Newsletter
Volume 30 | 2007 | Number 2
Learning Processes and BA Program at CUNY, Queens College
By Dr. Bruce L. Brown
The Learning Processes and Behavior Analysis (LPBA) Program has three goals. Our first goal is to provide students with research skills to conduct basic and/or applied behavior analytic research. Second, we strive to prepare students for the practice of applied behavior analysis including professional licensure and certification options, including the National Certification in Behavior Analysis and licensure as a Psychologist in New York. Finally, our program aims to prepare students for an academic career as a researcher/professor in behavior analysis. The LPBA program is a component of the Doctoral Program in Psychology at the City University of New York (CUNY), and is based on the campus of Queens College.
The LPBA subprogram uses a teaching/research approach toward a specialization in the experimental analysis of behavior embedded in a scientist/practitioner model. A series of required courses and research activity guides students through training in behavior analysis, research design, statistics, and ethics. Required courses in learning processes include Learning, Theories of Association, and a research course in Motivation and Reinforcement, and three additional research courses selected from Stimulus Control, Concepts and Categorization, Temporal Control, and Applied Behavior Analysis I and II. Additional required courses include Research Design (including single-subject design), Scientific Reasoning, Ethics (covers ethical and legal issues in research and practice), two semesters of Statistics (including a course in time-series analysis), and a series of courses that meet a breadth requirement. Additional training and experience in legal and ethical issues is provided in the applied behavior analysis courses, in courses on developmental disabilities, and during practica. In addition to courses in applied and basic behavior analysis, curricula focusing on developmental disabilities and organizational behavior management are available.
Training in basic and applied research commences during the student’s first semester. Together with his/her faculty mentor, the student plans and develops a formal proposal for an independent research project, the Predissertation Project, prior to completing 20 credits in the program. Completion and acceptance of the Predissertation research paper is a prerequisite for advancement in standing in the program. That achievement is followed by the student’s dissertation proposal and completion of a Major Area Paper—a major literature review suitable for publication—on a topic in learning processes. Ideally the Major Area Paper informs the student’s dissertation research. Research experience is available in a wide spectrum of areas. Current faculty research interests include such basic research topics as motivation and reinforcement, categorization and concept formation, neurobiology of learning and motivation and drug addiction; and learning and aggression; and applied behavior analytic research in areas such as language acquisition, skills training in children and adults with developmental disabilities, staff and parent training, performance management, and behavioral safety.
Consistent with the scientist/practitioner model, through lectures and laboratory courses, all students develop an understanding of behavior theory and competence in the methodological and technical issues of experimental research. For students who pursue applied interests, the subprogram arranges field placements for research and training purposes. Placements are available in such areas as pervasive developmental disabilities and business/industry. Special emphasis is placed on developmental disabilities, for which stipends are available for some students at the New York Child Learning Institute and the Princeton Child Development Institute. The Learning Processes and Behavior Analysis subprogram is accredited in behavior analysis by the Association for Behavior Analysis International, and has a curriculum that is both licensure-qualifying in New York State and approved by the National Behavior Analysis Certification Board.
Over 90% of the program’s graduates are engaged in professional activities directly related to their graduate training including college/university (24%), research (4%), and applied behavior analysis (64%) positions. In the latter category, most graduates are in director/managerial positions in agencies that serve individuals with developmental disabilities, and some graduates have been founders of new agencies.
Additional information about the program, including training opportunities and requirements, is available on its Website, Here, where details may be found at the link to the Learning Processes Handbook. Information about the CUNY Doctoral Program in Psychology may be found at http://web.gc.cuny.edu/Psychology/. Inquiries may be directed to Bruce L. Brown (bruce.brown@qc.cuny.edu).