Association for Behavior Analysis International

Webinar Series: From Persistent Rule-following to Political Polarization: Building an International Research Network (and What I Learned Along the Way)

Presenter: Dr. Colin Harte

Abstract: 

In this webinar, I trace my behavior-analytic research path from Ireland to Belgium to Brazil, while reflecting on how international collaboration shaped my scientific career. In so doing, I describe how a serendipitous introduction to relational frame theory led to a doctoral program on persistent derived rule-following and, ultimately, to an international research network spanning three continents. Alongside some substantive research findings, I discuss more recent work extending these analyses to political polarization. Drawing on these experiences, I offer reflections for students and early-career researchers on building and sustaining collaborations abroad: finding and approaching potential mentors, navigating funding and mobility, and following the data (and one's bliss) across borders. The talk aims to be useful to anyone considering an international academic career.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how different variables have been manipulated to investigate persistent rule-following when reinforcement contingencies are reversed
2. Explain how relational frame theory has begun to be extended to analyses of political polarization
3. Identify strategies for initiating international research collaborations as a student or early-career researcher
4. Consider some of the differences in career trajectories and funding/mobility pathways available to behavior analysts in different national contexts

Instruction Level: Basic

CE Available: BACB / IBAO / PSY

Date: Thursday, October 22nd.

Time: 11:00 AM EST