Common goals for the science and practice of behavior analysis: A response to Critchfield

In his scholarly and thoughtful article, "Interesting Times: Practice, Science, and Professional Associations in Behavior Analysis," Critchfield (2011) discussed the science-practice frictions to be expected in any professional organization that attempts to combine these interests. He suggested that the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) focus on its original science-advancement mission, including practice, but leave practitioner guild issues such as licensure to the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA). The author concurs. However, as Critchfield stated, ABAI can continue to offer much of interest to practitioners. In this response, she suggests that keeping the science-practice union as strong as possible would benefit all behavior analysts. She also describes relations between two major ecology and environmental science associations that may offer instructive parallels. (Contains 3 footnotes.)