West Virginia University Centennial Professor of Psychology Kennon Andy Lattal has been selected as the 2013 recipient of the American Psychological Association Division for Behavior Analysis Don Hake Translational Research Award. The award recognizes his extensive work in the experimental analysis of behavior.

“Our department is delighted that Dr. Lattal is bringing this particular honor to WVU because the award is named for one of our own faculty members, Don F. Hake, who was the first coordinator of the doctoral program in behavior analysis before his untimely death in 1982,” said Tracy Morris, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Psychology.

Of the many things about psychology that interests Lattal, the work he finds most rewarding is the work he does with students, both graduate and undergraduate. This work includes classroom experiences, research with student collaborators in his laboratory, and, as time and student interest permit, experiences in applied settings with pets.

“Dr. Lattal has an international reputation for experiments based on animal models that shed light on interesting aspects of human behavior,” Morris said. “For example, his research team has been working to explain why ‘lost,’ ‘forgotten,’ or ‘punished’ behavior sometimes comes back – a phenomenon that may hinder the elimination of bad habits, promote criminal recidivism, or cause recovering addicts to relapse.”

Lattal received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Alabama and joined the WVU faculty in 1972. He has authored 140 research articles and chapters on conceptual, experimental, and applied topics in behavior analysis.

He has mentored more than 40 doctoral students and every faculty member of WVU’s behavior analysis program since 1982. In addition to his named professorship, WVU recognized his scholarly work with its Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award. Lattal has also received the American Psychological Association’s Division 25 Distinguished Contributions to Basic Research Award.

In May 2013, Lattal is receiving the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis’s Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award.

Lattal is on sabbatical in France this spring semester.

For more information, contact Andy Lattal at 304-293-1705 or Andy.Lattal@mail.wvu.edu

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