World Behavior Analysis Day Date in the current year: March 20, 2024

Behavior analysis, also known as behaviorism, is a school of thought in psychology based on the tenet that a large part of both human and lower-animal behavior is learned. The subject matter of behavior analysis as a scientific discipline is the interaction of individual behavior with various aspects of the environment.

Behaviorism emerged in the early 20th century. The pioneers of behavior analysis were American psychologists John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner and Russian neurologist, physiologist and psychologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov’s concept of the “conditioned reflex” became a key concept in the development of a new approach to psychology, Watson outlined the major features of behaviorism in his 1913 article “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It”, and Skinner developed the philosophy of radical behaviorism and the experimental analysis of behavior.

The applied branch of behaviorism, applied behavior analysis (ABA), is a psychological intervention aimed to improve socially significant behavior. Many ABA practitioners specialize in autism spectrum disorders, but ABA interventions have proved effective in many other areas such as general and special education, dementia, substance abuse, parenting and child welfare, eating disorders, ADHD, and more.

ABA practitioners can work in a variety of professional settings including public and private clinics, hospitals, schools and universities, group homes, nursing homes, workplaces, and more. In 1998, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board was founded to establish training, examination and practice standards, and ensure that all ABA practitioners meet them.

World Behavior Analysis Day (WBAD) was created in December 2020 by a group of associations for behavior analysis. After the inaugural celebration, which took place on March 20, 2021, the founding associations established World Behavior Analysis Day Alliance, a nonprofit organization that facilitates international celebrations of World Behavior Analysis Day and promotes international awareness of behavior analysis.

The annual celebration of behavior analysis lasts for an entire week, starting on March 14 and culminating on the birthday of B. F. Skinner, March 20. During this week, behavioral analysis associations, behaviorists, and other stakeholders around the globe organize various events to promote behavior analysis and celebrate its founder. They include conferences, seminars and webinars, workshops, free consultations, and more.

You can celebrate World Behavior Analysis Day by participating in one of these events or organizing an event of your own (for example, a career day at a local school), learning more about behaviorism and sharing the facts you’ve learned with other people, sharing your experience with behavior analysis, donating to a nonprofit that funds behavior analysis research, and promoting the holiday on social media using the hashtags #WorldBehaviorAnalysisDay and #WBAD.