Aug 9, 2021
Tony Biglan, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist
at Oregon Research Institute and Co-Director of the Promise
Neighborhood Research Consortium. For the past thirty years, he has
conducted research in the development and prevention of child and
adolescent problem behavior. He is a former president of the
Society for Prevention Research and was a member of the Institute
of Medicine Committee on Prevention. As a member of Oregon’s
Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, he has helped to develop a
strategic plan for implementing comprehensive evidence-based
interventions throughout Oregon.
Dr. Biglan is the founder of Values to Action, an
organization dedicated to evolving more nurturing societies. He has
helped to identify effective family, school, and community
interventions to prevent the most common and costly problems of
childhood and adolescence around the world. Working to advance the
reforms called for in his most recent book, Rebooting
Capitalism: How We Can Forge a Society That Works for
Everyone, Dr. Biglan advocates for the creation of
“Action Circles,” small groups of like-minded people who devote as
little as 15 minutes a day to come together to study a problem in
an effort to devise a solution.
In this episode, you’ll learn…
- A powerful lesson about not taking the criticism and advice of
others too seriously.
- About the tensions between administration and scientists and
the balance of doing what it takes to gain funding while remaining
true to callings and passions.
- About the groundbreaking work done from the 1970s to the
present at Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, OR and the creation
of the first behavior change clinic in Oregon.
- That being politically and socially active and fighting for
justice are possible and needed, even while remaining dedicated to
science and research work and keeping a good balance, including
family and leisure.
- The importance of science support people and participatory
democracy.
- That serendipity and luck can play a part in success and that
there are many paths, not just one “right” one.
- The importance of idleness.
- About some frustrations with NIH and the problem of addressing
individual issues instead of the whole social context.
- About prevention and the concept of “Action Circles.”
Tips from the episode
On the weight of the opinions of others, even
older mentors and those in leadership positions…
- Learn from Dr. Biglan’s personal account of having suicidal
thoughts because his dissertation methodology was judged so
harshly.
- Be encouraged by his later discovery that the very same
dissertation became one of his greatest life accomplishments and
his name is now attached to the concept of “the Biglan Model”
because of it.
- Remember his advice: If you’re working on your
dissertation and they tell you it’s no good or not worthwhile and
so on, just remember they could be mistaken. This, of
course, applies to most things in life, not just dissertation
work.
On participatory democracy…
- Support people are vital to everything. Honoring them and
giving them a voice will only improve success.
- Listen to colleagues who hold different priorities than yours
and release some power and control.
On gaining funding while holding on to personal passions
and what’s important …
- A lot depends on luck or serendipity as to who you meet or how
fate happens to put you in the right place at the right time.
- Having a good system and good support people for writing grants
is important.
- Scientists also have a responsibility to fight for things to
get done. As Dr. Biglan says, It’s imperative that
scientists speak up and not simply wait outside the halls of the
federal government and hope that somebody will do the right
RFA.
On making use of idleness…
- Dedicate time and thought to your passions during your “idle”
time. Let your mind focus on what is important to you.
- Follow Dr. Biglan’s example of getting up early in the morning
to write what he wants, not what work requires. Spend time during
vacations or days off so that there is no tension or guilt about
neglecting work.
On implementing reform and Values to
Action…
- If you are concerned about the state of the world and you’re
not sure what to do about it, join or create an Action Circle
at Values to
Action.
- To learn about implementing reforms, read Rebooting
Capitalism: How We Can Forge a Society That Works for
Everyone.
- We all need to look up from our work and be addressing
those problems.
Links from the episode:
Website Nurture Effect: http://www.nurtureeffect.com/
Website Values to Action: https://www.valuestoaction.org/
Dr. Biglan’s books on Amazon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABiglan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-biglan-093b7710/
French and Raven Bases of Social Power
Bertrand Russell Essay
Psychological Bulletin Article on Stress
Research
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