Kazdin, Alan E.

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1945. I completed my BA at San Jose State University in 1967 and received my doctorate in psychology (clinical/ experimental psychopathology) from Northwestern University in 1970, where I remained as an assistant professor for 1 year. In 1971, I took a position as assistant professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University, where I remained until 1979. In 1980, I became professor of child psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where I directed an inpatient treatment service for disturbed children. In 1989, I moved to Yale University, where I have been professor and chairman of psychology and director of the Yale Child Conduct Clinic, an outpatient treatment service for children and families. In 2000, I became John M. Musser Professor of Psychology. In 2002, I assumed the position of chair, department of child psychiatry and director of the Child Study Center at Yale University School of Medicine. The Child Study Center is the only freestanding department of child psychiatry in the United States.

From 1974 through 1978, I worked on a project commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences to document the evolution of scientific findings and theoretical approaches leading to the development of behavior modification. The product was published in a book, History of Behavior Modification: Experimental Foundations of Contemporary Research (1978). This was the only large-scale historical effort to chart the development of behavioral modification. In 1977 to 1978, I spent a year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford, CA) and collaborated with a group of colleagues (Stewart Agras, Nathan Azrin, Walter Mischel, Stanley Rachman, and G. Terence Wilson) on the status, accomplishments, and limitations of behavior therapy. Two of the products of this collaboration were Evaluation of Behavior Therapy: Issues, Evidence, and Research Strategies (1978) and Behavior Therapy: Toward an Applied Clinical Science (1979).

I have served as editor for a number of professional journals, including Behavior Therapy (1979–1983), Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1985–1990), Psychological Assessment (1989–1991), Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice (1994–1998), and Current Directions in Psychological Science (1999–present). I have served on the board of editors of more than 40 journals. I have also edited an annual book series on Advances in Clinical Child Psychology (1977–1992, with Benjamin Lahey) and a book series, Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry (1983–2002). In addition, I was editor in chief of the Encyclopedia of Psychology (2000), an eight-volume work under the auspices of Oxford University Press and the American Psychological Association. Currently, I edit a book series, Current Perspectives in Psychology, for Yale University Press.

I have received several honors: a Research Scientist Award and a MERIT Award from the National Institute of Mental Health; Award for Distinguished Scientific Contribution to Clinical Psychology (1992), Award for Distinguished Professional Contribution to Clinical Child Psychology (1995), and a Distinguished Scientist Award (1999) from the American Psychological Association; and an Award for Outstanding Research Contribution by an Individual (1998) from the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy. I have served as President for the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (1977–1978).

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