Sidney William Bijou (November 12, 1908 – June 11, 2009) was an American

developmental psychologist Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...

who developed an approach of treating childhood disorders using

behavioral therapy Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or oth ...

, in which positive actions were rewarded and negative behaviors were largely ignored, rather than punished.

Early life

Bijou was born on November 12, 1908 in the Arlington neighborhood of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with his family when he was 10 years old. He earned a degree in business administration at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1933. He was awarded a master's degree in psychology at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1937 and earned his Ph.D. in the field at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1941. Together with Joseph Jastak, he developed the

Wide Range Achievement Test The Wide Range Achievement Test, currently in its fifth edition (WRAT5), is an achievement test which measures an individual's ability to read words, comprehend sentences, spell, and compute solutions to math problems.Wilkinson, G. S., & Roberts ...

, a comprehensive assessment of an individual's ability in reading, comprehension, spelling, and mathematics.Reynolds, Cecil R.; and Fletcher-Janzen, Elaine
"Encyclopedia of special education"
p. 248.

John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and pr ...

, 2007; . Accessed July 23, 2009. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

.Carey, Benedict
"Sidney W. Bijou, Child Psychologist, Is Dead at 100"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 21, 2009. Accessed July 22, 2009.

Career in psychology

He was hired by

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in 1946, where he spent two years under pioneering behaviorist

B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in ...

. While other child psychologists had focused on the use of techniques such as

play therapy Play therapy refers to a range of methods of capitalising on children's natural urge to explore and harnessing it to meet and respond to the developmental and later also their mental health needs. It is also used for Anatomically correct doll, ...

to identify the motives and causes of problematic behavior, Bijou used Skinner's behavioral techniques to encourage positive behaviors through such rewards as praise, hugs and pieces of candy. Children who were defiant would be given a time-out and separated from a group activity, with the expectation that the bad behavior would be its own punishment, and that any additional sanctions would not have a positive effect. A child isolated from a group would strive to behave appropriately in order to have the opportunity to rejoin the group. He relocated to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in 1948, where he applied Skinner's techniques on children at the Institute of Child Development, and wrote several textbooks in the field together with Donald Baer. Studies he performed there showed that encouragement of good behavior would elicit more good behavior even from unruly children. Ole Ivar Lovaas of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, one of the developers of

applied behavior analysis Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also referred to as behavioral engineering, is a behavior modification system based on the principles of respondent and operant conditioning. ABA is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two are: ...

therapy for

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

, adapted Bijou's techniques to develop one of the most commonly used techniques of using rewards to enhance social skills of autistic children. In 1968, together with Donald Baer,

Todd Risley Todd Robert Risley (September 8, 1937 – November 2, 2007) was an American psychologist. He is credited with helping to create the field of applied behavior analysis, and has been described as a "pioneer" in this field. He is known for the study ...

, James Sherman, and Montrose Wolf, he established the ''

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis The ''Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis'' (JABA) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which publishes empirical research related to applied behavior analysis. It was established in 1968 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of ...

'', as a

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

journal publishing research about

experimental analysis of behavior The experimental analysis of behavior is a science that studies the behavior of individuals across a variety of species. A key early scientist was B. F. Skinner who discovered operant behavior, reinforcers, secondary reinforcers, contingencies of r ...

and its practical applications. He relocated over the years to the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

(from 1975 to 1993) and the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

(from 1993 to 2001), where he established similar behavioral programs.

Personal life

Bijou died at age 100 on June 11, 2009, after collapsing at his home in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. He had moved there to live with his daughter Jude Bijou following his wife's death. He was survived by Jude and a son. His wife died in 2000; they had been married for 67 years. His son recalled taking the family car for a joyride when he was 15 years old and being arrested by the police. At the police station, the officers offered several ideas for punishments for the misdeed, but Dr. Bijou rejected them all, stating that "he's already had punishment enough". His son recalled the incident, stating that "sometimes it can pay off to have a psychologist for a father".

Books by Bijou

Behavior Analysis of Child Development (1993)

New Directions in Behavior Development by Sidney W. Bijou and Emilio Ribes (c1996)

Behavior Modification: Contributions to education by Sidney W. Bijou and Emilio Ribes-Inesta

New developments in behavioral research: theory, method, and application: In honor of Sidney Bijou

Child development: the basic stage of early childhood
by Sidney Bijou (1976)
The exceptional child: conditioned learning and teaching ideas
Papers by Sidney Bijou t al.(1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bijou, Sidney W. 1908 births 2009 deaths American men centenarians 20th-century American psychologists American child psychologists Columbia University alumni Indiana University faculty Health professionals from Baltimore People from Brooklyn People from Santa Barbara, California Warrington College of Business alumni University of Iowa alumni University of Arizona faculty University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty University of Nevada, Reno faculty University of Washington faculty United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II