The Wisdom Factor: Reducing the Control of Bias, Threat, and Fear while Building a Better World

The Wisdom Factor is about how you show up, what you say and do, and the legacy you leave. Using science and experience, the authors describe how a river of reciprocity connects us. Individual behavior holds the transformational power to create change, even in tough times. Assessing your effects by your actions is at the heart of this book. The strategies can help you build a better world. Watch the ripple effect.

Dr. Alice Darnell Lattal has spent a lifetime on issues of coercion and its fallout across educational, health, mental health, and workplace settings. A clinical psychologist by training, she spent her first two decades of professional life in special education, adult clinical, and community mental health while addressing the suppressive effects of poverty on infant development, child and spousal abuse, and literacy in rural America. She established her own consulting company, Context Management, Inc., in 1980. Joining several business-to-business consulting companies, she served as a coach for individual, group, and leader development. She served as President and CEO of Aubrey Daniels International for 14 years, appointed as Board Chair for another two years before returning to her coaching and consulting work. Since March of 2020, she has served as CEO and President of ABA Technologies, Inc.; her wealth of experience spans more than 50 years and six continents. Her publications include Clark and Lattal, Workplace Ethics: Winning the Integrity Revolution (Rowman & Littlefield, 1993; University Press, 1998), Ethics at Work (Performance Management Publications, 2005); Lattal and Clark, A Good Days Work (2008), McGraw Hill; Ishida and Lattal, Sustaining a Stress-Free Workplace using Positive Reinforcement (English title translation) (2010), Toyo Keiza Press; Daniels and Lattal, Life's a PIC/NIC(R) when you understand behavior (Sloan Publishing, 2017), Daniels and Lattal, Live a Good Life: Using the science of behavior to drive personal and social change (Performance Management. Publications, 2020); and The Wisdom Factor: Reducing the Control of Bias, Threat, and Fear to Build a Better World, Lattal and Zuluaga, (KeyPress Publications, 2022). Among her positions, Dr. Lattal served as President of her state psychological association, Board of Trustee member of a national policy and prevention group dedicated to reducing violence in America, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. She lives with her husband, Andy in Hilton Head Island, SC. She and her husband consider the best of times is being with their three fine children and their families, benefiting from the wit and wisdom of their seven grandchildren.

Carlos A. Zuluaga is a Senior Vice President of Instruction at ABA Technologies, Inc. In this role, Carlos develops and delivers instructional content to disseminate behavior analysis in both English and Spanish. In addition, he is a Lead Co-Instructor for Florida Tech's ABA Online Program. Carlos has published in professional journals and blogs, presented at conferences, and has offered talks to practitioners and consumers of applied behavior analysis. He was also part of the team that translated the first Spanish edition of the VB-MAPP. Carlos received a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from Florida Tech in 2006. His master's thesis was published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis in 2008: Zuluaga, C., & Normand, M. P. (2008). An evaluation of the high-probability instruction sequence with and without programmed reinforcement for compliance with high-probability instructions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 453-457. Before joining ABA Technologies, Inc., Carlos was a lead therapist at QuestKids, an early intervention agency, for seven years. During this time, he learned to conduct a number of skill assessments like the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP), develop verbal behavior programs, teach a variety of skills to children with developmental disabilities, train caregivers, and provide supervision. During his free time, Carlos enjoys spending time with his wife and dog, reading, writing, drawing, playing guitar, listening to music, cooking, and exercising.