Performance Improvement Laboratory
Applied Behavior Analysis Program (California State University, Sacramento)

Denys Brand, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
California State University, Sacramento
6000 J. Street
Sacramento, CA 95919-6007
Dr. Denys Brand is the director of the Performance Improvement Laboratory and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at California State University, Sacramento. He was awarded his PhD in psychology from the University of Auckland (New Zealand) in 2015. His doctoral dissertation was supervised by Drs. Oliver Mudford and Douglas Elliffe, and involved using sequential analysis (specifically, markov probability chains) to identify problematic sequential dependencies affecting the treatment integrity of discrete-trial teaching programs for children with disabilities. Following his PhD, he worked three years as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Kansas under the supervision of Dr. Florence D. DiGennaro Reed. Dr. Brand has published in peer-reviewed academic journals, including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, Journal of Behavioral Education, Behavior Analysis in Practice, Behavioral Interventions, Teaching Exceptional Children, and European Journal of Behavior Analysis. He currently serves on the editorial boards for Behavior Analysis in Practice, Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and European Journal of Behavior Analysis. Additionally, he is a former board member for the Mid-American Association for Behavior Analysis and currently serves on the OBM Network Research and Education Committee. Presently, his research interests include performance feedback, procedural integrity, and preference assessments in the workplace. Dr. Brand is passionate about the study of behavior in both experimental and applied settings and enjoys working alongside undergraduate and graduate students as a teacher and researcher.
Selected Publications:
Simonian, M. J., & Brand, D. (2022). Assessing the efficacy of and preference for positive and corrective feedback. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(3), 727-745. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.911
Brand, D., Sellers, T. P., Wilder, D. A., & Carr, J. E. (2022). The performance diagnostic-checklist - human services: Guidance for assessment administration. Behavior Analysis in Practice (Advance Online Publication)
Falakfarsa, G., Brand, D., Jones, L., Godinez, E. S., Richardson, D. C., Hanson, R. J., R., Velazquez, S. D., & Wills, C. (2022). Treatment integrity reporting in Behavior Analysis in Practice 2008-2019. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15(2), 443-453. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00573-9
Simonian, M. J., Brand, D., Mason, M. A., Heinicke, M. R., & Luoma, S. M. (2020). A systematic review of research evaluating the use of preference assessment methodology in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 40(3-4), 284-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/01608061.2020.1819933
Brand, D., Novak, M.D., & DiGennaro Reed, F. D., & Tortolero, S. A. (2020). Assessing the combined effects of feedback accuracy and frequency on task performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 40, 3-18
Brand, D., DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Morley, M. D., Erath, T. G., & Novak, M. D. (2020). A survey assessing privacy concerns of smart-home services provided to individuals with disabilities. Behavior Analysis in Practice,13, 11-21.
Erath, T. G., DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Sundermeyer, H., Brand, D., Novak, M. D., Harbison, M., & Shears, R. (2020). Enhancing the integrity of training by novice trainers using behavioral skills training (2020). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 449-464.
Brand, D., Henley, A. J., DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Gray, E., & Crabbs, B. (2019). A review of published studies involving parametric manipulations of treatment integrity. Journal of Behavioral Education, 28,1-26.
DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Blackman, A., Erath, T. G., Brand, D., & Novak, M. D. (2018). Guidelines for using behavioral skills training to provide teacher support. Teaching Exceptional Children, 50, 373-380.
Brand, D., Elliffe, D., & DiGennaro Reed, F. D. (2018). Using sequential analysis to assess component integrity of discrete-trial teaching programs. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 19, 30-47.
DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Novak, M. D., Erath, T. G., Brand, D., & Henley, A. J. (2018). Pinpointing and measurement of employee behavior. In B. Wine & J. Pritchard (Eds.), Organizational behavior management, The essentials. Hedgehog Publishers.
DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Erath, T. G., Brand, D., & Novak, M. D. (2018). Video modeling during coaching and performance feedback. In A. J Fischer, T. Collins, E. H. Hart, & K. C. Radley (Eds.), Technology applications in school consultation, supervision, and school psychology training. Routledge.
Brand, D. (2017). Treatment integrity: Why it is important regardless of discipline. Association for Science in Autism Treatment, 14, 6-11.
Brand, D., Mudford, O.C., Arnold-Saritepe, A., & Elliffe, D. (2017). Assessing the within-trial treatment integrity of discrete-trial teaching programs using sequential analysis. Behavioral Interventions, 32, 54-69.
Hensman, M., Mudford, O. C., Dorrestein, M., & Brand, D. (2015). Behavioral evaluation of sensory based activities in dementia care. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 16, 295-311.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15021149.2015.1085693
Engstrom, E., Mudford, O., & Brand, D. (2015). Replication of the check-in procedure to increase activity engagement among people with severe dementia. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48, 460-465.