Newsletter
Volume 30 | 2007 | Number 1
W. Scott Wood (1940 – 2006)
By Dr. Jack Michael
W. Scott Wood
I first met Scott at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona in 1962. I was functioning as an advisor to new students, and Scott was attempting to enroll as a psychology major. He had a bachelor's degree with a major in engineering, but wanted to change to psychology. I told him that we were not admitting new students unless they had a background in behavioral psychology. Scott, never lacking in assertiveness, asked what behavioral psychology was, and how could he get such a background. I happened to have a copy of the Holland-Skinner programmed text, The Analysis of Behavior in my office, and handed it to him. I said that he should take it home and study it carefully, and come back when he was sure he understood it. I would talk with him again, and if it appeared that he knew what he was talking about, he would be in the psychology program. When he returned a few days later it was very clear to me that he had acquired an excellent understanding of what he had studied, and I welcomed him into the Psychology Department as a major.
Scott went on to become one of the major contributors to the development of a Midwestern organization of behaviorists, a notion that had been discussed for many years—probably starting as early as the late 60s—but not actually achieved until 1974 when Scott, with Neil Kent and Richard Malott, planned a behavioral organization that was independent of any American Psychology Association organization. This plan led to the Midwestern Association of Behavior Analysis (MABA)—and ultimately ABA.
Scott was a member of the 11-person organizational committee formed by MABA in 1974. As a member he played a major role in determining that MABA would be open to students and others who did not have a Ph.D.
The criteria for membership would consist of a Master’s Degree in Psychology or in a related field.
Scott founded the journal The Behavior Analyst, over a number of objections to a new journal—we already had Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior and Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and a new one would detract from the effectiveness of these two—but Scott prevailed and The Behavior Analyst is now a very important part of ABA's contribution to the field, and a journal of considerable prestige and status. With Judy LeBlanc, Scott served as an editor of the journal, and helped determine the content and format of the journal.
In addition to insuring that MABA would be open to students and others who did not have a Ph.D., Scott also played a major role in insuring that it would be an international organization, that it would support licensing and certification for behavior analysts, that poster sessions would be an important part of convention programming, and that MABA would have special events—one of the first of which was his jogging marathon (with Vicki Grochochinski).
Scott worked with several lawyers to get MABA incorporated, and with the kind of status that permitted tax-free donations to the organization.
Scott has also made a number of important general contributions to the field of behavior analysis, including an analysis of behavioral ethics, and a greater understanding of the role of Bertrand Russell as an influence on Skinner's behavioral approach.
It is quite clear that the field of behavior analysis would not be what it is today if not for the participation and contributions of W. Scott Wood. He was much respected and admired, and will be missed by us all.