Association for Behavior Analysis International

Skinner’s 1945 treatise, “An Operational Analysis of Psychological Terms,” established a defining and fundamental characteristic of radical behaviorism by emphasizing the necessity of understanding scientific verbal behavior in terms of the same principles applied to the understanding of any behavior – that is, in terms of its antecedents and consequences. Further, his call for a functional analysis of any psychological concept was predicated on the position that only such an analysis would lead to more effective action with respect to the subject matter at issue. To the extent that “service” contributes to the survival of our discipline and world view, it follows that an examination of the conditions under which we speak of “service” may prove useful in our efforts to target and increase such activities. Thus, this talk will review some of the varied forms of professional activity that occasion service descriptions, with an eye toward creating and identifying opportunities, facilitating the professional actions needed, and consequating service efforts effectively.

Vincent Strully, Jr., CEO and Founder of The New England Center for Children (NECC®), is proud to accept the 2017 SABA Award for International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis on behalf of NECC. Despite the growing acceptance and demand for behavior analytic services, there are considerable challenges to developing sustainable models of service delivery internationally, including language barriers, differences in cultural practices, and funding considerations. Over the past 40 years, we have identified several components that are essential for the development of sustainable models of service delivery worldwide. Government funding and support are critical for success, as are training programs that provide local staff access to graduate-level instruction in behavior analysis. Also, NECC’s development of the Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia (ACE®), an application providing an interactive interface containing assessment tools, lesson plans, teaching materials, and student performance reports for over 1,900 skills, has provided an effective and efficient curriculum necessary for delivering sustainable services.

Behavior analysis has been foundational for a broad range of treatment and prevention interventions. However, there are reasons to believe that behavior analysts are not contributing to the improvement of societal wellbeing to the extent that B. F. Skinner envisioned in his seminal writings. In the past 2 years, I have spoken with hundreds of behavior analysts, many of whom expressed this kind of concern. I will summarize these concerns and suggest principles that might help behavior analysis as a field fulfill its promise to bring about unprecedented advances in human wellbeing. Specifically, I will suggest changing the criteria regarding what a behavior analysts should know from one that restricts our focus to practices and methods that are explicitly labeled as “behavior analytic” to one that encourages behavior analysts to embrace any empirical evidence or methods that contribute to human wellbeing, initiating much more empirical research on strategies for influencing climate change, and forging alliances with other areas of behavioral science.

Behavior Analysis has been a significant focus of the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington since 1976. The department’s contributions to the field can be measured in research, teaching, and service. The faculty have published hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters spanning the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and translational research. Faculty and students closely collaborate on research, including: basic learning principles, choice, teaching, behavioral pharmacology, behavioral economics, stimulus control, memory span, contingency management, functional analysis, preference assessment, health behavior, animal behavior, and pediatric feeding. In addition to training countless undergraduate students in behavior analysis, the program has graduated 96 master’s students who have completed a thesis with a behavior analytic focus, and will begin training Ph.D. students in behavior analysis in 2017. Faculty have served in leadership roles within ABAI and Div. 25 of APA, and various other national, state and regional organizations. They have served as editors or editorial board members for key journals such as The Behavior Analyst, JEAB and JABA. The presentation will include a brief history of the department’s contributions, as well as a description of its vision for the training of behavior analysts.

Board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.