Becker, Wesley

Wesley Becker entered the field of psychology in 1955 with a Ph.D. in statistics and clinical psychology from Stanford University. He completed both his undergraduate and graduate work in a record 6 years, graduating Phi Beta Kappa after only 2 years as an undergraduate. He was definitely not a behaviorist in the beginning, but his great appreciation for data ultimately led him to behaviorism. He became an instructor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1955, and by 1967 he was Professor of Psychology with an appointment in the Bureau of Educational Research.

Between 1961 and 1967, the direction of Becker's work began to shift from traditional clinical psychology to behaviorism. This shift of focus can be seen in the titles of his publications during this period. There was a transition from “Measurement of severity of disorder in schizophrenia by means of the Holtzman inkblot test” (1961), “A circumplex model for social behavior in children” (1964), and “The parent attitude research instrument” (1965) to titles such as “How we encourage cheating” (1966) and “The contingent use of teacher attention and praise in reducing classroom behavior problems” (1967). During 1967, three other articles reported behavioral change achieved through control of reinforcing consequences. One described the use of a token-reinforcement program in the classroom; another, “Modification of a deviant sibling interaction in the home”; and the third, how an aggressive model reinforced children's aggressive behavior. These articles are among the first published applications of Skinnerian behavioral principles to the classroom, and they mark the major emphasis of Becker's work from that time on: the application of the principles of behavior analysis to the study of human behavior.

A Fellow of Divisions 7 and 25 of the American Psychological Association, Becker delivered an address in 1967 in which he formally rescinded his earlier work. He pointed out the folly of correlations if better sources of evidence exist and the need to use data of behavioral change (rather than verbal behavior or correlated behaviors such as projections) as the proper measure of determining causes of behavior.

Becker's actions and work were greatly influenced by his commitment to the truth. Although he had a serious investment in traditional clinical psychology and could have maintained a respected and comfortable position as Professor of Clinical Psychology, Becker gravitated toward data-based research. If the data documented something, it was to be believed, even if it contradicted personal prejudices or biases. Because some measures of behavior (e.g., projective tests, retrospective questionnaires) are not validated by objective measures of the same constructs, Becker could no longer espouse them. In the late 1960s, he contacted the various Ph.D.s whom he had advised and apologized for “misteaching and misguiding them.” He urged them to share his new pursuit.

Becker met Siegfried Engelmann for the first time in 1968. They talked after Becker had given an address to the staff and students who worked in the Bereiter-Engelmann preschool at the University of Illinois. Engelmann made an observation about the behavior of children he worked with, and Becker asked, “Where are the data?” Engelmann indicated that he did not have experimental data. Becker smiled and shrugged, which did not indicate that he did not believe Engelmann but rather that he had no particular reason to believe the claim without some form of supporting data. What followed was 24 years of research that produced data in support of the ideas that Engelmann had generated from his work with children.

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