Members of the Polish Society for Behavioral Psychology are not only psychologists (academics and doctoral students as well as practicing psychologists) and psychology students, but also representatives of related disciplines – mainly educationalists and therapists.

JESTEŚMY AFILIOWANYM ODDZIAŁEM ABAI

OUR MAIN OBJECTIVES:

• To develop and promote psychological knowledge, with special focus on behavior analysis as the science of behavior and the environmental factors that influence it.
• To propagate the idea of effective behavioral therapy as a form of psychological treatment and to disseminate knowledge about the forms of therapy and their effectiveness.

We strive to achieve the above goals through scientific, publishing, and training activity as well as through work for the community of psychologists and psychotherapists.

Polish Society for Behavioral Psychology was founded in 2002 at the Institute of Psychology of the Jagiellonian University (JU). The originator of the idea was Prof. Jerzy Siuta (Head of the Department of Behavioral Psychology at the JU Institute of Psychology), who persuaded his graduate and doctoral students to establish an organization propagating and popularizing the practical aspects of behavioral science, with special focus on promoting behavioral therapy.
The founding meeting of the Society took place on November 16, 2002, at the JU Institute of Psychology. PSBP Statute was adopted and the Founding Committee was appointed, composed of Przemysław Bąbel, Dorota Fortuna, and Małgorzata Kantaruk. Two years later, PSBP was entered into the National Court Register (KRS) and formally began its activity.

THE CRACOW PERIOD

The First PSBP Board (2005-2007) was composed of: Przemysław Bąbel (President), Tomasz Drożdż (Vice-President), Aneta Smolińska (Secretary), Anna Ziółkowska (Treasurer), and Maciej Michalski (Board Member). They were graduates, doctoral students, and staff members of the JU Institute of Psychology. Przemysław Bąbel has served as Board President for three terms, setting the tone, direction, and pace to the development of PSBP. In the “Cracow period,” PSBP established cooperation with all major behavioral therapy centers in Poland, joined work on the Act on the profession of psychologist and the professional self-government of psychologists, assumed patronage over publications in behavioral science, popularized various forms of behavioral therapy by organizing numerous training courses, established close cooperation with the Polish Behavioral Therapy Association, which gave rise to a system of acknowledging professional competence and granting the title of professional behavioral therapist, called Polish Behavioral Therapist License; in that period, PSBP also organized six scientific symposiums, which quickly established their place in the calendar of important events of Poland’s behavioral community.

THE WARSAW PERIOD

In 2011 there was a change in the composition of the PSBP Board, which had previously consisted of Warsaw’s rather than Cracow’s academic institutions and therapeutic centers. In the years 2011-2017, PSBP Board leaders were: Łukasz Paw (President), Monika Suchowierska (Vice-President), Bartłomiej Swebodziński (Treasurer), and Ewa Kopecka (Secretary). In that period, five consecutive PSBP symposiums were held at the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw. They were all international and attracted more and more participants each year. Moreover, in the “Warsaw period,” PSBP continued its patronage over publications in the field of behavior analysis, became an affiliated branch of ABAI (Association for Behavior Analysis International), was represented at conferences held by ABAI, and initiated the organization of competitions for the best master’s thesis devoted to the issues of behavior analysis.

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In 2017, the composition of PTPB Board changed again. It is currently made up of representatives of academic centers located in various parts of Poland (JU, SWPS University in Warsaw, SWPS University in Poznań), which means PTPB has opened a new chapter in its activity.