Some reflections on 25 years of the association for behavior analysis: Past, present, and future

This paper offers some reflections on the discipline and profession of behavior analysis, as well as on the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA), on the occasion of the association’s 25th anniversary. It is based on a panel session conducted at the 1999 convention that included six past presidents of ABA (Donald M. Baer, Judith E. Favell, Sigrid S. Glenn, Philip N. Hineline, Jack Michael, and Edward K. Morris) and its current Executive Director and Secretary-Treasurer (Maria E. Malott). Among the topics addressed were (a) the survival of behavior analysis in university and cultural contexts, (b) the training of behavior-analytic researchers and practitioners, (c) relations between basic and applied research, (d) convergences between behavior analysis and other disciplines, (e) the structure and function of ABA, and (f) the importance of students for the future of the association, the discipline, and the profession. Questions from the audience raised issues concerning the relevance of major behavior-analytic journals, advances in behavior analysis since the death of B. F. Skinner, and the availability of accessible, popular material on applied behavior analysis.