being synonymous with services in this one area. Other diverse areas such as consumer behaviour analysis, health promotion, organisational behaviour management, and environmental management should be highlighted to consumers of behavioural services whenever possible because these areas represent opportunities for our field to grow in new and exciting ways.
4. Seek and you shall find
New and imaginative sources of funding need to be identified to teach behavioural courses and to undertake research. In Europe, EU funds exist to support both teacher and student exchange. Such funding channels offer a means of establishing, for instance, a co-operatively taught postgraduate degree in a region lacking a critical mass of behaviour analysts.
In summary, the activities of ABA and S ABA have made huge achievements in the arena of international development in a relatively short amount of time. Much work remains to be done, but I am confident that behaviour analysis can rise to the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Correspondence may be addressed to Simon Dymond, Ph.D., BCBA, via s.o.dymond@swansea.ac.uk