ABCs of Racism
Hosted by the AzABA Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion SIG

1.5 Ethics CEU will be available for attendance

Location: 
Zoom (Login will be emailed prior to the presentation)

Presenter: Dr. Jared Van

Summary:

This webinar applies principles of behavior analysis to understanding and dismantling racism. Racism will be examined across individual, interpersonal, systemic, and structural levels using established units of analysis such as operant contingencies, interlocking behavioral contingencies, and metacontingencies. Core behavioral processes—including respondent conditioning, operant learning, observational learning, stimulus generalization, and cultural selection—are described as mechanisms through which racist behavior is acquired and maintained. Relational Frame Theory and contingency adduction are presented to explain how derived stimulus relations support the emergence of stereotypes and implicit bias. Ethical guidelines from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (e.g., Cultural Responsiveness, NonDiscrimination) are integrated to highlight professional responsibilities. The session concludes with data-driven strategies for systemic intervention, culturally responsive reinforcement, and community-level action aimed at disrupting the contingencies that sustain racial inequity.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to define key behavior-analytic terms (e.g., respondent conditioning, operant contingencies, metacontingencies, cultural selection) as they apply to racism.
2. Participants will identify examples of how respondent, operant, and observational learning contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of racist behavior.
3. Participants will be able to list behavior-analytic strategies (e.g., culturally responsive reinforcement, data-driven policy interventions) that can disrupt contingencies maintaining racism. 
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Registration: 

Free for members and non-members!