Stephen F. Ledoux, ph.d.

Professor of Behaviorology

Dr. Ledoux’s Older Campus Photos

Professor Ledoux (“la–do”) serves as a faculty member of The International Behaviorology Institute (TIBI). For over 30 years he has also served as a faculty member at the State University of New York at Canton (SUNY–Canton).

In 1987 the already 75–year–old natural science of behavior was recognized by some of its members as the separate and independent discipline of behaviorology, and organized as The International Behaviorology Association (TIBA). Ten years later, in 1997, some behaviorologists from TIBA also founded TIBI, which is a non–profit educational organization incorporated, with the consent of the New York State Education Department, to increase opportunities for members of the public to learn about the science of behaviorology and its applications to areas of human concern.

Behaviorology is the independent natural–science discipline of behavior. By studying the functional relations between behavior and independent variables (for instance, those found in species and personal history, the current situation, and the cultural setting) behaviorologists discover the natural laws governing behavior. These are then developed as behavior engineering technologies applicable to a wide range of human concerns (such as child care, education, the world of work, diplomacy, and sustainable lifestyles).

As the only basic philosophy and natural science informing various areas of Behavior Contingency Engineering and Applied Behavior Analysis, behaviorology is the discipline of strictly naturalistic explanations of behavior origins. Thus behaviorology should not be confused with disciplines featuring fundamentally mystical (whether theological or secular) explanations of behavior (e.g., psychology, which is a discipline that accepts fundamentally non–natural, agential accounts of behavior origins, as typically represented by the putative mind, psyche, self, soul, or other inner agents).

The rest of this faculty web page provides information on several topics. These relate to the behaviorology courses that Dr. Ledoux initiated, for either TIBI or SUNY–Canton (or both), plus personal interests, and professional life (with the latter including education, experience, and some other highlights).

Behaviorology Courses

Dr. Ledoux teaches a variety of courses, some for SUNY–Canton (which can earn regular academic credit) and some for TIBI (which can earn TIBI credit toward TIBI’s various behaviorology certificates). TIBI’s courses are also offered for free for those not looking for any kind of credit but who instead just want the knowledge. With brief descriptions here, find details on all these courses, and related certificates, on TIBI’s web site. Other details may be available on SUNY–Canton’s web site (www.canton.edu). (Before taking SUNY–Canton’s—or any university’s—behaviorology courses, however, interested persons should ask TIBI to verify both that the college has not changed the courses into non–behaviorology courses, and that the college still has behaviorologists teaching the courses, so that TIBI can still acknowledge the credibility of the courses.)

Note that five of Dr. Ledoux’s SUNY courses (those numbered 135, 245, 345, 365, and 465, which were the first ones approved by his department) were approved as explicit natural science of behavior courses, in the discipline of behaviorology, and with the “BEHG” (behaviorology) designator (e.g., BEHG–135). However, to acknowledge the relevance of these courses to broad areas of human concern, and to simplify fair transfer of credit to other institutions for the student’s benefit, initial college approval for these courses involved using the “SSCI” (social science) designator instead. The next three courses (375, 380, and 455) were proposed and approved—also as natural science/behaviorology courses—simply with the SSCI designator.

As part of ongoing bachelor–level and graduate–level program development, all those courses, and several more behaviorology courses (which were also approved as explicit natural science/behaviorology courses) now use either the designator “ABAP” (for “Applied Behaviorological Analysis Professional”) or the “BEHG” designator.

SUNY–Canton offers a Bachelor of Science program in applied human services with one of the two concentrations being in Applied Behaviorology. This “Group B” concentration uses all the courses described here, although here they are shown using a BEHG designator.

The TIBI web site covers TIBI’s versions of most of these courses, so here are the SUNY–Canton behaviorology courses as of 2013 (each course earns three semester hours credit, and most have TIBI counterparts):

BEHG 135: Parenting Knowledge & Skills

This course provides college students, of all ages, with the scientific contributions of behaviorology that can instill or enhance their knowledge and skills regarding caring for children in effective, non–coercive, positive, proactive, and loving ways. (No prerequisite.)

BEHG 245: Introduction to the Science & Technology of Behavior

This course provides students with a solid grounding in the various components of the behaviorology discipline. The areas covered include fundamental principles, basic experimental research methods, elementary techniques of behavior/environment engineering, historical and philosophical perspectives, and trends. (No prerequisite.) [This course is the basic prerequisite for other behaviorology courses.]

