Actively Addressing Systemic Racism Using a Behavioral Community Approach
Use the Social-Ecological Model to map and change racist contingencies in your organization—start with the provided collaborative action tools.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Watson-Thompson et al. (2022) wrote a how-to paper for behavior analysts.
They blended the Social-Ecological Model with behavioral principles.
The goal: give teams ready-made tools to spot and break racist rules inside schools, clinics, and community agencies.
What they found
The paper does not give outcome data.
Instead it gives a map and a toolbox.
Teams can use the map to see where racist contingencies hide and then swap them for fair ones.
How this fits with other research
Belisle et al. (2022) also published anti-racism guidance in the same year.
They use Relational Frame Theory to explain how racist language networks form.
The two papers agree on the mission but offer different lenses: SEM for system mapping, RFT for verbal change.
McGee et al. (2019) earlier showed that behavioral systems analysis prevents change efforts from stalling.
Watson-Thompson builds on that by aiming the same analysis at racist contingencies.
Kirby et al. (2022) add cultural reciprocity drills so staff can work humbly with the communities they serve.
Why it matters
You now have a ready script for your next staff meeting.
Open the collaborative action tools, pick one level of the SEM, and ask, "Where is race shaping outcomes here?"
Start small, document what you change, and share the data.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Recent police brutality and related violence against Black people, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, has further evidenced the disproportionate impact of systemic racism in our institutions and across society. In the United States, the alarming mortality rates for Black people due to police violence and COVID-19 related deaths are clear demonstrations of inequities within a long history of disparate outcomes. In understanding systemic racism, it is essential to consider how it is embedded within society and across socio-ecological levels. The Social-Ecological Model (SEM) is used to examine conditions within the environment that maintain systemic racism, including within our field and discipline. A behavioral-community approach for examining racism aids in determining points of intervention across multiple ecological levels that may contribute to behavior change, including with behaviorists. The science of behavior is well-suited to help examine the contingencies governing behaviors within and across systems, which is pivotal for addressing operant behaviors to influence long-term behavior change. This paper calls on the behavioral community to address systemic racism within our environments and systems of influence to contribute to a more equitable community. Systemic racism, including within the context of anti-Blackness, is examined by considering behavior change strategies that can be supported by behaviorists across socio-ecological levels. Tools for collaborative action are provided to support behaviorists in demonstrating the skills needed across a continuum of behaviors from allyship to anti-racism to actively address systemic racism.
Behavior and Social Issues, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s42822-022-00101-6