Johnny Lee Matson is a former professor in the Department of

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

recognized for his work in the social sciences. Matson's research topics were development, assessment and treatment of co-morbid conditions in developmental

intellectual disabilities Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

, including

autism spectrum disorders The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. Matson's high number of self publications, self citations, and peer review practices have been questioned by social scientists. In 2023 it was reported that Matson had 24 of his research papers retracted due to

scientific misconduct Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in the publication of professional scientific research. A '' Lancet'' review on ''Handling of Scientific Misconduct in Scandinavian countrie ...

Background and research career

Matson was born on June 23, 1951, in

Watseka, Illinois Watseka is a city in and the county seat of Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. It is located approximately west of the Illinois-Indiana state line on U.S. Route 24. The population of Watseka was 5,255 according to the 2010 census, which ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in Psychology and

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

degree in

Counseling Psychology Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that encompasses research and applied work in several broad domains: counseling process and outcome; supervision and training; career development and counseling; and prevention and health. ...

from

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

. Matson received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in Psychology from

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

in 1976 and completed his internship in Clinical Psychology at Central Louisiana State Hospital. Matson was an assistant professor of child psychiatry and psychology at

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

from 1978 through 1981, associate professor and professor in the Department of Learning, Developmental and Special Education at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...

, and starting in 1985 a professor in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University. Matson's research career focused upon the assessment and treatment and functioning of people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, including psychotropic medication side effects, social skills of children and adults, psychopathology, symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, problem behavior, behavioral function, and feeding problems. Matson supported the use of indirect assessment measures to assess symptoms, side-effects, and treatment progress. Matson participated in the development of the Psychopathology Inventory for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA) and the

Questions About Behavior Function The Questions About Behavior Function (QABF) measure is a widely used indirect assessment tool designed to assist mental health practitioners in assessing the function of maladaptive behaviors in individuals diagnosed with a developmental disabilit ...

( QABF) measure. Matson is also the co-developer of the Functional Assessment for Multiple Causality (FACT) measure, which has been found to have superior psychometric properties to the QABF, when a given behavior is reinforced by multiple factors.

Scientific misconduct

Since 2015 researchers have raised concern about Matson's high number of self publications and self citations. His peer review practices as a journal editor have also been questioned. In 2023 Matson had 24 of his research publications retracted, with the original journal publisher citing undisclosed conflicts of interest, duplicated methodology and a compromised peer-review process as reasons for the retractions. Matson responded by writing, "This only applies to a small handful of articles ndthere is no rule about self-citations."

Background and research career

Scientific misconduct

References

See also