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| Why I Am a Behavior Analyst and an Advocate for Behavior Analysis (Are You?) |
| Monday, May 26, 2025 |
| 8:00 AM–8:50 AM |
| Marriott Marquis, M2 Level, Marquis Salon 1-5 |
| Area: PRA/AUT; Domain: Service Delivery |
| Chair: Claudia Drossel (Eastern Michigan University) |
| CE Instructor: William Ahearn, Ph.D. |
| Presenting Author: WILLIAM AHEARN (New England Center for Children) |
| Abstract: Though behavior is a product of environmental circumstances, those environmental circumstances are complex. Skinner suggested that phylogenic, ontogenic, and socio-cultural selection interact to produce the behavior of organisms. Humans are organisms that sometimes become behavior analysts. The ontogenic and socio-cultural circumstances that led the speaker to become a behavior analyst include a variety of clinical (and personal) challenges that have shaped a perspective. This perspective remains aligned with the assumption that behavior is a product of environmental circumstances. In so far as a behavior analyst can assess (or assert) value judgments, when behavior occurs there is no blame to ascribe to the person. However, socio-cultural practices demand attributions of causality and/or assertions of blame. As a field, behavior analysis is experiencing many challenges, from society at large, small segments of society (e.g., social media groups), and from within behavior analysis. This address will examine values from the perspective of our field as they pertain to ethical practice and will consider the views of social groups outside and within behavior analysis. There will be a discussion of how clinical practice should be both sensitive to and, occasionally, insulated from social movements. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Target Audience: This presentation is geared towards practicing behavior analysts but anyone interested in behavior analysis may be interested. |
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe how social practices should effect ethical practice
2. Describe how social practices should not effect ethical practice
3. Describe their obligation to critically evaluate the applied research literature as it relates to their practice as a professional |
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| WILLIAM AHEARN (New England Center for Children) |
 William H. Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LABA, is Director of Research at the New England Center for Children. Dr. Ahearn is currently the chair of the board that licenses behavior analysts in Massachusetts and serves as Editor-in-Chief for Behavioral Interventions. Bill’s research has received both federal and private funding. He currently serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and previously served on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis for about 20 years. Bill has published extensively, including on the treatment of repetitive behavior, treating pediatric feeding disorders, examining instructional strategies for play and social skills, and examining predictions of the Behavioral Momentum metaphor. Bill was named an ABAI Fellow in 2024. He was also named the 2009 American Psychological Association - Division 25 awardee for Enduring Contributions to Applied Behavioral Research (Nate Azrin award) and as the California Association for Behavior Analysis’s 2020 Outstanding Contributor. Bill is also a past-President of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts and the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy. In addition to providing voluntary service to CASP, Bill has also volunteered for Autism Speaks, state governmental agencies overseeing services for individuals with developmental disorders, and a number of behavior analytic organizations including ABAI. Dr. Ahearn has also delivered courses in behavior analysis at Temple University, Northeastern University, Regis College, and Western New England University. |
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