Anger, Fear, & Sadness: How Emotions Could Help Us End a Pandemic of Racism

Abstract

Racism, recently referred to as another kind of pandemic, affects the health and safety of diverse individuals within the United States and around the world. Emotions are a powerful and integral aspect of the experience of racism; however, within the field of behavior analysis, we have been hesitant to acknowledge emotion or explore how it relates to behavior and behavioral contingencies. As a result, the scope of our understanding of emotion is limited. To better understand the current experience and perception of practitioners in the field of behavior analysis, as they relate to emotion and racism, a brief survey was conducted. Findings indicated that while many may be comfortable discussing emotion and with the display of emotions for themselves and others, this was not the case for everyone. Further, many were uncomfortable discussing racism. While participants believed the emotions of racism are important and should be addressed by the field of behavior analysis, they think the field has not done enough work in this area. The results of the study lead to several recommendations, including additional anti-racism research and the acknowledgment of emotional experience, and also for how individuals can better understand, and maybe reduce, the negative emotions associated with oppression.