Meet The Team

Sam Morris is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at LSU. He teaches courses and conducts research related to behavior analysis. His research employs experimental manipulations of the environment to understand causal influences on choice and inform behavior change strategies. The individualization of reinforcement procedures and relative efficacy of different types and parameters of reinforcement have proven uniting themes underlying his research to date. His non-research interests include hiking and camping, playing music, and strategy board games.  

Pierce Taylor is a second-year graduate student in the Morris Behavior Analysis Lab. He completed a B.S. in Psychology from the University of West Florida in 2020 and a M.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis and Clinical Science from Rollins College in 2023. His research interests include the acquisition of complex verbal behavior and applications of quantitiatve methods in applied settings. In his free time, he likes to play video games, bake, and play with his dog.

Alva Allen is a second-year graduate student in the Morris Behavior Analysis Lab. She completed a B.A. in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2021. Her research interests include examining factors that influence conversational behaviors and the emergence and prevention of challenging behavior as well as using quantitative models to bridge the basic-applied continuum. In her spare time, Alva likes to bake, read, play video games, try new restaurants, and spend time with friends and family.

Jonah Bann is a first-year PhD student in the Morris Behavior Analysis Lab. He completed his BA in Disability Studies at Vanderbilt University and completed his MA in Applied Behavior Analysis at Rutgers University. While at Rutgers, he served as a Registered Behavior Technician in the Pediatric Severe Behavior Program at the Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, and Education Services (RUCARES). Jonah’s thesis assessed different strategies for promoting independent relinquishment of preferred items. His research interests lie in using translational research to improve the assessment and treatment of severe behavior as well as promote sociability. In his free time, Jonah enjoys cooking, exercising, watching anime, and playing chess. 

Edward (Eddie) Blakemore is a first-year graduate student at Louisiana State University in the Morris Behavior Analysis Lab. He graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from Louisiana State University. With emphasis on basic and translational research, his interests include evaluating the influence of conditioned stimuli positively correlated with reinforcement on human participants and attempts to test predictions made by the ETBD with human participants. Outside of academia, Eddie is a mean home cook, reads fiction, and plays DND.