be tempted to give preferred items to children to quiet them, but Dr. Christophersen encourages parents to analyze each situation and consider what they are actually teaching their children. All through his writing and vibrant examples it is clear that Dr. Christophersen promotes the practices and techniques that he preaches. In subsequent sections of his books, Dr. Christophersen also outlines thoroughgoing strategies for overcoming common behavioral deficits. For example, he provides parents with advice on establishing bedtime routines and succinctly describes procedures for teaching young children toilet training behaviors. He also outlines specific strategies for dealing with whining, tantrums and aggressive behavior. In short, he summarizes extensive sets of literature and condenses them into a technology that different parents across different settings can use to deal with common behavioral problems. Through his clear writing, Dr. Christophersen outlines the specific behaviors that parents need to engage in to be successful. In doing so he increases the likelihood that parents will contact reinforcement for their behavior. In arranging conditions in which parents’ behavior is likely to be reinforced, Dr. Christophersen promotes generalization of these behaviors to novel situations and people. Although the topics and principles mentioned above are only a few of the behavior analytic principles that Dr. Christophersen discusses in his books, I believe this set of examples and their adherence to scientific research exemplify why he is our 2011 ABAI Scholar. His writing allows parents to contact the contingencies of using procedures grounded in science—and that in itself merits recognition. It is for this purpose, among many others, that I am excited to have Dr. Christopherson as our guest at the 37th annual ABAI convention in Denver, Colorado. His writing provides an example to all of us on how to break down complex behavior into manageable procedures and then disseminate that information in a medium that can be used by parents and practitioners. Furthermore, his books exemplify the need for both research and applied science, each informing the other in an iterative process that benefits us all. References Christophersen, E. R. & Mortweet, S. L. (2001). Treatments That Work With Children: Empirically Supported Strategies for Managing Childhood Problems. Washington DC: American Psychological Association
Christophersen, E. R. & Mortweet, S. L. (2003). Parenting That Works: Building Skills That Last a Lifetime. Washington DC: American Psychological Association
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is perhaps the most fundamental principle in behavior analysis. It is this very basic premise, applied across a variety of environments, that many of us devote our jobs, research, and time to studying. Somewhere, however, an idea that has become so commonplace within our research and field has, at many times, failed to inundate mainstream culture. By using relevant examples across a variety of exemplars, Dr. Christophersen demonstrates to readers how seemingly subtle changes in parent’s behavior and the child’s environment can produce substantial changes in both individuals’ lives. In addition to discussing how to arrange environments, throughout his books, Dr. Christophersen also discusses reinforcement, another behavior analytic principle. As with environmental changes, the procedure of reinforcement can often be overlooked. Dr. Christophersen illustrates the procedure of reinforcement by emphasizing the importance of catching children when they are behaving appropriately and encouraging parents to commit as much of their time and attention to “time-ins” as to delivering time-outs. He suggests that by focusing on appropriate behavior parents can substantially decrease the need to deal with inappropriate behavior. To encourage parents to focus on appropriate behavior, Dr. Christophersen suggests that parents create a ten-year plan for their child. A 10-year plan is a list of behaviors that parents would like their child to engage in as an adult. After identifying this list of behaviors, Dr. Christophersen encourages parents to both model the desired behaviors and reinforce approximations to these behaviors in their everyday interactions with their children. In the midst of discussing these core principles, Dr. Christophersen also manages to weave smaller but critical elements of effective parenting behavior into his writing. Examples of these elements include consistency, contingency, and immediacy, three factors that parents should consider when delivering consequences to children. He also emphasizes the relevance of recording data on children’s behavior and then using this data to critically evaluate the progress of parents’ behavioral goals for their children. Furthermore, Dr. Christophersen also prepares and informs parents of potential pitfalls, like negative reinforcement, which they may encounter when working with their children’s behavior. An example of negative reinforcement that he discusses is quieting a child while he or she is screaming. To many parents the termination of the screaming is an extremely valuable reinforcer. Many parents may