David Polson, Ph.D.
	Interest Areas experimental and applied behavior analysis, technology of teaching, history of psychology Contact Information Email: dpolson@athabascau.ca Phone: 1-866-490-8918 Phone Contact Hours Sundays, 8:30-10:00 pm MST Mondays, 8:30-9:30 pm MST

Athabasca University (Tutor)

• PSYC 304 – Experimental Psychology (discontinued)
• PSYC 375 – History of Psychology
• PSYC 387 – Learning

University of Victoria (Instructor)

• PSYC 201 – Research Methods in Psychology
• PSYC 210 – Historical and Conceptual Foundations of Psychology
• PSYC 250 – Introduction to Applied Behavioral Psychology (discontinued)
• PSYC 311B – Conditioning and Learning: Behavioral Emphasis
• PSYC 338 – Behavior Modification in Children and Adults
• PSYC 412B – Advanced Topics in Behavior Analysis: Applied Research
• PSYC 412C – Advanced Topics in Behavior Analysis: Basic Research

Selected Publications

Polson, D.A.D., & Parsons, J. A. (2000). Selection-based versus topography-based responding: An important distinction for stimulus equivalence? The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 17, 105-128

Polson, D.A.D., Grabavac, D.M., & Parsons, J.A. (1997). Intraverbal Stimulus-Response Reversibility: Fluency, Familiarity Effects, and Implications for Stimulus Equivalence. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 14, 19-40.

Polson, D.A.D. (1995). Fostering multiple repertoires in an undergraduate behavior analysis course. The Behavior Analyst, 18, 293-299.

Polson, D.A.D., & Parsons, J.A. (1994). Precurrent contingencies: Behavior reinforced by altering reinforcement probability for other behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 61, 427-439.

Selected Web Publications

Polson, D.A.D., & Grant, L. K. (2002). History of psychology timeline. [On-line]. Available: http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/History/

Polson, D.A.D. (2000). Ogden Lindsley and precision teaching. [On-line]. Available: http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/387/OpenModules/Lindsley/

Polson, D.A.D. (1998). Experimental design: Internal validity. [On-line]. Available: http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/Validity/

About Me

I was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. I attended the University of Windsor and, after switching majors a few times, graduated with a B.A. (1983) in psychology. It took only one visit to the west coast to decide it was where I wanted to be. I chose to do my graduate schooling at the University of Victoria, where I earned an M.A. (1985) and Ph.D. (1991) in psychology, specializing in behaviour analysis. I took some time off during my graduate studies to work in northern BC, first as a behavioural consultant with developmentally disabled persons, and later in curriculum design for the human services worker program at the College of New Caledonia. After graduate school, I stayed in Victoria and remained affiliated with the University of Victoria. For several years I worked full-time as a Learning Specialist in the Study Skills Program, teaching courses, running workshops, and providing individual counselling for students. Concurrently, I taught courses and conducted behavioural research in the psychology department.

As a teacher, I have tried to practice what I preach. For example, I apply the principles of behaviour analysis to teach the principles of behaviour analysis. As a researcher, I have focussed on basic learning issues with applied implications for students of all ages. For example, if you study with flashcards by seeing a definition and providing the term, are you then able to provide the definition when seeing the term?

Over the years, my teaching activities and research activities have intertwined. I typically invite former exceptional students to become involved in my research, and agree to supervise them as part of an independent studies course (or Honours thesis). And there is yet more overlap—my research findings have informed how I teach. For example, the answer to the question I posed above appears to be no. So, whereas previously I required students in my courses to obtain fluency with flashcards by seeing the definition and providing the term, now they are also required to provide randomly selected missing keywords from the definition.

Currently, my professional activities are divided between the University of Victoria and Athabasca University. At the University of Victoria, my positions are “Continuing Sessional Instructor” and “Adjunct Associate Professor.” While my focus is on teaching, time permitting, I continue to engage in behavioural research. At Athabasca University, I am the tutor for two courses in the psychology department and intermittently contribute to course development, such as writing online tutorials.

My wife, Angela, is a personal counsellor and Registrar for the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. We are the proud parents of two boys, Luke (12 years old) and Daniel (8 years old).