On the virtues of being a psychologist.

Hobson (1987) wrote a short opinion piece. He told behavior analysts to stop staying in clinics. He said we should study big social problems like politics and money systems.

The paper has no data. It is a rally cry from one psychologist to the field.

The author found no new facts. Instead he saw a gap. Behavior science was solving small puzzles while society faced huge troubles.

He argued our principles could shape laws, markets, and world trade if we dared to try.

Malagodi (1986) made a similar plea one year earlier. He asked for cultural analysis. Hobson (1987) widened the call to all big social issues.

Malott (2004) later turned the dream into a plan. He showed how to plant behavior analysts in foreign universities to spark global growth.

de la Cruz et al. (2025) prove it worked. Their review lists real laws, licensure, and funding won by analyst-led lobbying teams. The vision from 1987 is now daily practice.

You can stop waiting for permission. Pick a civic problem your clients face—poor bus routes, food deserts, unfair school policy. Map the contingencies, run a pilot, share data with city councils. The field has already moved from clinic rooms to state houses; your project can be the next step.