Nathan Azrin Richard M Foxx Popular Books

Nathan Azrin Richard M Foxx Biography & Facts

Nathan H. Azrin (November 26, 1930  – March 29, 2013) was a behavioral modification researcher, psychologist, and university professor. He taught at Southern Illinois University and was the research director of Anna State Hospital between 1958 and 1980. In 1980 he became a professor at Nova Southeastern University, and entered emeritus status at the university in 2010. Azrin was the founder of several research methodologies, including Token Economics, the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) on which the CRAFT model was based, Family Behavior Therapy, and habit reversal training. According to fellow psychologist Brian Iwata “Few people have made research contributions equaling Nate’s in either basic or applied behaviour analysis, and none have matched his contributions to both endeavors.” Early life Nathan Azrin was born on November 26, 1930, in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents Harold and Esther. His parents owned and operated a small local grocery store, where Azrin and his siblings worked. Azrin graduated from Boston University in 1951 with a BA and in 1952 with his MA. In 1955 Azrin received his PhD in Psychology under the supervision of BF Skinner from Harvard University. Career After he completed his PhD, Azrin did two postdoctoral years as a research psychologist, first at the Institute of Living, with Karl H. Pribram, and then with the US Army Ordinance studying human factors in fatigue. He was then named a professor at Southern Illinois University and research director in the Illinois Department of Mental Health. Between 1958 and 1980, he was the research director at Anna State Hospital. He also spent one year in 1976–1977 on sabbatical as a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, in Palo Alto, California. Between 1980 and 2010, as Clinical Director between 1981 and 1986, and then a professor, he worked at Nova Southeastern University. In 2010, he became emeritus professor. Azrin was also a co-founder and president of the Midwestern Association for Behavior Analysis, and was president of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. He was a past president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, and the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis. Azrin is known as one of the founders of the behavior modification school of thought and Applied Behavior Analysis. Personal life and death Nathan Azrin died on March 29, 2013, in Pompano Beach, Florida. Azrin had been battling cancer since 2007. He was survived by his wife Victoria Besalel Azrin and four children. Research Token economics At Anna State Hospital, one of his first initiatives was to try to reverse behaviors that patients had developed after years in psychiatric institutions, such as mutism or a lack of motivation to change from a hospital gown into regular clothes. In order to do this, Azrin together with Teodoro Ayllon developed a bartering system he called "token economics", which gave incentives to patients to make behavioral changes, such as putting on their clothes each day. The system was created based upon the work of Azrin's mentor BF Skinner's work in the behavior of lab rats. The two behaviors Azrin sought to improve in patients were self-care activities (such as dressing or grooming) and job activities (such as washing dishes), specifically in adult female psychotic clients. In practice, Azrin provided plastic tokens to patients as a reward for certain behaviors, tokens that could be used for "gifts" such as entering the television room or operating the television itself. An increase in the number of tokens provided was given for those that put the most care into their behavior. In 1968 Azrin and Teodoro Ayllon authored the book The Token Economy summarizing their work and findings. Addictions studies In the 1970s he worked with Mark Godley and George Hunt on the development of the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), applying behavioral therapy to the treatment of alcoholism. After the death of Hunt, Azrin performed the first outpatient treatment trial and first inpatient trial using the principles of CRA. His work also first introduced an abstinence-based goal to CRA, instead of the controlled drinking goal that was being used by other researchers. The goal of CRA was to gradually change drinking-rewarded behaviors to non-drinking rewarded behaviors, including the changing of social networks and transitioning leisure environments. Later studies by Azrin also began to integrate medication-based help into the methodology. Part of his research included the formation of "job clubs" as a method of alleviating unemployment problems, providing social support for them to enter the workforce in a way that the individual finds reward in the work they find, in addition to a daily structure of job-searching that replaces previous daily behavior. Azrin also developed Family Behavior Therapy (FBT) for dealing with juvenile misbehavior and narcotics use, after receiving a 1989 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute of Mental Health. The research considers how the behavior of family members can indirectly or purposely reinforce an adolescent's behavior. Any indirect reinforcement is controlled by ensuring all members of a client's family are present for therapy sessions, so that there is a group effort towards behavioral change. Therapy methods included contingency management, communication skills surrounding drug use, problem solving, and efforts to improve family relationships. He co-authored the book Treating Adolescent Substance Abuse Using Family Behavior Therapy: A Step-by-Step Approach with Brad Donohue, aimed at providing a model for clinicians to employ with clients, based on his research. Azrin has also done research on cigarette smoking addictions. Parenting work In addition to academic works, in 1974 Azrin co-authored the parenting book Toilet Training in Less Than a Day with Richard M. Foxx, which sold more than three million copies and is available in several dozen languages. The technique in the book was shown to result in a 97% decrease in bathroom accidents during the week after training, following an average of 3.9 hours of "dry-pants training". Other tests showed the success rate was closer to 74%. Azrin is also credited for inventing the "time out" parenting technique as an alternative to corporal punishment. Azrin and Foxx's technique has drawn a considerable amount of controversy, with critics saying it is overly harsh, and psychologist Dr Eda Leshan stating that “Although one is supposed to be kind and patient, it’s all done by forcing fluids (with things like salty potato chips and orange soda) and conditioned reflexes, leaving out such minor considerations as fears and fantasies, love-hate feelings, dependency and rebellion — the whole unconscious, which we have been struggling so hard to understand. It is an immoral book.” Ot.... Discover the Nathan Azrin Richard M Foxx popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Nathan Azrin Richard M Foxx books.