William L. Heward
is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. A Fellow and Past President of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Bill 's research interests include "low-tech" methods for increasing the effectiveness of group instruction and promoting the generality of newly learned skills. Publications include co-authoring the books, Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd ed., 2020), Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (12th ed., 2022), and Let’s Make a Contract: A Positive Way to Change Your Child’s Behavior (2022). Awards recognizing Bill's contributions to education and behavior analysis include the Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education Award from the American Psychological Association's Division 25 and the Ellen P. Reese Award for Communication of Behavioral Concepts from the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Title: ABA from A-to-Z: Behavior Science Applied to 350 Domains of Socially Significant Behavior
Abstract:
Seventy years ago, Skinner proposed that behavior analysis could be a generalpurpose science relevant to the entire hu man experience. Pioneering experiments testing Skinner's thesis in the 1950s and early 1960's laid the groundwork for applied behavior analysis (ABA), the practical wing of behavior science. An inventory of the wide range of socially significant behaviors that behavior analysts have addressed shows the science's growth, scope, and premise. Although advocates claim ABA has world-changing potential, beyond a few exceptions, large-scale impact has been limited. Using advice from the field's founding generation, this talk will suggest actions behavior analysts can take to help fulfill ABA's tremendous premise to help make the world a better place.
Michelle Kelly
Dr Michelle Kelly graduated from Maynooth University with a BA Hons degree in Psychology in 2006; and with a doctorate in Psychological Science (Applied Behaviour Analysis and Therapy) in 2011. She completed a postdoc with Trinity College’s Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN) and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (2011-2014), where she was responsible for the research and development of evidence-based brain health interventions for older adults and people with dementia. Michelle took up a lecturing post in psychology and behaviour analysis in Maynooth University from 2014-2017, before subsequently moving to the National College of Ireland (NCI). Michelle is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department in NCI and co-directs the ProBrain Research Lab. She is a PI on research projects funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC) and the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, and contributes to research and clinical placement supervision in Trinity College Dublin, Galway University, Maynooth University, and the International CST Centre in University College London. Michelle is the Chair of the NCI Psychology Ethics Subcommittee, Chair of the Psychological Society of Ireland’s (PSI) Division of Behaviour Analysis (DBA), a member of the PSI Undergraduate and Postgraduate Accreditation Committees, and an editorial board member for Behaviour Analysis in Practice.
Title: Applications of behaviour analysis with an ageing population
Abstract:
With an ageing population comes challenges associated with supporting older adults to maintain functional independence and quality of life. As the number of older adults in our societies continues to grow, it is important for behavioural professionals to understand when and how behaviour analysis can be applied to promote positive outcomes. Behavioural gerontology makes significant contributions to improving the lives of older adults with and without disabilities, and work in this area is garnering increasing interest. The aim of this presentation is to (1) define behavioural gerontology and discuss its relevance; (2) provide a general overview of applications of behavioural approaches that can improve the lives of older adults; and (3) focus on the area of Cognitive Rehabilitation (CR) for people living with early-stage dementia, either in the community or in disability services. I will describe an ongoing multi-disciplinary research project where students on Applied Behaviour Analysis courses in Trinity College Dublin and University of Galway are completing supervised experience placements in a National Memory Clinic in Ireland to support greater implementation of CR. The presentation will conclude with recommendations and practical tips for supporting increased application of behaviour analysis with older adults.
Louise Denne
Dr Louise Denne is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Warwick. She is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) with over 20 years' experience of supporting children and young people with behavioural, developmental and intellectual disabilities including autistic people. Her research interests are the dissemination of evidence based practice and behavioural interventions and in particular research that aligns policy with practice. Dr Denne is a member of the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis and is currently co-opted to its Education Committee and Neurodiversity Working Group. She also serves on the International Liaison Committee of L’Organisation Nationale des Professions de l’Analyse du Comportement (ONPAC) in France and is a member of the Sharland Foundation Developmental Disabilities Applied Behavioral Research Impact Network. She is on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Positive Behavioural Support.
Title: Complexities in the implementation of evidence-based practices
Abstract:
There is an apparent disconnect between the understanding of best practice and service delivery in the support of people with intellectual disabilities at risk of behaviours that challenge. Arguably this is a problem of implementation. Drawing upon ideas from implementation science, and illustrated by recent developments in Positive Behavioural Support in the UK, this presentation highlights the complexities involved in the implementation of all evidence-based practices. It presents a framework to propose ways in which an infrastructure that facilitates the delivery of services in the intellectual disabilities field might be built.
