Joel Greenspoon

Joel Greenspoon (October 11, 1920 – April 24, 2004) was an American psychology researcher, professor, and clinician. Greenspoon made notable contributions to the field of behaviorism in psychology through pioneering work on verbal operant conditioning and counterconditioning in the treatment of anxiety.

Education Greenspoon received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1941. Immediately after college he coached at Fishburne Military School in Virginia. This experience (and world events at the time) led to his service in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, where he became a captain and was a clinical psychologist. Upon returning from duty he completed his Master of Arts degree in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1947.

During his graduate school years at Indiana University Bloomington he was directly supervised by Burrhus F. Skinner, William S. Verplanck, and J. R. Kantor. Greenspoon directly attributes his passion for behaviorism to his introduction to Skinner during Skinner’s chairmanship of the psychology department there.

Professional life Teaching and administrative work Greenspoon described his greatest passion as teaching. ) Verbal conditioning and clinical psychology (Greenspoon, 1962 ) Psychotherapy from the standpoint of a behaviorist (Greenspoon & Brownstein, 1967 )

Mentoring During his tenure at Arizona State University, Greenspoon supervised Robert O. Pihl’s graduate training. Pihl went onto a highly successful career as a clinical psychologist spearheading the field of alcohol-related aggression and substance abuse research at McGill University.

Awards and legacy Greenspoon was awarded the 2011 Texas Association for Behavioral Analysis Pioneer in Behavioral Analysis award for his contributions to behavioral analysis in Texas. Paul R. Fuller, a colleague of Greenspoon from Indiana University, described Greenspoon as "...not only a best friend, he was a role model and an inspiration in strength and persistence”.

Personal life Greenspoon was born on October 11, 1920, in the small community of Charles Town, West Virginia. He was married to Alice Marie Greenspoon for almost 49 years, and who survived him for many years before dying on May 29, 2013. Together they had a son and two daughters.

Death Greenspoon died on April 20, 2004, at the age of 83 in Denton, Texas. He died due to complications from leukemia.