Miltenberger, Raymond G.

Education History

I obtained a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, with a major in psychology, in 1978, from Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana.

I obtained a master's degree in 1981 and doctoral degree in 1985, in clinical psychology with a behavioral emphasis, from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

My predoctoral internship in behavioral pediatrics and developmental disabilities (1984–1985) took place at the Kennedy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland.

Professional Models

My first professional model was Peter Bankhart, my academic advisor and professor in a number of undergraduate classes. From Peter, I experienced my first exposure to behavioral psychology. In addition, Peter modeled how to teach undergraduate classes in a way that generated student interest and how to develop rapport with students and function as an effective advisor.

The next individuals I consider to be influential models were three professors in my graduate program at Western Michigan University: Wayne Fuqua, Alan Poling, and Jack Michael. These three individuals showed how to make graduate classes interesting (and demanding) and how to motivate students to be successful. In addition, through his work as my research mentor, Wayne Fuqua showed me how to be a successful researcher and an effective mentor myself. All three helped put the fire in my belly for an academic career in behavior analysis.

Major Contributions to the Field

My major contributions to the field involve both teaching and research. As a teacher at the graduate level, my goal is to prepare students for careers as researchers or practitioners in applied behavior analysis. I accomplish this goal primarily by mentoring graduate students in my research program and to a lesser extent, through classroom instruction. As a teacher at the undergraduate level, my goal is to get students excited about behavior analysis in the hope that they will pursue further study in the area. I accomplish this goal by demonstrating the utility of a behavioral approach in classes and by mentoring students in my research program. As one indication of my commitment to teaching, I wrote an undergraduate textbook titled Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures (originally published in 1997), which is now in its third edition.

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