Colloquium

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The Department of Psychology and the CPGSO will be sponsoring two colloquia next Friday (4/17) afternoon from 3:00 to 5:00pm in 2303 Sangren Hall:

"Using the Behavioral Economics of Self-Control to Inform Clinical Practice" with Dr. Thomas J. Waltz, Ph.D. at 3:00pm

and

"Working with Difficult Clients: Overcoming Barriers to Behavior Change" with Dr. Claudia Drossel, Ph.D. at 4:00pm

Dr. Drossel and Dr. Waltz are both clinical behavior analysts with backgrounds in basic and applied research. Detailed abstracts of their talks are provided below.

----sponsored and funded by GSAC-----

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Using the Behavioral Economics of Self-Control to Inform Clinical Practice

with Thomas J. Waltz, Ph.D.

Basic behavior analysts have been studying behavioral economics for nearly 40 years. This presentation will focus on a particular area of this research that has been underutilized by clinical behavior analysts: reinforcer discounting. Reinforcer discounting involves the study of contextual variables that degrade the value of reinforcers and has been used as a model for impulsivity and self-control. The audience will learn about the common methods for assessing discounting and the measures used to characterize self-control from this perspective. A brief review of clinically relevant discounting research will be provided before new research investigating the relationships between discounting and traditional measures of psychological health and distress is presented. Finally, the audience will learn how to conceptualize the relationship between clinical interventions and changes in reinforcer discounting.

Working with Difficult Clients: Overcoming Barriers to Behavior Change
with Claudia Drossel, Ph.D.

Therapists, counselors, and other behavioral health coaches often find themselves in the puzzling and ubiquitous situation of strongly solicited yet unexecuted advice, sought but unimplemented care plans, and essential, albeit ignored intervention procedures. While the phenomenon of seeking treatment and seemingly refusing participation has been characterized as the treatment of “help-rejecting complainers” by some professionals (e.g., Yalom, 1995), it is more commonly known as “client resistance.” This presentation will reframe “resistance” as a complex set of factors constituting barriers to behavior change and discuss how strategies found in Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) may prevent or remove these barriers. Procedures and data from a DBT skills group for family caregivers of individuals with dementia, 41% of whom were referred by Elder Protective Services for elder neglect, abuse, or exploitation, will serve to illustrate how to address barriers and enhance client collaboration.

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Friday, April 10, 2009

The Effects of Individual and Group Monetary Incentives on High Performance

Dr. Heather McGee
Western Michigan University
Assistant Professor of Psychology
4:00pm
1710 Wood Hall

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April 7, 2009

Developmental, Family and Peer Influences on Adolescent Alcohol Use: Finding from the Baylor University Adolescent Alcohol Project.

 Dr. James H. Bray
Associate Professor in the Department of Family
& Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
President of the American Psychological Association
Visiting Scholars Program 2009
3:00-4:15 pm
1118 Rood

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Monday, February 9, 2009
Behavioral Research in Autism Intervention: Treatment Integrity and Outcomes
12:00 PM 1718 Wood Hall,

Contingency Management Interventions for Addictions
4:00pm, 1728 Wood Hall,


Friday, February 13, 2009
Using Verbal Behavior to Develop Communication Programs
Andy Bondy, Ph.D.
Andy Bondy, Ph.D. (UNC, Greensboro) is nationally recognized for his research, scholarship and consulting on functional communication training and alternative communication strategies for people diagnosed with autism and developmental disabilities.
4:00 PM 1710 Wood Hall

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Role of Caregiver Supervision in Children's Unintentional Injuries: Implications for Injury and Neglect Prevention
4:00pm 1728 Wood Hall,

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Neurologic Music Therapy: Neuroscientific Underpinnings and Clinical Applications
Ed Roth
School of Music
Western Michigan University

4:00 PM Friday, January 23, 2009
1710 Wood Hall

Ed Roth is the Coordinator of Clinical Studies in Music Therapy at WMU's nationally acclaimed School of Music. A board-certified Music Therapist and a Fellow of the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapists, Professor Roth conducts research on the neurological impact of music therapy on motor, language and cognitive functions.

