Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 1
The Eastern Psychological Association:
Its Contingency-Related History and Some Highlights of the 2006 Meeting in Baltimore
By Stanley J. Weiss, Ph.D., President
The Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) has a long and distinguished history in promoting and disseminating basic research related to behavior analysis and its applications. The New York Branch of the American Psychological Association (APA), the forerunner of the EPA, held its first meeting in 1903, and that meeting was chaired by Edward L. Thorndike. The founding purpose of the branch was to serve as a forum for scientific exchange, that early came to be understood as experimental results, both basic and applied. At the 1931 meeting, shortly before the New York Branch of APA was reorganized as the Eastern Psychological Association, a resolution was unanimously passed stating:
That no distinction be made in the scientific programs of the New York Branch between pure and applied psychology; that the Association emphasize the presentation of experimental… research whether performed with pure or applied intent; that research performed with either intent be included in sections arranged according to scientific fields of research. (“Proceedings of the New York Branch” 1931, p. 615)
Thus, from its inception, applied as well as basic research was welcomed at EPA. In addition, psychology graduate students have traditionally been encouraged to attend meetings, become members, and contribute to the program. Hence, many accomplished psychologists made their first research presentation at EPA and have remained loyal members throughout their careers. EPA is one of the rare meetings where, in addition to traditional paper and poster sessions, in each program slot there is an invited address by a recognized researcher from a major area of psychology. In word, tradition, and deed, EPA advances psychology as a unified, scientific discipline.
EPA has historically had one of the most active programs in the basic research related to applied behavior analysis. According to Benjamin (1994, p. 70), “Arguably the most important address presented at the branch (perhaps the most important address ever presented at any psychological meeting) was John B. Watson’s Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It which was delivered on February 24, 1913.” In the late 1950s, the EPA convention was a major locus of activity that resulted in the founding of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB). That was a natural by-product of EPA being a primary forum for the major pioneers in the experimental analysis of behavior (and their students) for many years. When JEAB was launched, free copies of the first issue were distributed to EPA members.
Over the years, many experimental psychologists studying traditional conditioning and learning, as well as those in the experimental analysis of behavior, have been elected president of EPA. These include, for example, Karl Dallenbach, Carl Hovland, Neal Miller, Harold Schlosberg, B. F. Skinner, Fred Keller, Richard Solomon, B. Bugelski, Joseph Brady, William Schoenfeld, Leon Kamin, Robert Rescorla, and Russell Church. It also includes the five most recent presidents of EPA: Ralph Miller, Peter Balsam, Mark Bouton, Stan Weiss, and Philip Hineline. Sessions and presentations related to conditioning, learning, and contingencies of reinforcement are traditionally scheduled throughout the program, with at least a dozen such sessions planned for our 2006 meeting.
In 2006, EPA will meet in Baltimore, MD from March 16-19. Although the program is currently in preparation, I can describe some events already scheduled that could be of special interest to readers of this newsletter. These include:
- The first Keller Memorial Lecture, “Fred S. Keller: A Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer,” will be presented by Murray Sidman. This is an endowed event projected to occur about every three years.
- Lanny Fields and Joao Claudio Todorov will deliver papers in a Friends of Keller paper session that could include the opportunity for those in attendance to briefly share their reflections upon, and remembrances of, Fred Keller.
- In recognition of this first lecture honoring Fred, EPA is also arranging a reunion of his students, colleagues, and friends. Please join us at this unique special event! We have offered to host Frances Keller at the meeting and hope she will be able to attend. For additional information about the reunion, contact Celia Wolk Gershenson (gersh001@umn.edu); to learn more about EPA visit our Web site at www.easternpsychological.org.
- The President’s Integrative Symposium on “The Role of Associative Mechanisms in Drug Abuse.” In this Symposium, Shepard Siegel discusses “Interceptive Cues for Drugs: The Inside Story of Addiction;” Tony Dickinson explores “The Role of Incentive Learning in Drug Seeking;” and Anthony Caggiula describes “Human and Animal Approaches to Discover the Bases of Nicotine Reinforcement: Associative and Non-Associative Mechanisms.”
- My Presidential Address about the “Environmental Control of Drug Seeking: Reinforcement Contingencies and Incentive Motivation.”
- Bernard Balleine’s invited address on “Affect, Arousal and Reward In Limbic-Striatal Circuits.”
- A Translational Research Symposium with presentations by Philip Hineline, Celia Wolk Gershenson, Guillermo DeLeon, and William Ahearn.
- A symposium on “50 Years of Behavioral Pharmacology: Past Success, Present Challenges” organized by Wade Pickren. Jonathan Katz offers an introduction providing a context for both historical work and the present status of the field. Robert Schuster will present an historical address focusing on the work of Peter Dews, Bill Morse, and others in establishing the field. James Woods will focus on current work and conceptual and practical challenges for the future.
For over a century, EPA has remained faithful to its mission – the exchange of scholarship within a framework advancing psychology as a unified discipline through a diverse program covering psychology’s many areas. We also want to attract specialized interest groups in cutting-edge areas so as to remain a premier forum for the dissemination of important new basic and applied research findings. To this end, an applied behavior analysis interest area has recently been organized within EPA, and a member for this area, William Ahearn (BAHEARN@necc.org), sits on our 2006 Program Committee. We therefore hope to provide a forum where researchers and spractitioners in applied behavior analysis can meet annually to exchange ideas and keep up with developments in the field. At EPA, you could do this in a context that also includes basic contingency-related learning research and the opportunity to remain connected with important advances in the larger field of psychology.
Reference
Benjamin, Ludy T., Jr. (1994). A History of the New York Branch of the American Psychological Association, 1903-1935.In H. E. Adler & R. W. Rieber (Eds.), Aspects of the History of Psychology in America:1892-1992: Vol. 727. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (pp. 63-78). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.