Armando Machado
I was an undergraduate student in Psychology at the University of Lisbon, studied for two years at the Université de Liège, Belgium, and then, in 1993, I obtained my PhD at Duke University, USA. My doctoral research on the conditions in which pigeons generate highly variable, random-like behavior received the Annual Dissertation Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. From 1994 till 2000, I was a professor at Indiana University (first Assistant and then Associate with tenure). In 2000 I moved to the University of Minho, Portugal, where I set up the first laboratory in Portuguese Psychology Departments to study animal behavior and learning. In 2019, I joined the University of Aveiro. In most of my studies, I contrast data with the predictions of simple quantitative models of behavior and cognition. In addition to the Psychology of Learning, I have interests in the teaching of basic Probability and Statistics in Psychology and in the History of Psychology. My work has been published in various journals and funded by The National Institutes of Health in the USA and the Portuguese Science Foundation. I served as Chief Editor of the journal Behavior and Philosophy and as Associate Editor of the journals Learning and Behavior, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, and the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. I was the Program Chair and then the President of the American Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. From 2005 till 2011 I was the first president of the Portuguese Association of Experimental Psychology.
Title: Timing: From the age of discovery to the age of model selection
Abstract:
Over the last one hundred years, we identify three periods in the study of animal timing, each period characterized by a dominant activity. In the first period, researchers brought timing into the laboratory and explored its multiple expressions. It was the age of empirical discovery. In the second period, researchers developed a variety of models to integrate the growing body of research findings, models that varied in their assumptions, scope, depth, and quantitative explicitness. It was the age of model building. In the current third period, we claim, researchers select models by comparing them with one another and with data. It is the age of model comparison and selection. We make our claim by contrasting how two specific models, Scalar Expectancy Theory and the Learning-to-Time model, conceive of temporal memory and learning both in concurrent and retrospective timing tasks. In the process, we identify four problems related to the structure of temporal memory and to the rules of temporal learning that challenge these and other models and that should steer future efforts in modeling animal timing abilities.
Richard J. May
is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Education at the University of South Wales where he teaches and provides supervision to students enrolled on the Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Behaviour Analysis BSc and MSc programmes. Dr May’s research interests span the areas of derived stimulus relations, intellectual disabilities, verbal behaviour, gambling, and meta-science. Dr. May currently serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Perspectives on Behavior Science. He is also a member of the Sharland Foundation Developmental Disabilities Applied Behavioral Research Impact Network and serves as the Co-Chair for the Teaching Skills sub-group.
Title: Advancing Behaviour Analysis Through Open Science: Current Practices and Future Opportunities
Abstract:
Science is currently undergoing an "open science revolution," characterised by a push for greater transparency, accessibility, and reproducibility. This movement, driven by concerns over the so-called replication crisis and the need for more robust research practices, has led to widespread changes in how research is conducted, reported, and disseminated. Against this backdrop, this presentation examines the current state of open science practices within behaviour analysis and explores the potential benefits of wider adoption. I will begin by providing an overview of key open science initiatives, such as pre-registration, open data, and replication efforts, and explore at whether such practices have been embraced within our field. I will then outline some practical steps that behaviour analytic researchers, practitioners, and organisations might consider in order to integrate open science practices into their work. I will argue that by embracing open science principles, behaviour analysis can increase its rigor, expand its impact, and strengthen its position in the behavioural sciences and evidence-based practice.
Carol Pilgrim
received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1987 with a specialization in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. She is currently Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she has been honored with a Distinguished Teaching Professorship (1994-1997), the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award (2003), the Faculty Scholarship Award (2000), and the Graduate Mentor Award (2008). She received the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award and the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award in 1992, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017, among other honors. Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior, relational stimulus control, and the early detection of breast cancer. Dr. Pilgrim has served as editor of The Behavior Analyst, associate editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and The Behavior Analyst, co-editor of the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin, and as a member of the editorial boards of those and several other journals. She is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and of Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. She has served as President of the Association for Behavior Analysis twice, as well as President of the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, Division 25 of the American Psychological Association, and the Southeastern Association for Behavior Analysis. Additionally, she has been Member-at-large of the Executive Council of ABA and Division 25, and member of the Boards of Directors of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Title: Translational Science in Behavior Analysis: A Case History from Research on Stimulus Equivalence
Abstract:
Much is made in the scientific literature these days about the importance of translational science. While familiar within medical science (e.g., the classic “bench to bedside” trickle down of laboratory research into actual practice), the concept of translational work in other sciences has not always been appreciated. Within the field of psychology, for example, and despite characterization in terms of the scientist-practitioner model, careful laboratory research is typically conducted by one group of professionals while the practice of psychology is conducted by another, often with little in the way of cross-talk among these groups. This presentation will explore some features of translational science and illustrate its benefits with examples from research on stimulus equivalence, arguably a poster-child for the potential that comes with a translational approach. Laboratory and application studies with young children employing a nontraditional equivalence-based instructional approach will be described, with an emphasis on their implications for further questions to be considered in basic, applied, and conceptual behavior analysis.
