West Virginia Universitys Department of Psychology will soon add another national honor to its growing list of accomplishments.
The Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis will present the Award for Enduring Programmatic Contributions to Behavior Analysis to department officials at the opening session of the Association for Behavior Analysis convention in Boston in May 2004.
In addition, the departments doctoral program in behavior analysis recently received full accreditation by the organization.
“This award recognizes the achievements of many faculty and studentsfrom each and every one of our doctoral programs in psychologywho have vigorously pursued the scientific, clinical, philosophical and societal aspects of behaviorism,”said professor and department Chair Michael Perone.
Previous recipients of the award include the Princeton Child Development Institute, the University of Kansas and the University of Florida.
“The WVU Program in Behavior Analysis is led by an outstanding faculty, and it offers an exceptional training opportunity to its students,”wrote the site reviewers.
WVU s behavior analysis graduate program trains students in basic research, theory and applications of behavior principles. Students develop skills in the experimental analysis of animal and human behavior, as well as a strong methodological and conceptual background for developing behavioral technologies through research, course work and practical experiences.
The programs goal is to produce psychologists qualified to teach and conduct research at universities or apply the principles and findings of the science of behavior to solving significant problems of human behavior in a variety of organizations, including corporations and social service agencies.
The program was founded at WVU in 1976 and has awarded 66 master’s and 60 doctoral degrees.
The behavior analysis program is one of three tracks available to WVU students pursuing graduate study in psychology. Students also may pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in life-span developmental psychology and adult or child clinical psychology.
The WVU Department of Psychology, which ranks fourth worldwide in research publication productivity in the area of behavior analysis and therapy, is one of 16 academic units within the Eberly College. The department has garnered a variety of honors and awards in recent years. Two years ago, the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy chose the departments doctoral program in clinical psychology as recipient of the 2001 Outstanding Training Program Award.
The Association for Behavior Analysis is an international membership association dedicated to promoting the experimental, theoretical and applied analysis of behavior. Established in 1974, the association is composed of 21 special interest groups and 36 affiliated chapters worldwide that work together to conduct an annual convention and to publish two scholarly journals, a newsletter and various other publications.