Social Justice is the Spirit and Aim of an Applied Science of Human Behavior: Moving from Colonial to Participatory Research Practices

Abstract

It is time for a paradigm shift in the science of applied behavior analysis. Our current approach to applied research perpetuates power imbalances. We posit that the purpose of applied behavior analysis is to enable and expand human rights and to eliminate the legacies of colonial, oppressive social structures. We report the findings from our examination of the content of our flagship applied research journal. We reviewed 50 years of applied experiments from the standpoint of respect, beneficence, justice, and the participation of individuals and communities. Although there is some promise and movement toward inclusion, our findings indicate that we have not prioritized full participation across all segments of society, especially persons and communities that are marginalized. Social justice rests on the belief that human life is to be universally cherished and valued. In this paper we suggest that policies, strategies, and research practices within our field be interwoven with a commitment to social justice, including racial justice, for all. We offer recommendations to neutralize and diffuse power imbalances and to work toward a shift from colonial to participatory practices in the methods and aims of our applied science.

Evaluation of accepted and rejected submissions in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis: Gender and experience

“…Using only these circumscribed metrics (submission and acceptance rates), these data show that women are, proportionally, wellrepresented in JABA. Contrary to recent contentions (i.e., Pritchett et al, 2020), there is parity in the number of women-led submissions, accepted submissions, and rejected submissions. Given that women-led articles comprise the majority of total submissions, all other factors being equal, they ought to also comprise the majority of accepted and rejected submissions-which is currently the case.…”

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Applied Behavior Analysis: Addressing Educational Disparities in PK-12 Schools

“…ABA is a versatile field with principles of behavior that have been applied in numerous settings, organizations, and systems. The collective knowledge in ABA has formed a foundation of evidence-based strategies that are used in multiple fields including medical healthcare (e.g., Addison et al, 2012;DeFulio & Silverman, 2012) and mental healthcare (e.g., Hayes et al, 2012;Petts et al, 2016), social and community activism (e.g., Machalicek et al, 2021;Mathur & Rodriguez, 2021), and educational programming (e.g., Greer, 2002;Hugh-Pennie et al, 2018;Trump et al, 2018) with emerging evidence in law enforcement and the justice system (e.g., Carvalho et al, 2021;Crow & Drew, 2021;Pritchett et al, 2021). Additionally, behavior analysts use research from experimental behavior analysis (e.g., Bergmann et al, 2021;Green & Freed, 1993;Harsin et al, 2021; Socio-political awareness Critical literacy; engage students in social justice work through community projects; make explicit the power dynamics of mainstream society; share power in the classroom through personalized systems of instruction and choices in learning apply behavioral principles such as social work (e.g.,.…”

Advocating for the use of Restorative Justice Practices: Examining the Overlap Between Restorative Justice and Behavior Analysis

“…The authors are White, Western males and females and argue for policy change in police organizations from a position of privilege, which is common in behavior analysis research and practice (Miller et al, 2019;Pritchett et al, 2020).…”