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Simulation based assessment and training in high risk industries: Behavior analysis strategies to improve safety

Dr. Wayne Fuqua
Professor and Chair
Department of Psychology
Western Michigan University

4:00 PM Friday, November 21, 2008
1710 Wood Hall

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The Behavior of Organisms, 1938
70th Anniversary: Contributions to Behavior Analysis

Dr. Jack Michael
Western Michigan University, Emeriti
4:00 PM Friday, October 24, 2008
1710 Wood Hall

Dr. Jack Michael, a faculty member at WMU from 1967-2003, has been a researcher, teacher, and author in behavior analysis for over 50 years. He is best known for publishing the first behavior modification article in 1959, and for his work on motivation, verbal behavior, and college instructional technology. He was one of the founders of the Association for Behavior Analysis. Dr. Michael is a recipient of both WMU's Alumni Teaching Award and Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award, and in 2002 received the Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Behavior Analysis.

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From Bench to Bedside:  Translational Research on
 Behavior Therapy for Children with Tourette Syndrome

Dr. Doug Woods
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
2008 Outstanding Psychology Alumnus Award

4:00 PM Friday, September 12, 2008

1710 Wood Hall

Douglas Woods (Ph.D., 1999, Clinical Psychology) is an Associate Professor of Psychology and the Director of Clinical Training at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.   Dr. Woods is internationally known for his clinical research on repetitive behavior disorders such as Tourette’s Syndrome, trichotillomania (chronic hair pulling) and muscle tics.  A prolific researcher and writer, Dr. Woods has published five books and over 100 research and scholarly articles.

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An interactive multi-media behavioral activation program

 Dr. Amy Naugle and Dr. Richard Spates
Department of Psychology
Western Michigan University

4:00 PM Friday, April 18, 2008
1710 Wood Hall

 Long-term cognitive effects of cerebral malaria in Ugandan children

 Dr. Michael Boivin, Ph.D., MPH
Michigan State University

 4:00 PM Friday, March, 21, 2008
1710 Wood Hall

Michael J. Boivin, Ph.D., MPH, is Associate Professor in the Neurology and in the Psychiatry Departments at Michigan State University and based in the International Neurologic and Psychiatric Epidemiology Program (INPEP). He is also an Adjunct Research Investigator in the Neuropsychology Section at the University of Michigan. He has a Ph.D. from Western Michigan University in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and an MPH from the University of Michigan in Public Health Policy and Administration. He served as a Fulbright senior research scholar to DR Congo (1990-91) and Uganda (2003-04), and recently completed a three-year term as a Fulbright senior scholar peer reviewer for the Regional Africa Research Program and lecture/research awards to East Africa.  Presently his focus has been on health factors influencing the neuropsychological development of children in Africa, especially severe malaria and HIV.  Dr. Boivin is also PI on a three-year Templeton Foundation funded study on quality-of-life, neuropsychological, and immunological factors affected by Breast Cancer Treatment. This study is based at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.

Training and Research with Older Individuals at the Alliance Senior Day Program

Dr. Linda LeBlanc
Associate Professor
Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
Western Michigan University

3:30 PM Friday, February 15, 2008
1710 Wood Hall

Behavioral Ecology and Response Generalization: Creating Beneficial Side Effects within Safety Interventions

Dr. Tim Ludwig
Appalachian State University
4:00 PM Friday, November 30, 2007

A graduate of Virginia Tech, Dr. Ludwig is a Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University where he has won a number of University and State level awards for his teaching and his leadership of their nationally recognized IO Psychology and Human Resources Management Masters Program.  

Integrating positive behavior and literacy supports
at the schoolwide level- a state initiative

Steve Goodman and Margie McGlinchey

Behavior-Based Safety:  Multiple Replications and Long Term Success

Dr. Terry McSween

3:00 PM Friday, October 19, 2007 1718 Wood Hall

 Dr. Terry McSween (Ph.D., 1980, Applied Behavior Analysis) is founder and CEO of Quality Safety Edge, a company that specializes in the application of behavioral technology to promote employee safety and improve teamwork for an extensive list of national corporations.  He is also the founder and manager of Behavioral Safety Now, a major international conference on behavioral safety and  performance management.  He has published a number of articles on behavioral safety as well as a highly regarded book, The value-based safety process:  Improving your safety culture with a behavioral approach.   His work has been recognized with awards from the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Organizational Behavior Management Network.

