Association for Behavior Analysis International

Societies have always depended on education: it is through education—formal or not—that many operant repertoires and many culturo-behavioral practices are developed. In modern, complex societies higher education is crucial because of the techno-scientific basis and infrastructure upon which our societies are built. Institutions responsible for higher education are necessary because they are responsible for the replication of such knowledge. It is through higher education that socially relevant operant repertoires—replicated over millions of people—are developed. But the role of higher education is not the mere reproduction of knowledge or of patterns of behavior and culturo-behavioral practices. As institutions, colleges and universities are nowadays important sources of wealth, contributing directly for economic growth of local, regional and even national communities. Most crucially, as institutions, universities and colleges also contribute to the building of patterns of ethical and socially responsible behaviors: from within universities stem many new cultural practices that lead to social development and to the solving of cultural problems. Universities (as the institutions responsible for higher education) are linked with the decrease of violence, of social inequality, and of poverty, and with the increase of social awareness, democratic societies, and responsible public policies. Finally, universities—even when they are small and have only direct local influence—have a tendency to become part of a much larger system that is mostly concerned with shaping up positive behavior and social justice.