Saving the World by Teaching Behavior Analysis: A Behavioral Systems Approach

Abstract

This article presents a behavioral systems approach to organizational design and applies that approach to the teaching of behavior analysis. This systems approach consists of three components: goal-directed systems design, behavioral systems engineering, and performance management. This systems approach is applied to the Education Board and Teaching Behavior Analysis Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis, with a conclusion that we need to emphasize the recruitment of students and the placement and maintenance of alumni. This systems approach is also applied at the scale of the individual faculty member running a university-based training system and is seen to generate special approaches to textbook preparation, undergraduate research, colloquium and conference attendance, career counseling, preparation for graduate examinations, graduate training and graduate seminars, and classroom alternatives to the traditional lecture.