2011-12 Events and Colloquia

The Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University hosts presentations each year.

"OBESITY AND COMORBID PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS: FROM THE CLINIC TO THE SCIENCE"

Dr. Sherry Pagoto
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine
2011 Outstanding Psychology Alumnus Award

Oct. 7, 2011

Dr. Sherry Pagoto received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 2001 from Western Michigan University. She is an expert in behavioral treatments for obesity, both via her research and clinically. Her research is in the area of psychiatric comorbidities of obesity, with particular focus on depression, binge eating disorder, ADHD and severe mental illness. She is also an expert in behavioral activation treatment for depression, having published numerous papers in this area and conducted clinical trainings nationally and internationally. She has had NIH funding for her program of research consistently for the last 10 years. She has published over 60 papers, several book chapters, and is editor of the book Psychological Comorbidities of Physical Illness: A Behavioral Medicine Perspective. Pagoto was the 2006 recipient of the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Early Career/Young Investigator Award, is currently a Fellow of SBM, and is chair of the SBM Obesity and Diabetes Policy Action Team.

"VERBAL BEHAVIOR DEVELOPMENT AS WE UNDERSTAND IT NOW"

Dr. Doug Greer
Columbia University
Professor of Education and Psychology and
Coordinator of the Programs in Behavior Analysis
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Teachers College

Oct. 28, 2011

Dr. Doug Greer has taught at Columbia University Teachers College and Graduate School of the Arts and Sciences for 41 years, sponsored 155 Ph.D. dissertations, taught over 2,000 master students, founded the Fred S. Keller School, authored 13 books and 155 research and conceptual papers, served on the editorial board of 10 journals, and developed the CABAS® school model for special education and the Accelerated Independent Model for general education (K-5). He has received the American Psychology Association's Fred S. Keller Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education, International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis by the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Contributions to The Fred S. Keller School, and May 5 was named the R. Douglas Greer Day by the Westchester County Legislature. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and a CABAS® Board Certified Senior Behavior Analyst and Senior Research Scientist.

"PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION THERAPY: AN EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT FOR DISRUPTIVE CHILD BEHAVIOR"

Dr. Amy Damashek
Western Michigan University
Assistant Professor

Dec. 2, 2011

Dr. Amy Damashek received her Ph.D. from University of Missouri-Columbia in 2007 and completed her internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Damashek teaches courses in abnormal child psychology, lifespan development, child behavior therapy, and psychological assessment. Her research interests are in the area of unintentional childhood injury and child maltreatment. Her recent research has focused on the role of caregiver supervision in children's unintentional injuries, particularly among low-income families. Damashek is also interested in cultural differences among parents with regard to their safety beliefs and child injury prevention practices. In addition, she has conducted research on factors related to client engagement in home-based services to prevent child neglect (i.e., SafeCare) and is interested in implementing evidence-based child maltreatment interventions and prevention programs in the state of Michigan. Clinically, Damashek is well-versed in evidence-based psychotherapies for child and adolescent behavior problems, treatment of inappropriate youth sexual behaviors, and treatment of child PTSD.

"BIO-BEHAVIORAL APPROACHES TO THE ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF AUTISM"

Dr. Wayne Fisher, Ph.D., BCBA
Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
H.B. Munroe Professor of Behavioral Research at the Munroe-Meyer Institute

Dec. 8, 2011

Dr. Wayne Fisher is the director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. He has also served as a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and as the executive director for the neurobehavioral program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute where he established nationally recognized clinical and research programs in autism. A prolific researcher, Dr. Fisher has published widely in the field of autism, including research on choice, preference assessment and treatment of autism. Fisher has served as an editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and has received the Bush Leadership Award for distinguished contributions to applied behavioral research.

"GENTLE TEACHING: A REVIEW OF THE DATA AND SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE"

Shawn Quigley, M.Ed., BCBA and Sean Field, BCBA, graduate students
(co-author, Stephanie Peterson Ph.D., BCBA-D), professor
Western Michigan University

Feb. 17, 2012

Shawn Quigley and Sean Field are doctoral students in the behavior analysis program at Western Michigan University. They conduct research on evidence-based practices for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders and severe behavioral problems.

