Anthony Charles Catania | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1936-06-22)June 22, 1936 (age 89) New York, NY, United States |
| Children | 2, includingKenneth C. Catania |
| Awards | ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis Award; Murray Sidman Award for Enduring Contribution to Applied Behavior Analysis; Victor G. Laties Award for Lifetime Service; SEAB Don F. Hake Award for Translational Research |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Behavior analysis |
Anthony Charles Catania (born June 22, 1936) is an American researcher inbehavior analysis known for his theoretical,experimental, andapplied work. He is anEmeritus professor of psychology at theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he taught and conducted research for 35 years prior to his retirement in 2008. He received a B.A. (1957) and M.A. (1958) atColumbia University inPsychology.[1] He received his Ph.D. in Psychology atHarvard University in 1961. He remained at Harvard to conduct research as apostdoctoral researcher inB. F. Skinner's laboratory. Prior to his career at UMBC, he held a faculty position for nearly a decade atNew York University (NYU).
He studies the behavior of both human and nonhuman animals. He has written over 200 journal articles and book chapters,[2] has edited or co-edited six books,[3][4][5][6] and has written two textbooks[7][8] on learning. Topics on which he has published include schedules ofreinforcement,[9] human verbal behavior,[10] and the history of behavior analysis.[11][12]
Related to his professional interests in learning and verbal behavior, since 2022 Catania has participated in a published series of one-on-one conversations withlinguist andpolitical activistNoam Chomsky.[13][14] Topics discussed include the history of cognitive science and scientific and philosophical disputes concerningverbal behavior.
At UMBC, Catania founded the graduate-level (MA) program in Applied Behavior Analysis.[15]
Catania was thechief editor at theJournal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (1966–69) and served as an associate editor at several journals, includingBehavioral and Brain Sciences,Behaviorism, and theEuropean Journal of Behavior Analysis. He served as President of the Maryland Association for Behavior Analysis. He twice served as President of theSociety for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (SEAB; from 1966-1967 and 1981–83) and as President of the Association for Behavior Analysis [nowAssociation for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)], from 1981 to 1984. He is aFellow of Divisions 3, 6, 25, and 28 of theAmerican Psychological Association (APA) and served as President of Division 25 from 1996 to 1998.
He resides inColumbia, Maryland.
