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| The Role of Values in a Science Driven Technology |
| Monday, May 30, 2005 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| Lake Huron (8th floor) |
| Area: CSE/TPC; Domain: Theory |
| Chair: Maria R. Ruiz (Rollins College) |
| CE Instructor: Maria R. Ruiz, Ph.D. |
| Panelists: JAMES M. JOHNSTON (Auburn University), JUDITH E. FAVELL (AdvoServ), GINA GREEN (San Diego State University), SIGRID S. GLENN (University of North Texas) |
| Abstract: Values can be seen as bits of verbal behavior that specify or imply contingencies governing the behavior of the individual or group espousing those values. Like other disciplines, behavior analysis has certain values, which influence and are influenced by societal and cultural values. Applied behavior analysis has a long history of addressing issues associated with cultural values, particularly through its involvement in the area of developmental disabilities including normalization, respect for the individual, social validation, least restrictive alternative, dignity, inclusion, self-determination, participation, and person-centeredness, among others. Our values may conflict with one another. These conflicts may remain at the level of an individual but often the conflict pits “good” for one individual against “good” for others; or “good” for now against “good” in the future; or “good” for our culture against “good” for the biosphere. Science-driven technologies make possible new “goods” but in the process increase the possibility for conflicting goods. The overarching values of behavior analysis are scientific ones. The challenge for applied behavior analysis is how to integrate cultural values with scientific values such as effectiveness – the standard by which we judge research literature and behavior change procedures – without sacrificing the scientific foundation that makes our technology effective. |
| JAMES M. JOHNSTON (Auburn University) |
 Dr. Johnston received his doctorate from the University of Florida in 1970 and is professor of Psychology at Auburn University. He has conducted both laboratory and field research with both human and non-human species on a variety of topics, ranging from rumination to canine olfaction, most recently serving as Director of Behavioral Research for the Institute for Biological Detection Systems. His present activities focus on longstanding interests in the area of developmental disabilities. He serves as director of the Department of Psychology’s Master’s Program in Applied Behavior Analysis in Developmental Disabilities and has for some years been involved with the Alabama Department of Mental health and Mental Retardation in facilitating the statewide delivery of sound habilitative services, following similar involvement in Florida’s mental retardation system while on the faculty of the University of Florida from 1975-1985. He has served as editor of The Behavior Analyst and on the editorial boards of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, among others. He has also served as president of the Association for Behavior Analysis, as well as for the Florida, Alabama, and Southeastern affiliate chapters of the Association, and is currently president of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. In addition to authoring numerous journal and technical publications, he has co-authored a text in research methods for studying behavior, now in a two-volume second edition, and has additional teaching interests in applied behavior analysis and in conceptual issues in the study of behavior. |
| JUDITH E. FAVELL (AdvoServ) |
 Judith E. Favell is CEO of AdvoServ, a multi-state network of treatment programs for children and adults with developmental and emotional challenges. Dr. Favell received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1966, and earned her Ph.D. in developmental and child psychology from the University of Kansas in 1970. Throughout her career as a clinician, researcher, teacher, lecturer and administrator, she has focused on the understanding and treatment of serious behavior disorders, such as self-injurious and aggressive behavior in individuals with autism. Her work has encompassed not only clinical domains, but also organizational, regulatory, legal and policy issues, for example through testifying, chairing national task forces, serving as expert witness and writing guidelines and policies governing treatment in developmental disabilities.
Dr. Favell has authored numerous articles, monographs, chapters and books, edited a leading journal and several newsletters, and served on the editorial boards of many others. She has presented extensively both nationally and internationally on topics ranging from innovations in treatment to utilization of video technology with vulnerable and dependent populations. Her offices have included President of the International Association for Behavior Analysis and President of the American Psychological Association's Division on Developmental Disabilities. |
| GINA GREEN (San Diego State University) |
 Gina Green received a PhD in Psychology (Analysis of Behavior) from Utah State University in 1986 following undergraduate and master’s degree studies at Michigan State University. She has been a faculty member in Behavior Analysis and Therapy at Southern Illinois University; Director of Research at the New England Center for Children in Southborough, Massachusetts; Associate Scientist at the E.K. Shriver Center for Mental Retardation in Waltham, Massachusetts; and Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Green is currently in private practice in San Diego as a consultant and is on the faculty at San Diego State University and the University of North Texas. She has authored numerous publications on the treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities and brain injuries, as well as the experimental analysis of behavior. Dr. Green co-edited the books Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism and Making a Difference: Behavioral Intervention for Autism. She serves or has served on the editorial boards of several professional journals in developmental disabilities and behavior analysis. Dr. Green also serves on the Board of Trustees and the Autism Advisory Group of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, the Board of Directors of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, the Board of Directors of the California Association for Behavior Analysis, and the advisory boards of several autism programs and organizations. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, former president of the Association for Behavior Analysis, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Council for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. Psychology Today named her “Mental Health Professional of the Year” in 2000. Dr. Green lectures and consults widely on autism and related disorders, behavioral research, and effective interventions for people with disabilities. |
| SIGRID S. GLENN (University of North Texas) |
 Sigrid Glenn is Regents Professor of Behavior Analysis and was the founding chair of the Department of Behavior Analysis at UNT. She is a past president of ABA. Her published work includes empirical and theoretical journal articles, book chapters, and books, some of which is widely cited in publications of many different disciplines. |
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