Behaviour Disorders
Behavioural disorders are the most common reasons that parents are told to take their kids for mental health assessments and treatment. Behavioral disorders are also common in adults. We study the processes involved in the development and maintenance of behavior disorders across a wide range of populations including individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as adults with mental health needs. Our research focuses on strategies to improve the assessment and treatment of behavioural interventions across a range of behaviour disorders including severe destructive behavior, pediatric feeding disorders, and sleep disturbances.
Relapse
We study variables that lead to clinical relapse while drawing parallels between the experimental laboratory and natural situations in which relapse is likely to occur. Knowledge derived from our basic research is geared toward understanding fundamental behavioural processes contributing to relapse and developing behavioural technologies needed to better address clinical relapse. Findings from our applied research on treatment failures are used to inform, refine, and improve upon those basic experimental investigations of relapse.
Social Responsibility
Social responsibility promotes fairness and equity across many aspects of society. Behaviour science is one of the leading tools to promote social change across a variety of domains. As a result, we seek to expand applications of behaviour and cultural analysis to address a range of social issues, particularly those related to social justice, human rights, and environmental implications such as climate change and sustainability. The goal of this research is to explore and strengthen the evidence base for behaviour science as a method to enact change for issues of societal and global importance.