Editorial: Rendezvous With Truth and Discovery

Abstract

The police violence pandemic directed toward members of racialized populations in the United States, particularly but not exclusively African American men (African American women and indigenous groups face similar injustices), has produced widespread protests and some immediate changes across the United States and around the world. The extent to which the Black Lives Matter movement will be sustained as was the civil rights movement in the 1960s is not yet known, but broad participation among racial, economic, and age groups is encouraging. There are opportunities for all to participate in the movement simply as members of society; we argue here, however, that behavior scientists and practitioners have unique potential, and an ethical obligation, to contribute to achieving meaningful change while recognizing that we offer only part of what is necessary for social advancement. In 1967, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968), gave a distinguished address to the American Psychological Association titled "The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement." He noted that "for social scientists, the opportunity to serve in a life-giving purpose is a humanist challenge of rare distinction. Negroes too are eager for a rendezvous with truth and discovery." He then suggested areas where help would be welcomed. The need is clearly still great, but behavior science has yet to prioritize this work. Perhaps this is the moment. The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science recently released a statement reading, in part, We, the Board of ACBS, are writing this statement to unequivocally oppose structural, cultural, and individual racism, racially motivated violence, hate speech and all forms of prejudice and oppression in evidence throughout the world. We invite our community of researchers, therapists, and helpers to look hard at the many ways in which racism manifests in the world at large. We ask that our scientific community bring to bear the significant strength of contextual behavioral science in shining a light and exploring solutions to discrimination and Behavior and Social Issues

Increasing Access and Quality of Behavior-Analytic Services for the Latinx Population

“…The field of behavior analysis has historically been characterized by both a commitment to social justice (Ardila Sánchez et al, 2020 ; Mattaini, 2005 ; Mattaini & Rehfeldt, 2020 ; Skinner, 1948 , 1971 ) and a contextualistic dedication to pragmatic truth criteria (i.e., a “what is true is what works” approach for evaluating scientific constructs and the treatment approaches derived from them; L. J. Hayes & Fryling, 2019 ; S. C. Hayes et al, 1988 ; Lattal & Laipple, 2003 ). The issues addressed in this article are relevant to concerns in both of these domains.…”

Restructuring Law Enforcement Agencies to Support Prosocial Values: A Behavior-Scientific Model for Addressing Police Brutality

“…Moreover, acceptance and commitment training, not therapy, may be a less stigmatizing approach for a population with a potential bias against psychological wellness or "therapy" interventions. Behavior scientists have called for the use of ACT interventions within law enforcement (Mattaini & Rehfeldt, 2020) and some behavioral health interventions that include ACT are currently being used with law enforcement professionals with promising results (Gallo, 2020). The Blue Life Academy is a behavioral health online resource for law enforcement professionals that focuses on the ACT core processes to increase psychological wellness by lowering stress, improving performance during challenging situations, and reducing emotional reactivity.…”

Collective Editorial: Ten Guidelines for Strategic Social Action

“…With White supremacist groups typically identifying as Republican, class merger (Sidman, 1997) may yield an overgeneralized network of linkages between Republican ideology and White supremacy. This process has been shown to apply to racism, religious stereotypes, ageism, and other forms of social categorization (Barnes-Holmes, Murphy, Barnes-Holmes, & Stewart, 2010; Cullen, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes, & Stewart, 2009;Mattaini & Rehfeldt, 2020;Weinstein, Wilson, Drake, & Kellum, 2008). Relational networks can "run wild" outside of the laboratory (see Sidman, 1997) and result in extreme views and misunderstandings.…”