Teaching a Course on the History of Behavior Analysis
Use Morris (2022) as a ready-made syllabus to launch a history-of-behavior-analysis course that roots current practice in its past.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Morris (2022) wrote a how-to guide for building a full college course on the history of behavior analysis. The paper gives week-by-week topics, key readings, and discussion prompts. It is meant for teachers who want a stand-alone history class rather than a short add-on.
The guide covers early Skinner through modern ABA and links each era to current practice. No new data were collected; the article is a practical blueprint.
What they found
The article presents a ready-made syllabus that unites the field’s past with its present tools. Lists of primary-source readings and classroom activities are included. The roadmap is offered as a way to strengthen student identity and ethical awareness.
How this fits with other research
Morris et al. (2022) published a companion piece that shows how to embed short history lessons inside regular ABA courses instead of creating a stand-alone class. The two papers are conceptual replications: same goal, different delivery.
Hineline (2022) extends the roadmap by adding storytelling tactics. He recommends mixing formal narrative with engaging mini-stories to keep students hooked. Use his ideas when you want more lively lectures.
Jackson-Perry et al. (2025) push the idea further. They argue history should be paired with critical and neurodiversity perspectives to train culturally responsive practitioners. Their paper extends Morris (2022) into social-justice territory.
Why it matters
If you teach behavior analysis, you now have a plug-and-play history syllabus that saves prep time and boosts student cohesion. Pair it with Hineline’s storytelling tips for engagement and with Jackson-Perry’s critical lens for cultural relevance. A single course can both honor the field’s roots and prepare students for modern ethical challenges.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Teaching the history of behavior analysis can be approached in many ways. One is to embed history in courses on the field’s discipline and subdisciplines (e.g., its basic and applied sciences and their conceptual foundations) and practice. Another is to teach courses on the histories of the discipline and subdisciplines and practice. Still another is to teach a stand-alone course that includes these approaches and more (e.g., their integration, relations with other sciences, the influence of U.S. history and culture). The purpose of this article is to foster teaching the stand-alone course. It has four sections. The first addresses structural considerations: course titles, catalog descriptions, curricula, certification, and accreditation. The second addresses contextual considerations: purposes of teaching history; distinctions between history and historiography; and starting points in selecting textbooks. The third addresses functional considerations: course content organized by topics and their required and recommended readings. The fourth discusses how the course might be revised by eliminating topics (e.g., the Middle Ages), expanding topics and subtopics (e.g., the behaviorisms, philosophy of science) and adding topics and subtopics (e.g., institutional history; diversity, inclusion, and equity). Given the field’s continuing development as a science, system, and practice and the rapid growth in its number and variety of its members, its history is becoming its common core—and a means of teaching it. The course elucidates the field’s integrity; incorporates the entirety of its community of students, scientists, scholars, and practitioners; and advance its coherence as a cultural practice.
Perspectives on Behavior Science, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s40614-022-00357-8