BEHG 310: Companion Animal Behavior Training

This course introduces the contributions of the natural science of behavior to the area of animal behavior training. Students will (a) learn the successful, non–coercive animal training practices, derived from the principles of behaviorology, that are used by professional animal trainers around the world, and (b) learn how to teach the owners of companion animals how to train their pets. After reviewing basic principles and the significance of species differences, relevant practices are differentially applied to the pro–active, non–coercive, positive, and effective behavior training of four representative companion animal species: (a) cats, (b) dogs, (c) birds, and (d) horses. The generic application of these non–coercive practices to training other species also receives attention. (Prerequisite: BEHG 245.)

BEHG 345: Applied Science & Technology of Behavior

This course provides students with general applications of the principles of behaviorology through the technologies of behavior/environment engineering. The main focus is on a wide range of problem prevention and intervention techniques in a range of everyday settings. Other areas covered include the value of design, over accident or chance, in the management of individual behavior and cultural practices, as well as ethical considerations in solving behavior problems. (Prerequisite: BEHG 245.)

BEHG 365: Behavior Engineering: Rehabilitation

This course provides students with the application of behaviorological considerations to help improve human interactions and success rates in institutional rehabilitation settings such as hospitals and prisons. A major focus is on the use of more effective science–based practices to replace the unscientific emphasis on using coercive practices in these settings. Both adult and youth clients or offenders are covered. (Prerequisite: BEHG 245 or …)

BEHG 375: Basic Autism ABA Methods

This course provides students with the behavior engineering practices and skills valued in effective interventions for children from autism. Topics include (a) training curricula, programs, and data sheets in home–based and center–based programs, (b) the skills to be taught to children with autism, (c) the behavior engineering practices and skills needed to teach autistic children effectively, (d) the different roles of professionals and para–professionals involved in autism intervention efforts, (e) the organizational and legal supports available to autistic children and their families, (f) the roles of different autism treatment team members, and (g) the organizational and legal interactions between families with autistic children and their local schools. (Prerequisite: BEHG 345.)

BEHG 380: Introduction to Verbal Behavior Analysis & Applications

This course provides students with (a) the behaviorological analysis of verbal behavior/language, (b) the historical context in which verbal behavior analysis arose, and (c) some applications of verbal behavior analysis especially as it is applied to enhance the acquisition of verbal behavior/language, by foreign language learners or by students with developmental disabilities. Covered analysis topics include (a) differentiating verbal and non–verbal behavior, (b) the verbal community, (c) mediated reinforcement, (d) the basic verbal behaviors called mands, tacts, intraverbals, codics, and duplics, (e) various extensions of these elementary verbal operants, (f) the most common variables of which verbal operants are a function, (g) some of the ways in which these variables combine in the multiple control of complex verbal behaviors, (h) response products, (i) point–to–point correspondence, (j) formal similarity, (k) thematic and formal controls over verbal behavior, and (l) the ways the verbal community teaches speakers verbal responses to their private experiences. (Prerequisite: BEHG 245 and …)

BEHG 385: Advanced Science & Technology of Behavior I

This first course of a two course sequence covers in detail the basic variables of which the behavior of humans and other animals is a function, as discovered from the natural–science perspective and with the emphasis on increasingly complex human behavior. Included is not only the wide range of pertinent and accessible environment–behavior functional relations, but also the naturalistic philosophical foundations of the behaviorology (science and technology of behavior) discipline as well as the research methodology involved in discovering the independent variables in these relations and engineering them into sophisticated applications and interventions beneficial to humanity. Course topics include (a) classifying behavior, (b) avoiding explanatory fictions and analytical fallacies, (c) experimentally manipulating independent variables of behavior, (d) measuring, recording, graphing, and interpreting behavior–related data, and (e) turning the experimentation–based prediction and control of behavior into beneficial engineering practices emphasizing postcedent processes. (Prerequisite: BEHG 345.)

BEHG 400: Seminar in Applied Behavior Analysis, &

BEHG 401: Practicum in Applied Behavior Analysis

In these co–requisite courses, the student studies the current disciplinary applied research literature containing relevant interventions (for the seminar) while engaging in supervised practicum hours applying the relevant behaviorological disciplinary principles and practices to interventions with clients in the practicum setting. (Prerequisite: BEHG 345.)

