Association for Behavior Analysis International

The purpose of the annual meeting of members is for ABAI leadership to provide an update on the ongoing activities of and major developments in the association.

Women behavior scientists advance relevant and valuable perspectives on behavior analysis as a science and practice, perspectives that facilitate high quality training, mentoring, and civic engagement. Many scientists balance their pursuits of academic success with their roles and responsibilities as mothers and family members. However, cultural-level contingencies have not always recognized the contributions of women academicians, particularly when compared to their male colleagues. Yet the discipline has historically benefited from the contributions of many female scholars over the course of the decades. The purpose of this panel is to showcase the perspectives of prominent female behavior scientists who have held successful careers in academia and are contributors to the forthcoming ABAI book: Women in Behavior Science: Observations of Life Inside and Outside of the Academy. This panel is the third of three, focused on the later phases of one’s academic career and addressing topics such as life partners, values, expanding interests, and loss and grief.

Behavior scientists (and particularly) women working in or working toward positions in academic settings.

ABAI’s accreditation system has been around for decades with more programs seeking accreditation over the past few years than ever before. As interest and the need for accreditation grows, we invite you to learn about the process and experiences from the perspective of a few program coordinators. The panelists’ programs represent a range of accreditation experiences. This session is designed for program coordinators and those interested in recognition and accreditation.

The ABAI Executive Council has appointed a task force to study the use of contingent electric skin shock in the treatment of problem behavior. The members of the task force will summarize their work to date and welcome the viewpoints of invited guests as well as members of the audience.

In his seminal paper “Some Thoughts About the Future” (1986), Skinner delineated directions that he thought were critical for the experimental analysis of behavior to take in order to thrive in the future. Now seems to be a fitting time to reflect upon the ways in which behavior analysis as a discipline can flourish in the years ahead, particularly in light of the world’s recent sociocultural challenges. Skinner long envisioned that the science of behavior would mature sufficiently to be effectively applied at the level of a culture, where mechanisms of selection could be implemented in ways that supported the well-being of all members and the longevity of the group. I contend that a science of cultural behavior may be well poised to promote cultural change if synthesized with the research program and conceptual framework supplied by relational frame theory (RFT), and applied methods drawn from these innovations that help create a science of intentional change. In this presentation, I explore how cultural practices are selected and transmitted not only by direct-acting contingencies, but also due to the influence of verbal stimulus functions, or indirect acting contingencies. I provide examples from such diverse topics as political propaganda or rhetoric and prejudice and stigma. I further explore how acceptance and commitment training (ACT), scaled up and applied at a systems level, may be able to alter the functions of verbal stimuli so that cultural practices consistent with a community’s shared values can be established. Planning for the future requires a behavior analytic conceptualization of values, which has been traditionally defined as the reinforcers that maintain a culture’s practices. Challenges persist in arranging contingencies whereby people value not only the well-being of others but their culture’s future as well. RFT helps behavior analysts appreciate valuing as a verbal process, whereby statements of values enhance the efficacy of reinforcers for behaviors consistent with those values. This approach can help us develop a technology for promoting shared or collective values among communities of people, to include, for example, celebrating diversity, promoting the well-being of others, and caring about the future. Although the primary purpose of this address is to serve as a call to action for the broad-scale application of RFT and ACT to propel a behavior analytic science of cultural change, I conclude by suggesting that the discipline itself engage in something akin to values clarification to ensure that our field adapts to changing circumstances and shifts paradigms so that the field itself has longevity. We may not have time to waste.

All convention registrants are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

Join your friends and colleagues for one last night of music, dancing, and celebration!