New Zealand Association for Behavior Analysis Lewis Bizo, Chair NZABA

1. New Zealand Association for Behavior Analysis Lewis Bizo, Chair NZABA • DESCRIPTION • A main activity of NZABA is the hosting of an annual conference. • Annual Convention • The 8th annual conference of the NZABA will be hosted by the School of Psychology at the University of Waikato in Hamilton from the 26th-28th of August 2011. The call for papers is open until August 1st and those interested should contact • Lewis Bizo (lbizo@waikato.ac.nz) for more information. • The conference is characterised by: • A large number of post-graduate student papers • Papers by recognised New Zealand (NZ) researchers, and by overseas visitors. • The papers given at the conference span experimental and applied topics. All papers on animal and human behavior from a behavior-analytic perspective are sought and valued. • The location of the conference moves each year between New Zealand’s universities in which there is a group of behavior analysts. • Check our website (www.nzaba.org) for details. • More recently, NZABA has widened its activities to: • Provide educational events that contribute to BACB accreditation, & • Provide advice to government concerning best practices for the treatment of autism. • HISTORY • Prior to 1990, behavior analytic researchers in NZ met annually during the annual NZ Psychological Soc. Conference. • From 1990 until 2003 the group met independently under various names, but mostly as the NZ Behavior Analysis Group (NZBAG). • At our annual meeting in 2003, we resolved to formalise the group, become an affiliated ABA chapter, and change our name to the: • New Zealand Association for Behavior Analysis (NZABA). RESEARCH AREAS Experimental Analysis of Behavior Researchers in NZ are active across a wide range of topics in the EAB. Such topics include: choice, stimulus control, self control, dynamics of behavior, behavioral economics, & behavioral pharmacology. The subjects, methodologies & analyses used span human and animal subjects, free operant & discrete trial paradigms, and molecular & molar quantitative models. Most of the major universities in New Zealand have an active group of two or more academics whose primary interest is in some area of EAB, making NZ perhaps one of the highest density per capita areas for EAB in the world. Applied Behavior Analysis Researchers in NZ are also active across a wide range of applied areas. Such areas include: ABA-based treatment of autism, community-based interventions, road safety behavior, & animal welfare. Also there are two training programs based in NZ that are certified with the Behavior Analytic Certification Board (the only two places in the Southern Hemisphere!) MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION Presently 156 members Membership is free and is open to any individual with an active interest in any area of Behavior Analysis. Members can register online at our web site. WWW.NZABA.ORG