Chapter Spotlight: Icelandic ABA

“We aim to continue working on promoting the science of behavior in Iceland and being a professional reference group for scientists and practitioners in the field of behavior analysis.”
Berglind Sveinbjornsdottir

The Icelandic Association of Behavior Analysis (ICEABA) continues to promote the development of behavior analysis as a basic and applied science in Iceland and introduce the applications of behavior analysis to professionals and students alike.

We are a small and growing association of 66 members. A part of the association´s purpose is to introduce the different behavior analysis master´s and doctoral programs available to Icelandic students. Applied behavior analysis has a longstanding and well established footing at the University of Iceland and in the University of Reykjavik. Because there has not been a MSc program in Behavior Analysis in Iceland, Icelandic students have completed their graduate studies in ABA/BA abroad, such as in the US, UK, and Norway. Right now two students are studying abroad. However recently there has been an exciting development in Iceland where both Reykjavik University and University of Iceland started a MSc program in Applied Behavior Analysis.

The association places emphasis on informal meetings where members can share information on research and work in the field. We find this very important for the vitality of our group. Our coffee house meetings and our Facebook have served as great venues for lively discussions. Due to Covid 19 the biggest event, the ICEABA’s conference, had to be cancelled. The conference was moved to November 2021 and we are excited to welcome the invited speakers, Dr. Rebecca MacDonald and Dr. Janet Twyman.

In 2020 ICEABA elected a new secretary, Hanna Steinunn Steingrímsdóttir, PhD. Berglind Sveinbjörnsdóttir remains the president and Steinunn Hafsteinsdóttir remains the tresurer. In addition, IceABA welcomed two students representatives, one from the University of Iceland and one from Reykjavik University. These are MSc students in Applied Behavior Analysis and will make sure that the Icelandic students have a voice and help IceABA to disseminate the science of ABA in Iceland. For the past year a group of IceABA members have met to work towards an Icelandic certification in applied behavior analysis. This work is in it´s early stages and will be continued for the next years to come.

The members of ICEABA are excited for the future. We aim to continue working on promoting the science of behavior in Iceland and being a professional reference group for scientists and practitioners in the field of behavior analysis.