ABA International Fellows
Richard Malott
Dr. Richard Malott, with more than 40 years of experience at Western Michigan University, has used the principles of behavior to construct teaching models and behavioral systems that have been sustained over several decades. As a result, he has taught generations of students to use behavior analysis in their everyday lives as learners, teachers, practitioners, and citizens, and has provided the training grounds for many of the field’s leaders in behavioral systems design. Richard Malott is a prolific, creative, and engaging writer who has authored some of the field’s most important and widely read publications, including Elementary Principles of Behavior (first with Donald Whaley and then with Marie E. Malott and Elizabeth Trojan Suarez), which is in its sixth edition. His innovative use of multimedia has captivated audiences for decades.
He helped found what would become the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and has been instrumental in its survival, growth, and vitality. Dr. Malott’s many contributions include establishing ABAI’s Teaching Behavior Analysis special interest group and its Education Board.
His sense of humor, self-deprecating style, and willingness to push the envelope have made him an iconic figure in the behavior analytic community. Often irreverent but never irrelevant, Richard Malott is an outspoken and tireless ambassador for behavior analysis and the ways it can be used to make the world a better place.