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| Behavior Analysts Playing Well With Others: Challenges and Successes in Extending Bridges to Other Disciplines |
| Saturday, September 3, 2022 |
| 5:00 PM–5:50 PM |
| Auditorium |
| Area: EAB; Domain: Service Delivery |
| Chair: Carol Pilgrim (University of North Carolina Wilmington) |
| CE Instructor: Carol Pilgrim, Ph.D. |
| Panelists: PAULINE HORNE (Bangor University), SUZANNE MITCHELL (Oregon Health & Science University), RAMONA HOUMANFAR (University of Nevada, Reno) |
| Abstract: Since its earliest days, behavior analysis has been envisioned as a science uniquely well suited to the study and enhancement of the broadest possible range of human endeavors and behavioral phenomena, all with a consistent conceptualization and a common methodological approach. It is arguably still the case, however, that the lion’s share of work within our field falls within a limited number of spheres. The three panelists here each provide exemplary exceptions to this pattern. All three have braved the challenges of working outside the typical boundaries of our field, translating our approach to those who speak different scientific languages, and in doing so have fostered increased recognition and appreciation for behavior-analytic approaches from other disciplines. Dr. Pauline Horne is known for her pioneering work in synthesizing behavior analysis and more traditional approaches from human development, with attendant benefits to targets ranging from imitation to early verbal behavior to children’s diet and health. Dr. Suzanne Mitchell’s influential work on impulsivity, discounting, and behavioral pharmacology spans multiple disciplines and has been tremendously impactful in representing to them the strengths of a behavior-analytic approach. Dr. Ramona Houmanfar represents an internationally recognized and prize-winning career in guiding improvements at the group level in businesses and organizations with respect tobehavioral systems analysis, leadership, communication networks, and instructional design, among other critical operational targets. |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| Target Audience: Behavior Analysts |
| Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Describe projects illustrating an extension of behavior-analytic approaches to nontraditional arenas; (2) Describe some common obstacles that may be encountered in such work; (3) Describe the potential reinforcers to be gained from taking a behavior-analytic approach to new disciplines. |
| PAULINE HORNE (Bangor University) |
 Pauline Horne is Professor of Child Psychology at the School of Health and Behavioural Sciences at Bangor University, Wales, UK. In 1996, Horne & Lowe formulated a new account of early language development in which "Naming" is defined as a bi-directional speaker-listener relation which can produce behaviours not overtly trained. With the late Professor Fergus Lowe, Pauline has also led the development and evaluation of Food Dudes, a healthy eating programme for 2-12 year old children at home and school. The program incentivises children's repeated tasting of target fruit and vegetables using role-modelling videos that show each Food Dudes character gaining "special energy" when they eat their signature fruit/vegetable. Children receive Food Dudes-customised reinforcers initially for tasting each target fruit and vegetable, and thereafter for eating whole portions of those foods. The program also trains both the specific and category name for each target fruit and vegetable to promote name-based generalisation of the intervention to other "fruits" and "vegetables". Food Dudes was first developed and delivered regionally in UK main stream primary and special education schools. From 2007, using the same inclusive model, Food Dudes was next rolled out to all schools in the Republic of Ireland. To date 1.7 million children worldwide have benefitted from taking part. The positive and lasting impact of Food Dudes on children's diets has been recognised by awards including the World Health Organisation and UK Chief Medical Officers, UK. More recently, Pauline has developed "Dynamic Dudes" a complementary program in which the Food Dudes characters harness the "special energy" they acquire from eating fruit and vegetables to perfect their favourite activity skills (football; dance; martial arts; football). Dynamic Dudes targets children's cardiorespiratory fitness and mental wellbeing by increasing their daily moderate-high intensity activity at school. The combination of Food Dudes and Dynamic Dudes is termed "Super Dynamic Food Dudes". |
| SUZANNE MITCHELL (Oregon Health & Science University) |
 Suzanne H. Mitchell, Ph.D., is a Professor at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in the Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatry departments, and in the Oregon Institute for Occupational Health Sciences. She obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Hull, England and her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her thesis examined the economics of foraging behavior of rats, examining the role of the energetic costs and benefits in feeding. Her committee was chaired by Howard Rachlin, whose influence made her sensitive to the role of temporal costs as well as energetic costs in determining the value of food rewards. During a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago, Dr. Mitchell worked with Harriet de Wit focusing on using behavioral economics as an explanation for use of alcohol, cigarettes, and amphetamine in humans. Dr. Mitchell moved her lab to OHSU in 2001 from the University of New Hampshire to devote more time to research examining why drug users tend to be more impulsive than non-drug users using human and animal models. Most recently she has returned to her earlier interests in energetic costs and her research has increased its scope to include effort-related decision-making in clinical populations and understanding the genetic bases of choice. She has been continuously funded through NIH since 2003, has served on numerous NIH study sections as a member and as an ad hoc participant, and has received awards for education and for mentorship. She is currently the Science Board coordinator for the Association of Behavior Analysis International, President-Elect of the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior, and an Associate Editor for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. |
| RAMONA HOUMANFAR (University of Nevada, Reno) |
 Dr. Ramona A. Houmanfar is Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Behavior Analysis Program at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). She currently serves as the trustee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, Chair of the Organizational Behavior Management Section of Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, editorial board members of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and Behavior & Social Issues, and Co-Coordinator of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board at the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI). Dr. Houmanfar has served as the editor of Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, senior co-chair of the ABAI convention, Director of the Organizational Behavior Management Network and President of the Nevada Association for Behavior Analysis. Dr. Houmanfar has published over seventy peer reviewed articles and chapters, delivered more than 100 presentations at regional, national, and international conferences in the areas of behavioral systems analysis, cultural behavior analysis, leadership in organizations, rule governance, communication networks, instructional design, and bilingual repertoire analysis and learning. Her expertise in behavioral systems analysis and cultural behavior analysis have also guided her research associated with implicit bias, cooperation, situational awareness, decision making, and value based governance. Dr. Houmanfar has published three co-edited books titled “Organizational Change” (Context Press), "Understanding Complexity in Organizations", and “Leadership & Cultural Change (Taylor & Francis Group). Some recent accomplishments include being awarded ABAI Fellow designation, and publication of a co-edited book titled “Applied Behavior Science in Organization” (Taylor & Francis Group) sponsored by ABAI. |
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