The Renaissance of the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior

Abstract

Ten years ago, a number of authors commented on the dismal state of the basic research area known as the experimental analysis of human behavior (EAHB). At that time, data on the number of research articles using human subjects published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) indicated little progress since the early 1960s. However, updated publication data through 1991 reveal that EAHB research has accelerated in the last decade, reaching a peak of nearly half of all research articles published in JEAB, with an increasing trend evident. The increase in this percentage is not due solely to a long-term declining trend in the total number of experimental articles in JEAB using either human or nonhuman subjects, a trend that appears to have slowed or stabilized in the last 6 years. These data indicate that the EAHB has made dramatic progress in a decade and is healthy and growing.