Trends in presentations at the annual conference of the association for behavior analysis.

The authors counted every talk and poster at ABA annual conventions from 1980 to 2007. They sorted each item into basic research, applied research, or conceptual talks.

They wanted to see if the new BCBA certificate, launched in 1998, changed how many people came and what they shared.

Attendance and applied presentations jumped after 1998. The steepest climb happened once the BCBA credential was in place.

Basic-research and conceptual talks stayed the same share of the program. Only the applied slice grew.

Kleinert et al. (2007) looked at the same conferences and years but counted women versus men. They also saw growth, yet women remain under-represented in invited talks and basic science slots. Together the two studies show the field grew fast without fixing gender balance.

Callahan et al. (2019) and Zayac et al. (2021) extend the story. They asked what today's larger BCBA pool actually looks like. Both found skill gaps—especially in people skills—suggesting quantity outran quality.

Allen et al. (2024) and Coop et al. (2025) act as conceptual successors. They assume we now have enough BCBAs to push policy and neurodiversity shifts. Their papers make sense only because D et al. first showed the workforce boom.

You now supervise or hire from a much bigger applicant pool than existed 20 years ago. Use that edge to raise standards, not just fill slots. Screen for behavioral artistry, add in-situ feedback as Falligant et al. (2025) show, and track gender balance in your own conference line-ups. Growth is only half the job; quality and equity come next.