"LOOKING AT VERBAL BEHAVIOR FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE: RELATIONAL RESPONDING AND DERIVED STIMULUS RELATIONS"

Timothy Weil, Ph.D., BCBA
University of South Florida

Feb. 28, 2012

Dr. Timothy Weil received his Ph.D. in psychology from University of Nevada, Reno in 2006. He was an assistant in psychology at Florida State University from 2006-07 where, as faculty, he served as the coordinator of the master's program in Applied Behavior Analysis and taught courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. He is the practicum coordinator for the master's program in applied behavior analysis in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida. Weil's research and clinical interests include work in childhood behavior disorders and parent training. Particular focus includes intensive behavioral treatment in autism, childhood behavior problems, learning disabilities and the development of language.

"OOPS! 13 MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT WASTE TIME AND MONEY (AND WHAT TO DO INSTEAD)"

Aubrey C. Daniels, Ph.D.
Aubrey Daniels International

March 20, 2012

Dr. Aubrey Daniels founded ADI in 1978 and is widely recognized as the world's foremost authority on applying scientifically-proven laws of human behavior to the workplace. He is the author of six best-selling books that have become international management classics. His books have been translated into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and French, and have been licensed in China, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Romania and Saudi Arabia. He has been featured in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Fortune, and on CNN and CNBC.

"CONDITIONING THE BEHAVIOR OF THE LISTENER: IMPLICATIONS FOR RULE-GOVERNED BEHAVIOR"

Hank Schlinger, Ph.D., BCBA-D
California State University, Los Angeles
Associate Professor
Director, M.S. Program in Applied Behavior Analysis

March 23, 2012

Dr. Hank Schlinger, a graduate of WMU's behavior analysis doctoral program, is nationally recognized as a leading scholar in the extrapolation of behavior analysis concepts to a broad array of topics ranging from language development to cognition to consciousness. He has published over 50 articles in a variety of journals. He is the  editor of The Behavior Analyst, the flagship publication of the Association for Behavior Analysis, International.

"ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION THROUGH RESEARCH AND APPLIED ACTIVITIES"

Lisa Baker, Ph.D.
Western Michigan University
Professor

April 6, 2012

Dr. Lisa Baker teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in physiological psychology and behavioral pharmacology at WMU. In addition, she directs an active and productive research program that focuses on behavioral pharmacology and drug discrimination research. She has held a number of leadership positions in state and national organizations devoted to behavioral pharmacology and neuroscience.

"CONDUCTING BEHAVIOR ANALYTIC RESEARCH TO HELP CLINICIANS: UNDERSTANDING FUNCTIONAL ANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY"

Jonathan Kanter, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Associate Professor
Director, UWM Depression Treatment Specialty Clinic
Coordinator, UWM Psychology Clinic
Core Scientist, Center for Addictions and Behavioral Health Research

April 12, 2012

Dr. Jonathan Kanter's research focuses on depression from a behavioral, or behavior analytic, perspective. He focuses on the behavioral model of depression and is currently researching the psychopathology of depression, stigmatizing attitudes about depression, mechanisms of action in psychotherapy for depression, behavioral activation and functional analytic psychotherapy. His treatment research focuses on depressed individuals who have not been studied in previous research or have been shown to do poorly with existing treatments.

"Everything You Know about the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Is Wrong. Or Is It?"

Dick Malott, Ph.D.
Cindy Pietras, Ph.D.
Western Michigan University
Professor and Associate Professor

Mark Reilly, Ph.D.
Central Michigan University

April 20, 2012

Featuring a panel discussion on a variety of themes including:

  • The lack of a relation between experimental and applied research in behavior analysis. 
  • Why bridging research gets it wrong. 
  • Why basic research gets it wrong. 
  • Why the worst thing Skinner ever did was invent schedules of reinforcement. 
  • Why delayed-discounting is irrelevant to almost anything of importance. 
  • Rule-governed vs. contingency-controlled behavior, and maybe even a few controversial topics.