Association for Behavior Analysis International

 Behavior analytic research has yielded an undisputed record of both scientific progress and specific applications advancing the effective prediction and control of individual behavior. Analysis of the immediate contingencies of behavior has been applied successfully in virtually countless settings. There are now increasing opportunities to extend effective behavioral analyses to broader social contingencies, possibly leading to more precise conceptualizations of behavior change on a societal level. In this symposium, three papers are presented offering thoughts about how a behavior analytic approach may contribute to our understanding of various societal processes. In the first paper, accounts of possible early statements of seminal religious figures are discussed within the prism of selected behavior analytic concepts. In the second paper, the development and various functions of diverse ethical organizational systems is discussed from a behavior analytic framework. Finally, a third paper examines the contexts in which perpetrator blame has usually been examined and offers an alternative conceptualization of perpetrator blame from a behavioral framework. These papers are intended to contribute to a discussion of larger societal issues from a behavior analytic framework, with the goal of the generation of testable research questions and innovative intervention strategies supporting larger-scale behavior change.

Target Audience: Service providers, behavior analysts, clinicians, higher education instructors, school professionals, teachers, people interested in philosophical issues