Behavior Analysis and Intersectionality: Implications for research practices

Abstract

In recent decades, it has been recognized that many scientific productions neglect, through omission or under-representation, or even disregard variables that characterize historically oppressed groups, such as class, race and sexual orientation. By not covering socially minorized groups, this way of doing science contributes to offering answers, mainly, to the needs and interests of socially privileged groups. Part of this problem has been gradually addressed and resolved through debates and investigations conducted in different fields of studies guided by the concept of “intersectionality”. Intersectionality proposes the examination of the intersection of variables that influence relations in society, subscribing to the inseparability of different social markers (e.g., race, class, gender, and so on) that, when interacting simultaneously, can intensify the vulnerabilities experienced by socially minorized groups or even offer resources that enable the transformative action of these subjects in relation to their contexts. Neglecting the intersection between socially relevant markers in the scientific field often results in the production of imprecise, fragmented knowledge with limited results. Based on this general overview and analyzing the field of Behavior Analysis, this study aimed to (1) analyze the impacts of the disregard of intersection between different social markers in analytical-behavioral research practices, indicating the probable implications of this exclusion, and (2) to suggest to the community of behavior analysts ways to build research practices more sensitive to intersectionality, when pertinence is identified. These suggestions were made considering three types of research practices in Behavior Analysis: theoretical, basic and applied research. The specificities of each one were discussed in separated sections, and then, in the end of each section, questions were formulated to guide authors in how to include intersectionality in their research. To summarize, the construction of a behavioral science that contemplates human diversity requires a change in the way behavior analysts plan and execute science within its social context, which, like other scientific and human contexts in general, is marked by structural inequalities. In that regard, the use of intersectionality in research practices allows the behavior of the scientist to be guided in a way that does not reproduce exclusions and oppressions in the context of scientific knowledge production. Moreover, the community of behavior analysts can benefit from a broader view of the investigated phenomena through the adoption of an intersectional perspective in theoretical, basic and applied research. Thereby, behavior analysts will be able to contribute more effectively to the eradication of contingencies of oppression and exploitation of minorized groups and to the construction of a fairer and egalitarian world.