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Private Events in a Natural Science

Dr. David Palmer
Smith College
4:00 PM Friday, May 11, 2007 1710 Wood Hall

David Palmer has undergraduate degrees in English and Geology. A fan of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, he borrowed copy of Skinner's Walden II and became enamored with the conceptual, philosophical and scientific aspects of Skinner's radical behaviorism. After experimenting with a Walden II style community, he entered graduate school at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he studied with Beth Sulzer-Azaroff and John Donahoe. With Donahoe, Palmer coauthored Learning and Complex Behavior, which applies the science of behavior and the physiology of learning to the explanation of complex behavioral issues. He is nationally recognized for his scholarship on conceptual issues involving complex human behavior including verbal behavior and covert behavior.

The Professional Credential in Behavior Analysis: Status, Impact, and Future

Dr. Jerry Shook
Founder and Executive Director, Behavior Analyst Certification Board
and Recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Psychology Alumnus Award  

4:00 Friday, April 20, 2007 1710 Wood Hall

Dr. Jerry Shook received his Ph.D. degree in Behavior Analysis from WMU’s Department of Psychology in 1981. In 1998, Dr. Shook founded the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), a non-profit corporation whose mission is to develop, promote and implement an international certification program for behavior analyst practitioners.  Since, 2000, the BACB has established training guidelines and administered professional competency exams, a process that has resulted in the credentialing of over 4000 behavior analysis practitioners in 9 countries.  The BACB has also reviewed and approved academic training curricula for behavior analysis practitioners in over 75 universities.  His work has greatly enhanced the quality of training and the professional stature of behavior analysis practitioners. His contributions to the discipline have also been recognized by the receipt of a Professional Service Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis and by his election as a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis.

Three Rs for Psychology in the Schools: Reading, Resting, & Getting it Right

Mike Hixson, Carl Merle Johnson & Sharon Bradley-Johnson
Department of Psychology Central Michigan University

4:00 PM Friday, March 16, 2007 1718 Wood Hall

Also: Meeting for graduate and undergraduate students who might be interested in attending CMU and being involved in the author's grant funded project: March 16, 2-3PM, 2734 Wood Hall

The three segments of this colloquium will demonstrate how helpful data can be in improving services for children. The first R will address the importance of stimulus control in planning instruction in the area of reading. The second R will cover childhood sleep disorders and the importance of sleep for children and adolescents. The Getting it Right section will address children with low-incidence disabilities. An example will be presented showing how data debunked a long-standing myth regarding blind babies. Also, a data-based model will be presented for more accurate diagnosis of autism.

4th Annual Behavior Analysis Research Conference
10:00-4:00 2304 Sangren Hall
February 23, 2007

Achieving Excellence in
K-6 Elementary Education:  A Data-Driven Program 

Howard Farris, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of Psychology
Western Michigan University
 4:00 PM Friday, January 19, 2007
1718 Wood Hall

Ritualistic Behavior in Children with Autism
Linda A. LeBlanc, Ph.D.
Friday December 2, 2005
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
1710 Wood

The Role of Behavior Analysis in the Development of Effective, Scaleable, Instructional Technology
Greg Stikeleather
Friday, October 21, 2005
3 p.m. 1728 Wood Hall

Psychology Faculty Colloquium
Friday September 2, 2005
4:00-5:30 p.m. 1718 Wood Hall
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2nd Annual
Behavior Analysis Program Research Conference

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Theory, Technology & Behavior: Lessons from the Lab & the Field

Donald Hantula, Ph.D.
Friday, March 18
3:30 - 5:00 PM, Wood Hall 1710

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Modern Training Techniques as a Critical Tool in Zoo and Aquarium Animal Care

Ken Ramirez
Director of Animal Training at Shedd Aquarium
Colloquium
Friday, March 18
2:00 p.m.
1710 Wood Hall

Roundtable discussion with students
11:30 – 1:00
3715 Wood Hall

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Delay and choice: The use of system delays to produce behavior change

Ronald Van Houten, Ph.D.
Friday, March 11
3:00 – 4:00 PM, Wood Hall 1710

Ron Van Houten is a Professor of Psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. A nationally recognized expert in behavior based safety; Dr. Van Houten has published numerous articles in leading behavior analysis, safety and transportation journals. He has received over two million dollars in grants to support his research on traffic and pedestrian safety. He is interviewing for a faculty position in the Behavior Analysis program of the Psychology Department.

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A Behavior Analyst’s Reaction to the 9/11 Commission Report

 Mark Alavosius, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Western Michigan University
 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004 
2708 Wood Hall