Patrick Romani
is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He practices as a Licensed Psychologist and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral on a specialized psychiatric inpatient unit for youth diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disabilities engaging in severe problem behavior. His clinical and research work involves identifying effective interdisciplinary practices to support collaborative, and high-quality patient care in hospital settings. Dr. Romani serves on the editorial boards of several behavior-analytic journals, including Behavior Analysis in Practice and Journal of Behavioral Education, and has published over 40 peer-reviewed research papers on the application of behavior analysis to hospital settings.
Title: Practical strategies to establish interdisciplinary care for youth diagnosed with developmental disabilities engaging in severe problem behaviors within hospital settings
Abstract:
Youth diagnosed with developmental disabilities engage in challenging behavior more often than their typically developing peers. As such, hospital settings are increasingly establishing specialized services for this group of individuals. Unfortunately, little research to support behavior-analytic practitioners transitioning into hospital settings exists. The purpose of this presentation will be to describe interdisciplinary services on a specialized psychiatric inpatient unit for youth engaging in severe problem behaviors. While discussing clinical programming, a focus on sharing practical strategies to develop and sustain the role of Applied Behavior Analysis in these settings will be discussed.
Back to basic: on teaching experimental analysis of behaviour
Zuilma Gabriela Sigurðardóttir, Ricardo Pellón, Armando Machado
Back to basics: on teaching experimental analysis of behaviour
Moderator: Gabriela E. López-Tolsa
Panelists:
Zuilma Gabriela Sigurðardóttir
Ricardo Pellón
Armando Machado
Abstract:
Recently, the importance of training on basic behavior analysis for all behavior analysts has been recognized. The goal of the panel will be to open a forum in which three experts, each with extensive experience in teaching experimental analysis of behaviour, will share their insights and expertise on the subject. The panellists will discuss the challenges inherent in teaching experimental analysis of behaviour, emphasize the importance of understanding the basic principles of behaviour to effectively function as an applied behaviour analyst, and encourage the development of new professionals in the field of experimental behaviour analysis to contribute to the advancement of behaviour analysis as a scientific discipline.
Carving a Path for Diverse Applications of Behavior Analysis
Jennifer L. Austin, Christopher J. Seel, Hanna Steinunn Steingrimsdottir, Bára Denný Ívarsdóttir
Carving a Path for Diverse Applications of Behavior Analysis
Moderator: ...
Panelists:
Jennifer L. Austin
Christopher J. Seel
Hanna Steinunn Steingrimsdottir
Bára Denný Ívarsdóttir
Abstract:
...
Zuilma Gabriela Sigurðardóttir
Zuilma Gabriela Sigurðardóttir finished her BA in psychology in 1985 at the University of Iceland, her MA in Behavior Analysis and Therapy in 1989 at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and her PhD in Psychology in 1992 at Northeastern University-Boston. She entered academia full time in 1999 as assistant professor of behavior analysis in the psychology department of the University of Iceland, became associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2018. She has taught behavior analysis at all academic levels. She was president of the European Association for Behavior Analysis in 2015-2017 and past-president in 2017-2020. Her research interests include the analysis of language acquisition from a stimulus equivalence paradigm and applied behavior analysis in various contexts. Her research has been published in JEAB, JABA, TAVB. She has served as associate editor of EJOBA and JOBE for many years. She was an exchange teacher at the University of Latvia with Erasmus fellowships in 2015-2019 and led the establishment of the Baltic Association for Behavior Analysis. She teaches Latvian students through the internet. She aided in coordinating the first conference on behavior analysis in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2016. She regularly serves as board chairman of the newly established Applied Behavior Analysis masters program at the University of Iceland.
