| Abstract: Biglan (2009; 2020) discusses behavior analytic strategies for addressing negative externalities, an economic construct that describes a by-product of the production, marketing, or consumption of a good or service, which has a deleterious societal impact. His work provides an ambitious framework, including alterations to the metacontingencies that currently lead to poor functioning on the part of existing advocacy groups. Biglan’s proposal advocates for an epidemiological approach in which negative externalities impacting the most people in the most significant manner would be prioritized, with financial incentivization tied to effective remediation by advocacy organizations. While this approach has face validity, governmental incentivization to focus on these sets of externalities may have unintended effects for minority populations. That is, viewed from a behavior systems perspective, there is significant risk that this recommendation could further systemic inequalities experienced by vulnerable populations. This paper offers an elaboration of Biglan’s framework and proposes additional factors rooted in a cultural behavioral science perspective which may increase the utility of the initial framework in addressing systemic inequalities faced by vulnerable minority populations. |