Behavior modification and human rights: A legacy of Edward Stanton Sulzer, 1930-1970.
One practitioner’s daily ethics can snowball into statewide policy—Sulzer proved it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Sulzer-Azaroff (1981) tells the story of Edward Sulzer, a behavior analyst who worked from 1930 to 1970.
The paper is a tribute, not an experiment. It shows how one person’s daily choices shaped the field.
What they found
Sulzer put human rights first in every setting—schools, prisons, and state hospitals.
His steady push for kind, fair treatment later showed up in licensing laws and training rules.
How this fits with other research
McNamara (1978) sketched the ethical checklist first. Sulzer-Azaroff (1981) gives the living example that proves the checklist works.
de la Cruz et al. (2025) pick up the torch. They show teams of BCBAs now lobby lawmakers the same way Sulzer once lobbied his own boss.
Capriotti et al. (2022) stretch the idea further. They ask us to aim our science at LGBTQ+ rights, not just classroom rules.
Why it matters
You don’t need a title to make policy move. Sulzer was just a clinician who said “no” to harsh punishment and “yes” to client dignity every single day. Copy him: add one rights question to your next treatment plan review. Ask, “Does this goal give the client more freedom?” If not, change it.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Edward Stanton Sulzer was born in New York City on June 4, 1930. He attended school in Laureltown, N.Y., until the age of 15, when, after two years of high school, he was admitted into the University of Chicago. Leaving prematurely due to his mother's death, he returned to New York to work in film production. Sulzer completed his undergraduate work at the City College of New York, studying film production and psychology. In 1953 he entered the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Teachers College, Columbia. Spending two years in the Army during his graduate training, his work was completed in 1958. He then joined the faculty of the Upstate Medical School of the State University of New York, Department of Psychiatry, moving on two years later to the Psychiatry Department at the University of Minnesota. In 1965 Sulzer moved to assume the directorship of the Behavior Modification Program, in the Rehabilitation Institute at Southern Illinois University, where he remained until his death on February 28, 1970.In observance of the 10th anniversary of the death of Edward Stanton Sulzer, these reminiscences are presented. They describe how an individual psychologist could affect the professional and personal lives of many. Edward Sulzer is described in terms of the environment that shaped his values, how they affected the actions of his students and clients, and how they are reflected in current social policy. The account leads to a conclusion that the actions of single individuals may influence the course of human events.
The Behavior analyst, 1981 · doi:10.1007/BF03391848