Dr. Samuel L. Morris, Assistant Professor
Office: 229 Audubon Hall
Department of Psychology
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Email: slmorris@lsu.edu
Dr. Morris is accepting new students for Fall 2025.
Dr. Morris obtained his Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in Behavior Analysis at the University of Florida under the mentorship of Dr. Tim Vollmer. He was an Assistant Professor and the Applied Behavior Analysis Program Coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana University before beginning his current position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University in 2022. Dr. Morris' laboratory focuses on utilizing experimental manipulations of the environment to understand the causes of behavior and prescribe effective interventions to promote the development of adaptive social behaviors. His research interests revolve around three principal areas: (1) methods of assessing and improving sociability, (2) the identification, evaluation, and utilization of different types of reinforcing stimuli, and (3) the application of quantitative models to understand problems of basic and applied significance. Dr. Morris has taught a variety of behavior-analytic courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, served on the board of editors for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and frequently serves as a reviewer for top behavior-analytic journals.
Education
Ph.D., Psychology, University of Florida
M.S., Psychology, University of Florida
B.S., Psychology, University of Florida
Professional Certifications
2020-Present | Board Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA)
Representative Publications
Morris, S. L. & Vollmer, T. R. (2020) A comparison of methods for assessing preference for social interactions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53(2), 918-937. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.692
Morris, S. L. & McDowell, J.J. (2021) Modeling subtypes of automatically reinforced self-injurious
behavior with the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics. Perspectives on Behavior
Science, 44, 581–603. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-021-00297-9
Morris, S.L. & Vollmer, T.R. (2022) Increasing social time allocation and concomitant effects on mands, item engagement, and rigid or repetitive behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(3), 814-831. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.919
Morris, S.L. & Vollmer, T.R. (2022) The matching law provides a quantitative description of social time allocation in children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(3), 934-957. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.934
For more of Dr. Morris' research, see his Google Scholar or ResearchGate.