Ricardo Pellón
got the Degree in Psychology in 1980 and in 1987 defended his PhD in the area of Experimental Psychology, both at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain). He has held research positions at the University of Cardiff, UK (1981-1984) and the Addiction Research Centre of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, USA (1990-1991). In 2005-2006 he spent a sabbatical leave at Arizona State University, USA. He is currently Professor of Psychology at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain, where he directs an Animal Learning and Behaviour Lab working predominantly (but not exclusively) on animal models of excessive behavior, such as schedule-induced polydipsia and activity-based anorexia, both using laboratory rats as experimental subjects. He has published in international journals in the areas of learning and behavior, behavioral pharmacology, and neural substrates of behavior. He teaches undergraduate students in Psychology, supervises master and doctorate researchers at different universities, and is normally involved in managerial aspects of the university life.
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Armando Machado
I was an undergraduate student in Psychology at the University of Lisbon, studied for two years at the Université de Liège, Belgium, and then, in 1993, I obtained my PhD at Duke University, USA. My doctoral research on the conditions in which pigeons generate highly variable, random-like behavior received the Annual Dissertation Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. From 1994 till 2000, I was a professor at Indiana University (first Assistant and then Associate with tenure). In 2000 I moved to the University of Minho, Portugal, where I set up the first laboratory in Portuguese Psychology Departments to study animal behavior and learning. In 2019, I joined the University of Aveiro. In most of my studies, I contrast data with the predictions of simple quantitative models of behavior and cognition. In addition to the Psychology of Learning, I have interests in the teaching of basic Probability and Statistics in Psychology and in the History of Psychology. My work has been published in various journals and funded by The National Institutes of Health in the USA and the Portuguese Science Foundation. I served as Chief Editor of the journal Behavior and Philosophy and as Associate Editor of the journals Learning and Behavior, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, and the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. I was the Program Chair and then the President of the American Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. From 2005 till 2011 I was the first president of the Portuguese Association of Experimental Psychology.
Jennifer L. Austin
has worked as a behavior analytic researcher and clinician for over 25 years. Her research and clinical interests have focused primarily on behavior analytic applications in education, as well as applying our science to populations that are relatively underserved by the field, including prisoners, children in mainstream education, and children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Dr. Austin received her Ph.D. from the Florida State University and was formerly Professor of Psychology and Head of Behavior Analysis at the University of South Wales in the United Kingdom. She joined the behavior analysis faculty at Georgia State University in 2022. In 2020, she received a Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis award for her contributions to the international development of behavior analysis. She is a former President of the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis, a former Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and a current Associate Editor of Behavior Analysis in Practice.
Christopher J. Seel
is the Clinical Lead of the Behaviour Analysis Clinic at the University of South Wales (USW). He has worked in the field of behaviour analysis for over a decade and received his PhD at USW in 2023. His doctoral research concerned behaviour analytic interventions to tackle prisoner misconduct and rehabilitation within adult prisons. More recently he has also conducted research on extending contingency management procedures to promote abstinence from gambling.
Hanna Steinunn Steingrimsdottir
is an Associate Professor at Reykjavik University, co-leader of The Behavior Analysis Research Lab at Reykjavik University, Iceland, and a member of the Experimental Studies of Complex Human Behavior Lab at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway. Her main interests are in general issues related to stimulus control and stimulus class formation, with particular emphasis on issues related to stimulus control in older adults and adults with neurocognitive disorders. She is a member of the Behavioral Gerontology Special Interest Group (BG-SIG) of ABAI, where she has served as a secretary and as an international representative. She is on the editorial board for the European Journal of Behaviour Analysis, has served as guest editor for a special issue in the Norwegian Journal of Behavior Analysis, and is a guest reviewer for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Hanna Steinunn is currently a board member of the Icelandic Association for Behavior Analysis and on the program committee for the Norwegian Association for Behavior Analysis.
Bára Denný Ívarsdóttir
works as a Behavior Analyst in an interdisciplinary team at the Outpatient Department of Endocrinology at The National University Hospital of Iceland. Her work consists mainly of assisting individuals with diabetes, offering solutions to the challenges associated with poor diabetes management, whether it´s the result of behavioral excesses or deficits. Bára Denný completed a bachelor's degree in developmental therapy studies at Högskolen in Östfold Norway in 1989, a diploma course in management and strategy at the University of Oslo in 1996 and a master's degree in applied behavior analysis at the University of Iceland in 2022.