Contributed by Jillian Phipps, Pennie Fordham, and Katherine Gray.
Have you ever wondered where the idea that positive actions should be rewarded came from? Have you ever wondered where the concept of bad behavior being its own punishment came from? If so, then check out the Sidney Bijou papers, which are now available for research at the CCHP.
Sidney Bijou (1908-2009) was a psychologist who specialized in child psychology, behaviorism, and studies on autism. Many of Bijou’s studies showed that encouraging good behavior led to more good behavior, more so than when bad behavior was punished. Bijou traveled all over the world to give symposiums on his research.
Sidney Bijou towards the start of his career, undated. From box M6303, Folder 6
Sidney Bijou later in his career, undated. From box M6303, Folder 6
Name badge from the Portage Conference in Hiroshima in 1998. From box M6292, Folder 9
Some of Bijou’s major works include Behavior Analysis of Child Development (1993) and Childhood Development: The Basic Stage of Early Childhood (1976). He contributed to other works, such as New Directions in Behavior Development and Behavior Modification: Contributions to Education, both with Emilio Ribes-Inesta.
The Sidney Bijou papers include his academic works, from when he was in college as a student to when he was teaching as a professor; his research files for his written works; manuscripts of the written works themselves; reference files that show what he was working on year to year; and biographical information on his career that he compiled himself. His papers contain 13 boxes of archival materials. These files contain most of his work in child psychology, behaviorism, and autism research.
Of special note in Bijou’s files is his work on effective teaching and treatment methods for autistic children (1990-1998). In these files, Bijou has different curricula, class designs, and possible ways to assist autistic children in integrating into the public school system.
Example of the worksheets Bijou used to assess how well schools were integrating autistic children. From box M6293, Folder 7.
The processing of this archival collection fulfilled requirements for students enrolled in the course Foundations of Museums and Archives I and was generously sponsored by the EX[L] Center at the University of Akron.