Perspectives on the Field of Behavior Analysis.

Abstract

Absolute truth is a legend. It is real as Bigfoot, UFOs, and Santa Claus. I think. Perhaps, more data will get us closer to capital T truth, but for now, we better keep it lowercase t. For centuries, philosophers have debated the objectiveness of our world and cautioned us about how our own participation in the observation of events may bias or taint the objective nature of such inquiry. In this issue of Behavior Analysis in Practice (BAP), we must remind ourselves once again about trying to capitalize the T in what we feel as truth. Where we stand as an observer positions ourselves to see things from a certain perspective. The series of commentaries on the Dixon et al. (2015) paper that ranked graduate training programs and faculty research productivity provide 14 different opinions about truth. A similar example can be found with Putman and Knoster paper that replies to many critics of PBIS, some of which appeared in a prior issue of Behavior Analysis in Practice . Both the research ranking and PBIS discussion/response series of BAP in 2015 illustrate the sometimes unsettling reality that Truth has yet to be found. Instead, discourse such as this helps researchers and clinicians hone the questions of tomorrow, and also refine the perspective by which they approach and observe the event in question. Furthermore, these intellectual exercises help move closer towards T even if we never can actually capitalize it.