Gregory Madden

Biography

I am a Professor in the Department of Psychology. I teach PSY1400/1410, which is the introductory course in behavioral processes. Topics range from free will to interventions designed to treat depression and drug dependence. I also teach PSY 2400, a course on human happiness and wellbeing. In 2011, my teaching was excellence was recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) with an appointment as a G. Stanley Hall Lecturer. In 2020 I was awarded USU’s highest research honor, the D. Wynne Thorne Career Research Award.

Over the course of my research career, I served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the APA Handbook of Behavior Analysis (Volumes 1 and 2), and I frequently review research grant proposals for the National Institutes of Health. I have spent more than a decade reviewing research findings that are summarized for an undergraduate audience in my co-authored textbook, An Introduction to Behavior Analysis.

Research

My research broadly examines decision making. For example, my graduate- and undergraduate student colleagues and I study impulsive choice and how it influences drug-taking and gambling. Other studies examine how to teach individuals to better delay gratification, with the long-term goal of reducing susceptibility to negative health-impacting behaviors. Still, other studies explore behavioral economic interventions to increase physical activity and healthy eating, and to reduce behaviors to contribute to urban pollution. These projects have been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute for Child Health and Development), the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Agriculture.

Prospective Graduate Students

Applicants should have a strong interest in one or more of my three ongoing areas of behavioral-economic research: (i) delay discounting and drug self-administration in nonhumans, (ii) improving self-control in at-risk children, and (iii) improving healthy behaviors in adults and children

Successful applicants will have:
- A strong background in behavioral sciences (e.g., undergrad major in psychology, behavior analysis, or an affiliated field).
- A strong overall GPA (>3.2)
- Three letters of recommendation illustrating your commitment to pursuing a career in the bio-behavioral sciences.