Dr. Samuel L. Morris, Assistant Professor

Headshot of Dr. Samuel Morris Office: 229 Audubon Hall

Department of Psychology

Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge, LA 70803

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.