Association for Behavior Analysis International

This is an annual ABAI Business Meeting where the leadership of the Association will provide an update of on-going activities and major developments in the Association. Attendees will learn from ABAI's president the direction of the ABAI Council and from the ABAI's CEO the status of finances and administration. Attendees will also hear from the board coordinators including Science, Education, Practice, Program, Membership, Affiliated Chapters and Publications.

Friends and colleagues of William Abernathy will gather to celebrate his life and his many contributions to the field. Dr. William Abernathy received his doctorate in I/O psychology from The Ohio State University and taught at Ohio University. He was an associate professor of psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University and vice-president of performance systems at Aubrey Daniels, International. Dr. Abernathy developed and coordinated a new master's degree in I/O psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University. Prior to joining Southeastern, he was the president of Abernathy and Associates in Memphis, TN. Dr. Abernathy authored three books: The Sin of Wages, Managing without Supervisors, and The Liberated Workplace—Transitioning to Walden III. He also published numerous articles in academic and trade publications, was an associate editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, a board member of The Cambridge Center, and recipient of the International Association for Applied Behavior Analysis Outstanding Contributor Award, plus Outstanding Contributor Award by the Organizational Behavior Management Network. Dr. Abernathy passed away in early March 2015. Behavior analysis has been enriched by Dr. Abernathy's lasting contributions, which shine as an exemplary model of rigorous and socially important behavior science.

Under the leadership of its Executive Council, ABAI has been crossing geographical borders for the past four decades, disseminating behavior analysis around the world through grants and awards, support of chapters on five continents, and conferences that welcome participation from behavior analysts across the globe. The consistent and unique epistemology of behavior analysis means that geographical borders need not be impediments to the advancement of our field. Paradoxically, however, the domains within behavior analysis (basic research, applied research, service delivery, and theory and philosophy) have created borders that have not been easy to cross or navigate, although many authors have pointed out that such navigation is critical. The ABAI Program Committee has been suggesting to presenters who primarily do basic research to discuss the applied implications of their work, and vice versa. Nevertheless, many behavior analysts still see our field as fragmented. What are the contingencies that make interaction among the different domains of behavior analysis so difficult? What are the contingencies that control the wrong assumption that some domains are more important than others? These contingencies will be analyzed, and recent data and data from the literature will be presented.

Psychologists, behavior analysts, practitioners, and graduate students.

Please join us, your friends, and colleagues for music and dancing. From 9:30 - 10:30, the ABAI Student Committeewelcomes all members to join them for a panel discussion, "Pavlov, Skinner, & Kantor walk into a bar..."between three great luminaries. Members of this panel will respond to questions by impersonating a prominent figure from the history of psychology. This year’s line-up includes Michael Domjan as Ivan Pavlov, Philip N. Hineline as B.F. Skinner, Linda J. Hayes as J.R. Kantor, and Michael Perone as the moderator. Discussion will be both enlightening and entertaining.