BEHG 415: Behaviorological Thanatology & Dignified Dying

This course examines the application of the natural science and technology of behavior to the question of how we can improve end–of–life interactions between the dying and society, between the terminally ill and their survivors, between ourselves and our loved ones at those difficult times. The course first covers the scientific understanding of coercion and punishment as these inform many past and current social practices in such situations. The course then considers a range of scientifically grounded alternative, proactive practices capable of increasing and maintaining the human dignity of all parties in these circumstances. The historical context, and social contingencies affecting new practices, are included in the consideration of how to move from old to new practices. (Prerequisite: BEHG 245 or …)

BEHG 455: Performance Management & Preventing Workplace Violence

This course provides students with three levels of application of behaviorological considerations appropriate to preventing workplace violence especially through the proactive practices of “performance management.” The most general level examines the role punishment and coercion play in prompting violence of all types throughout society, from interpersonal and family relations, through educational and workplace situations, to international and cultural relations. The middle (and most significant) level focuses on the use of effective behaviorological practices for performance management in the full range of workplace settings. These replace the unscientific emphasis on coercive management practices thereby preventing the violence such practices may themselves induce. The most specific level focuses on the various recommended policies and procedures for deterring the actual occurrence of workplace violence. (Prerequisite: BEHG 245 or …)

BEHG 465: Classroom Management & Preventing School Violence

This course provides students with three levels of application of behaviorological considerations appropriate to preventing school violence especially through positive, non–coercive, proactive classroom management practices and skills. The most general level examines the role punishment and coercion play in prompting violence of all types throughout society, from interpersonal and family relations, through educational and workplace situations, to international and cultural relations. The middle (and most significant) level focuses on a shift from “discipline” to “management” by using effective behaviorological practices for classroom management. These replace the unscientific emphasis on coercive classroom “discipline” practices thereby preventing the violence such practices may themselves induce. The most specific level focuses on the various recommended policies and procedures for deterring the actual occurrence of school violence in situations where violence has become likely. (Prerequisite: BEHG 245 or …)

BEHG 485: Advanced Science & Technology of Behavior II

This second course of a two course sequence covers in detail more of the basic variables of which the behavior of humans and other animals is a function, as discovered from the natural–science perspective and with the emphasis on increasingly complex human behavior. Included is not only the wide range of pertinent and accessible environment–behavior functional relations, but also the naturalistic philosophical foundations (known as “radical behaviorism”) of the behaviorology discipline, as well as the research methodology involved in discovering the independent variables in these relations and engineering them into sophisticated applications and interventions beneficial to humanity. Course topics include (a) multi–term contingencies, (b) function–altering stimuli, (c) stimulus equivalences, (d) reinforcement schedules plus adjunctive behavior, (e) aversive controls plus more effective alternatives, (f) applied behavior research plus behavioral objectives, (g) gradual change in both stimuli (fading) and responses (shaping), (h) some complex cases (including attitudes, values, rights, ethics, morals, and beliefs), and (i) verbal behavior. A preview of the more complex disciplinary topics of consciousness, personhood, life, culture, reality, and intellectual evolution (biological and cultural) is also part of this course. (Prerequisite: BEHG 385.)

Here is how these courses work when offered asynchronously

These courses can be offered both face–to–face or asynchronously. We say “asynchronous” rather than “online” because, while you work on your own at home at times that fit your personal schedule, you may only need a computer to find, read, and print out the comprehensive syllabus for the course under study, and perhaps some pre–course announcements, along with appropriate email (or phone) contacts with your TIBI professor; rather than use a series of engagements that require schedule–coordinated times online, these courses use methods, based on the science under study, to teach the courses successfully. Face–to–face offerings work similarly, with similar success. Such success has been continuously demonstrated over the last several decades and with students around the world.

Each course syllabus contains all the information you need to work your way completely and successfully through a course. This includes: (a) what texts and other materials you need to obtain, and how to get them, (b) how grades are earned and computed, (c) what the course assignments are, and how to complete and submit them, (d) what order you should complete the assignments in, and (e) what minimum schedule you should follow for submitting the assignments (although you can start early and work faster than the schedule in the syllabus). Most assignments concern reading sections of the texts and writing out, and sending in, the answers to a set of study questions over each assigned section. Properly and thoroughly completing the series of assignments, along with some other demonstrations of repertoire competence, within the specified time frame, successfully completes the course.

Other Interests

Dr. Ledoux says a list of outside interests might be a bit long for inclusion here. However, at the top of such a list would be Native American Arts, astronomy (i.e., star gazing) and geology (both terrestrial and planetary). For example you can enjoy merging astronomy and geology at www.meteorites.com

Professional Life

Education

B.A.      Prof. Ledoux earned his bachelors degree in Behavior Analysis (which, back then, was a name for the natural science of behavior) at California State University Sacramento (CSUS) in 1972. (As behavior analysis was then sharing its history with psychology, he accrued 12 traditional psychology courses [seven at St. Patrick’s College then five at CSUS] and nine behavior analysis courses.)

