Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 1
The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies
By Henry S. Pennypacker, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and
Dwight Harshbarger, Ph.D., Executive Director
Mission Statement
The mission of the Cambridge Center is to advance the scientific study of behavior and its humane application to the solution of practical problems, including the prevention and relief of human suffering.
Brief History
The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies was founded in 1981. The original intent was for the Center to extend the work of B. F. Skinner into the practical realm, and this intent was later formalized into the Center’s present mission statement. The founder, Robert Epstein, was joined by a distinguished group of behavior scientists, philanthropists, and corporations: Edward L. Anderson, Donald A. Cook, Gerbrands Corporation, J. M. Harrison, Kenneth J. Keller, Anne and Jeffrey Kupfer, Hugh G. Loebner, Norman Baxley Associates, Pfizer Corporation, Research Press, Leo J. Reyna, and the Upjohn Company.
The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies is a charitable, not-for-profit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) status, governed by a Board of Directors whose members are elected by the Trustees. The Center is managed by its Executive Director. The Center draws on the support and expertise of nearly 100 scholars, researchers, and professionals on its Board of Trustees and Advisory Board. The Center is problem-oriented and pragmatic; its nonprofit, nonaligned status ensures its objectivity.
Much of the work of the Center is accomplished through volunteer or pro bono efforts. The operation of the Center is supported by contributions from members, conference and workshop fees, and the sale of publications.
Recent Initiatives
The Center’s activities can be grouped into three main categories: communication, education, and accreditation.
Communication
The most visible of the Center’s activities is its Web site www.behavior.org. With over 700,000 visitors last year, the site serves as a major world-wide and well-used source of reliable and accurate science-based behavioral information that is accessed by professionals and lay persons alike. The site hosts an online journal, Behavioral Technology Today, a parenting newsletter, Behavioral Parenting Abstracts, and past issues of the Behavior Analysis Digest. It also has a number of specialty departments ranging from aging and autism to verbal behavior and zoos, pets, and animals.
The Center also publishes a journal, Behavior and Philosophy, with 250 library and institutional subscriptions; the CCBS members' newsletter, Current Repertoire; and two monthly electronic newsletters: Behavior Matters, for non-members, and The CCBS Messenger, for members. It has recently published two books: Bea Barrett’s The Technology of Teaching Revisited: A Reader's Companion to B.F. Skinner's Book and The Morningside Model of Generative Instruction by Kent Johnson and Elizabeth Street, with chapters by Joanne Robbins and Susan Malmquist. The Center also recently published a CD of the Israel Goldiamond Blue Books, edited by Paul Andronis.
Education
The Center regularly conducts seminars and conferences. It recently sponsored its tenth annual national conference, 2005 Behavioral Safety Now in Jacksonville, Florida, attended by 425 participants. The 2006 Behavioral Safety Now conference will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, October 4 through 6, 2006.
In 2003 the Center conducted a public seminar titled Advances in the Treatment of Pediatric Behavior Problems, which was jointly sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Beacon Services, Children's Paraclete, Melmark, and New England Center for Children.
In 2004 the Center held a major conference on behavioral economics titled What Works in Behavioral Economics: Practical and Policy Issues, which was jointly sponsored with Temple University and the Henry and Elaine Kaufman Foundation.
In 2006, in addition to Behavioral Safety Now, the Center will hold the Northeast Conference on Autism at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center on April 7.
Accreditation
The Cambridge Center continues to lead the application of behavioral research to workplace safety improvements — a decade-long effort. In 2003 the Cambridge Center began accrediting behavior-based safety programs in the workplace. CCBS Accreditation has been awarded to locations in four organizations: the Acetate Fibers Division, Voridian Division, Eastman Chemical Company; the Midwest Regional Distribution Center, Supervalu Inc.; the Gulf of Mexico Operations of the Halliburton Corporation; and the Illinois Refining Division of Marathon Petroleum Company.
Future Strategies
In addition to continuing the activities outlined above, the Center is undertaking initiatives in some new areas.
Continuing Education
The Center is developing the technical infrastructure and adding to its Web site the capability of providing streaming video of scholarly presentations and awarding CEU’s to individuals who view these materials and satisfactorily answer questions on their content. In collaboration with ABA, selected invited addresses from past ABA conventions will be made available for this purpose. Revenue from this initiative will be shared by the two organizations.
Accreditation
The Center is in the process of developing accreditation procedures for behaviorally-based treatment programs. Once completed, these procedures will be similar to those developed for behavioral safety accreditation and will be anchored in evidence of program and service effectiveness. The intent is twofold. First, to assist the consuming public in selecting from among the myriad treatment approaches and programs offered by service providers for a wide range of disorders, many of which are unscientific and without measures of effectiveness. Second, to recognize exemplary treatment programs that apply behavioral principles to improve the human condition.
Publications
The Center intends to expand its range of published offerings and is in negotiations with a publisher to launch a Cambridge Center series of books selected by a prominent editor who is also a trustee. The plan is to publish and market works of interest to a highly targeted audience, thus somewhat reducing marketing costs through more targeted efforts.
Behavioral Technology
The Center is developing procedures to assist individuals who have created or are working on products that have market potential. Some early prototypes are under review and efforts to attract more are well under way.
The Cambridge Center continues to search for and develop innovative ways to act on its mission: advancing the scientific study of behavior, applying behavioral research to find humane solutions to practical problems, and prevent and relieve human suffering.