Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 3
International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis. Where Do We Go from Here?
By Dr. Ruben Ardila
In many academic and professional contexts, behavior analysis and its applications are sometimes associated with the Anglo-Saxon culture, and specifically with U.S. culture. It is considered a "typical American" discipline, with a philosophy, a methodology, and a number of applications centered on problems of U.S. society. As a matter of fact, behavior analysis began in the United States, although with some roots in Russia (Bechterev, Pavlov), England (Darwin, Spencer, Huxley), France (Pieron), and others. But in the last few decades the behavioral movement has become global, in both the geographical and cultural sense.
The discipline that we call behavior analysis (or, previously, the experimental analysis of behavior) was developed in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. The main research work, publications, congresses and conventions, training centers, professional associations, controversies, applications, and social impact, took place in the U.S. Many of the leading figures, like Skinner and his close associates, lived and worked there. Behavior analysis (BA) was well known and gave origin to many developments in the U.S.
On the other hand, the discipline soon reached other countries, mainly in Europe and Latin America. The philosophy of behavior analysis, the experimental work, and the wide range of applications, were known outside of the U.S., and many original contributions took place at the world level. In Great Britain the influence of H.J. Eysenck was very great, including the journal that he founded in 1963, Behaviour Research and Therapy. In Brazil, the visits of Fred S. Keller to Sao Paulo (1961) and to Brasilia (1964) greatly impacted experimental behavioral research and application. In Mexico, Sydney W. Bijou educated a number of researchers and practitioners, among them Emilio Ribes, the main figure of behavior analysis in Mexico. The journal Revista Mexicana de Análisis de la Conducta/Mexican Journal for Behavior Analysis began publication in 1975, and was the voice of behavior analysis in the Iberoamerican world.
Professional organizations such as the European Association for Behavior Therapy, the European Association for Behavior Analysis, the Japanese Association for Behavior Analysis, the German Association, and the Latin American Association for Behavior Analysis and Modification, amoong many others, are indications of the growth of behavior analysis and its applications at the world level. There is also important work carried out in Australia and New Zealand, India, China, Jordan, and some African countries.
Behavior analysis at the world level is part of psychology, but also has relationships with education, social work, nursing, psychiatry, sociology, and even anthropology. There are jobs available for behavior analysts in many countries in special education centers, hospitals, universities, businesses, pharmaceutical industries, sport centers, health promotion institutions, community development organizations, and so forth.
The behavior analyst community organizes congresses and conventions at the international level and publishes journals in several languages, such as the Japanese Journal of Behavior Analysis, Scandinavian Journal of Behavior Therapy, Verhaltenstherapie, Psicología Conductual, and Behaviour Research and Therapy, among many others. Graduate training in behavior analysis and applied behavior analysis is available, although mainly at the Master's level.
As an indication of the internationalization of behavior analysis see Malott (2004), and Ardila (2006). Probably the next step ("Where do we go from here?") will be to increase communication and collaboration across cultures, languages, and nations. The future of behavior analysis is linked to the future of psychology (see Ardila, 2002) and also to the development of behavior analysis as a discipline and as an applied field. The contribution of behavior analysts in the U.S. could be enriched by the work done outside the borders. The international community of behavior analysts is quickly progressing.
Correspondence may be addressed to:
- Ruben Ardila , Ph.D.
- National University of Colombia
- P.O. Box 88754
- Bogotá, Colombia
- E-mail: psycholo@etb.net.co
References
Ardila, R. (2002). Psicología en el futuro (Psychology in the future). Madrid, Spain: Editorial Pirámide.
Ardila, R. (2006). Behavior analysis in an international context. In A.C. Brock (Ed.), Internationalizing the history of psychology. New York: New York University Press.
Malott, M. M. (2004). Toward the globalization of behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 27, 25-32.