M.A.      He earned his masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis (which was also then sharing its history with psychology) at CSUS in 1973. His thesis was entitled The Experimental Analysis of Coverants.

Ph.D.      Prof. Ledoux earned his doctoral degree in The Experimental Analysis of Behavior (which was an even earlier name than behavior analysis for the natural science of behavior, and which was still sharing some history with psychology) at Western Michigan University (WMU) in 1982. He began the program with 4.5 years of full–time college teaching experience. His dissertation was entitled Control of Simultaneously Reinforceable Concurrent Human Operants by a Multiple Reinforcer–Source Procedure.

DLBC      He received the Doctoral Level Behaviorology Certifcate in Behaviorology (not any kind of psychology) awarded by The International Behaviorology Institute (TIBI) on 20 March 1998.

Experience

Prof. Ledoux began teaching in 1972. For four years (1975–1979) he taught in Australia both at the University of Queensland in Brisbane and at the Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education southeast of Melbourne. Also, he taught in the Peoples Republic of China at Xi’an Jiaotong University in 1979. Then, after completing doctoral studies, he began teaching at SUNY–Canton in 1982. Later, in 1990–1991, he taught again in China, this time at the Xi’an Foreign Languages University. He received tenure in September 1986, and was promoted to full professor in January 1997.

At various times, Dr. Ledoux has taught courses in English, psychology, education, and behaviorology. He has taught the latter at all levels from high school through graduate school.

Other Highlights

Over the years Dr. Ledoux has prepared, and continues to prepare, numerous publications and presentations in the behaviorology discipline. And he remains involved in many other ways in professional work as well. Here are some highlights:

In 1988–1991, Dr. Ledoux served a standard three–year term as the first elected president of  The International Behaviorology Association (TIBA).

In 1997, Dr. Ledoux’s book Origins and Components of Behaviorology was published. An expanded edition, Origins and Components of Behaviorology––Second Edition (ISBN 1–882508–08–4 or ISBN 978–1–882508–08–2) was published in 2002. Another book published in 1997 was the book he coauthored with his spouse, Dr. Nelly M. Case (of the Crane School of Music at SUNY–Potsdam). That book, The Panda and Monkey King Christmas—A Family’s Year in China (ISBN 1–882508–10–6) was about the year they spent teaching in China with their son who was then five–years–old. Also, he has published six books of study questions since 1999, and other books are in progress (e.g., Running Out of Time—Introducing Behaviorology to Help Solve Global Problems and a 3rd edition of Origins and Components of Behaviorology).

Using the unabridged version of Dr. Ledoux’s article, “Behaviorism at 100” (which American Scientist published in January, 2012) as the core of the first chapter, this Running Out of Time… book details the natural science of why human behavior happens, a natural science that can help build a sustainable society in a timely manner. It is written for anyone concerned about environmental issues and human survival. After the first chapter provides an historical overview, the remaining 23 chapters of this 600–page book address the principles, methods, concepts, and practices of behaviorology, along with some scientific answers to some long–standing human questions, while continually pointing to interconnections with solutions to global problems. The publisher (BehaveTech Publishing of Ottawa, Canada) is releasing Running Out of Time—Introducing Behaviorology to Help Solve Global Problems in early February 2014. It contains an extensive glossary, bibliography, and index, and copies can be purchased through local bookstores or ordered from the main distributor, Direct Book Service, Inc., at 800–776–2665. They will likely answer the phone with “Dogwise,” because one of their oldest and most popular specialties involves books about our canine friends; several of these books already specifically apply the laws of behavior that Running Out of Time… systematically introduces.

After Dr. Lawrence Fraley spent nearly 30 years writing his 1,600–page book, General Behaviorology—The Natural Science of Human Behavior, Dr. Ledoux spent nearly three years editing it. Then it was published in mid–2008. Since then he has edited two more of Dr. Fraley’s books, one on dignified dying and the other on behaviorological rehabilitation.

Currently, Dr. Ledoux continues to serve as an officer and faculty member of TIBI. He accepted appointment in 2001 as the first Editor of Behaviorology Today (ISSN 1536–6669) which he took through volumes 5–14 and which he helped make fully peer reviewed with volume 15 in 2012; it then became the Journal of Behaviorology with volume 16 in 2013.

Prof. Ledoux resides in Canton NY with his family. He has retired (or rather, as he says, he has “merely changed pay check sources, as the shared efforts to provide all levels of education in behaviorology continue in place of the past, daily, on–campus obligations”). However, while he has not changed this Faculty Web Page to reflect his retirement, the only sure way to reach him now has changed: You can reach him at ledoux@canton.edu which remains his email address.