A ll researchers who attempt to formulate conclusions from a particular path of inquiry use aspects of the scientific method, which can vary from field to field and method to method. The sound application of the scientific method allows researchers to reveal valid empirical findings. Within the social sciences, the general steps include the following: (a) state the problem, (b) formulate the hy...

Why are so few psychology students and professors interested in the study of learning? Part of the answer lies in the techniques we use for teaching behavioral psychology and communicating its relevance to numerous aspects of life. We add to this journal’s discussion of the teaching of learning by explaining the importance of using examples drawn from everyday life: Numerous familiar examples p...

Jeffrey Goldberg's comments in "The Color of Suspicion"' are comprehensive, factual, and an indictment of the racist practice of profiling. I found it fascinating and revealing to read that racial profiling had its genesis in practices by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's behavioral science unit and the Drug Enforcement Administration's encouragement of state officials to profile drug couri...

Philosophical work on free will is inevitably framed by the problem of free will and determinism. This paper offers an overview of the current state of the philosophical art. Early sections focus on quantum indeterminism, an outline of the most influential logical argument for incompatibilism between free will and determinism, and telling problems that face incompatibilism. A major portion of t...

On September 15, 2015, President Obama issued an Executive Order recommending that executive departments and agencies use “behavioral science insights to better serve the American people.” The articles in this special section were already in press when the order was issued, and this serendipity further underscores the timeliness of this special section. These articles propose many examples of t...

Researchers in the organizational sciences and in the social and behavioral sciences in general encounter a host of problems as they seek to describe, predict, and understand behavior. The procedures we use to measure and analyze behavior are constantly improving as a result of the efforts of psychometricians and applied statisticians, among others. Many of the techniques discussed in this book...

Dr. Donate-Bartfield is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Division of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Marquette University School of Dentistry; Dr. Lausten is Associate Professor and Director of the Section of Special Patient Care, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry. Direct correspondence and requests for reprints to Dr. Evelyn DonateBartfield, Marquette ...