Behaviorists For Social Responsibility
... are a Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis: International. The mission of Behaviorists for Social Responsibility is to act to expand applications of behavior analysis and cultural analysis addressing social issues, particularly those with social justice, human rights, and environmental implications. Activities of BFSR include:

• Expanding and strengthening the community of behavior analytic scientists working in areas of social importance, providing mutual stimulation and reinforcement for this work, and supporting and challenging each other in deepening it.

• Encouraging advances in the emerging subdiscipline of cultural analysis, in which many promising approaches to dealing with important social issues are grounded.

• Expanding access to current experimental, applied, and conceptual analyses related to social issues and cultural analysis worldwide, through publication of the scientific journal Behavior and Social Issues.

• Encouraging behavior scientists and practitioners to take practical action challenging oppression, in solidarity with those who are most at risk.

• Expanding public awareness of behavior analytic and cultural analytic principles and practices that can contribute to addressing social issues and challenging oppression.

• Expanding presentations and programming related to social issues at the annual Association for Behavior Analysis: International convention, and other scientific and professional venues.

Many behavior analysts entered the field because they wished to act to contribute to their world, and in particular to further social justice, human rights, and environmental action, and to challenge oppression. The SIG offers a forum to further those interests, which can sometimes become submerged in the contingencies of the academic, scientific, and practice worlds.

Membership: Membership in the BFSR is open to any class of member of the Association for Behavior Analysis: International. Only ABA members are currently eligible for membership in BFSR, as we believe a comprehensive grounding in the sciences of behavior analysis and cultural analysis among members is important to achieving our objectives. Non-members are encouraged to use the resources developed by BFSR, however. For membership information, please send name, affiliations, preferred email, and a brief statement of interests to bfsr@bfsr.org.

Recurring annual events: The annual meeting of the SIG is held in conjunction with the annual convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis: International. A meeting of the editorial board of the journal (which other members of BFSR may attend) is also held in conjunction with the convention. At the annual meeting, initial plans are made for activities over the coming year, with most follow-up communication conducted electronically. Committees are appointed at the annual meeting to pursue particular areas of interest related to SIG objectives; committee activities are currently expanding.

Journal and Listserv: BFSR publishes the journal Behavior and Social Issues, an open-access scientific journal available in hard copy, and also freely available online. Information on subscriptions is also available at the website. In addition to the journal, BFSR sponsors a listserv for members. The listserv is one tool for strengthening the community of behavior and cultural analysts working in areas of social concern. (For information on the listserv, please send email to: bfsr@bfsr.org.)

Return to BFSR Home Page
The image used on the BFSR home page, adapted from Glenn, 1988, portrays the interlocking cultural practices that produce aggregate outcomes related to social justice.

Glenn, S. S. (1988). Contingencies and metacontingencies: Toward a synthesis of behavior analysis and cultural materialism. The Behavior Analyst, 11, 161-179.