Professor, Applied Behavioral Science
Courtesy Professor, Psychology
4020 Dole Human Development Center
Department Phone: 785.864.4840
Office phone: 785.864.0519
Fax: 785.864.5202
E-mail: ekm@ku.edu
B.S. Denison University (Psychology), 1970
M.A. University of Illinois (Developmental Psychology), 1974
Ph.D. University of Illinois (Developmental Psychology), 1976
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BACB)
Undergraduate Specialty Area(s)
Undergraduate and Graduate Courses
Research and Scholarly Interests
My interests lie in a natural science of behavior (i.e., behavior analysis), in behavior’s natural history (e.g., developmental psychology), and in history and theory. In the science of behavior, I conduct research and reviews of research on basic behavioral processes (the experimental analysis of behavior, e.g., context, history), the application of those processes (applied behavior analysis; e.g., early education), and their intersect (e.g., response deprivation). In the natural history of behavior, I conduct research and reviews of research on behavioral development (e.g., adult-child interactions), the roles of biology and history, and developmental systems theory. In my predominant interest, history and theory, I address topics in the history, systems, and philosophy of the behavioral, social, and cognitive sciences, among them, ecological or non-mediational theories of behavior, the integration of theories in the natural sciences and natural histories of behavior, the science of science, and critical history.
Service and Professional Interests
I have been president of the Association for Behavior Analysis and Division 25 for Behavior Analysis of the American Psychological Association. Currently,I am president of Kansas Association for Behavior Analysis and president-elect of the University of Kansas chapter of Sigma Xi. I have served as editor of The Behavior Analyst and two newsletters -- The Recorder (APA Division 25’s newsletter) and The Interbehaviorist. Among my professional interests are the teaching of behavior analysis and the dissemination of scientific information.
Representative Publications
Morris, E. K., Higgins, S. T., & Bickel, W. K. (1982). Comments on cognitive science in the experimental analysis of behavior. The Behavior Analyst, 5, 109-125.
Atwater, J. B., & Morris, E. K. (1988). An observational analysis of teachers’ instructions in preschool classrooms. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 157 167.
Morris, E. K. (1988). Contextualism: The world view of behavior analysis. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 46, 289 323.
Johnson, L. M., Higgins, S. T., Bickel, W. K., & Morris, E. K. (1991). The effects of schedule history and opportunity for adjunctive responding on behavior during a fixed interval schedule of reinforcement. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 55, 313 322.
Midgley, B. D., & Morris, E. K. (1992). Nature = f(nurture): A review of Oyama’s The ontogeny of information: Developmental systems and evolution. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 58, 229-240.
Morris, E. K. (1992). The aim, progress, and evolution of behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 15, 3-29.
Todd, J. T., & Morris, E. K. (1992). Case studies in the great power of steady misrepresentation. American Psychologist, 47, 1441-1453.
Morris, E. K., & Todd, J. T. (1999). Watsonian behaviorism. In W. T. O’Donohue & R. Kitchener (Eds.), Handbook of behaviorisms (pp. 15-69). New York: Academic Press.
Morris, E. K. (2003). Behavior analysis and a modern psychology: Programs of direct action. In K. A. Lattal & P. N. Chase (Eds.), Behavior theory and philosophy (pp. 275-298). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press.
Altus, D. E., & Morris, E. K. (2004). B. F. Skinner’s utopian vision: Behind and beyond Walden Two. Contemporary Justice Review, 7, 267-286.
Morris, E. K., Lazo, J. F., & Smith, N. G. (2004). Whether, when, and why Skinner published on biological participation. The Behavior Analyst, 27, 153-169.
Morris, E. K., Altus, A. E., & Smith, N. G. (2005). B. F. Skinner’s contributions to applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 28, 99-131.
Morris, E. K. (in press). Skinner, B. F. In N. Koertge (Ed.), The new dictionary of scientific biography. Farmington Hills, MI: Scribner’s.
Simon, J. L., Morris, E. K., & Smith, N. G. (in press). Women’s participation at the meetings of the Association for Behavior Analysis, 1975-2005. The Behavior Analyst.
