Ep 09: A Behaviorist’s Role in the Social Justice Movement w/ Megan Sullivan Kirby of UncomfortableX

12/10/19 • 90 min

In this conversation, we are joined by social justice behaviorist/ rockstar Megan Kirby. Megan gets candid about the history of behaviorism and its role in seeing equity in the world. She also discusses discomfort and pain associated with speaking up and out against injustice. We hope that you enjoy the conversation, as much as we enjoyed recording it. Megan Sullivan Kirby, co-founder of UncomfortableX, has over a decade of experience as a professional working in the fields of special education and outpatient ABA therapy services. She is presently a PhD student at the University of South Florida, studying narrative language interventions and the application of behavior analysis to issues related to social justice, education and human rights, part. Please follow us on FB @BeautifulHumansCast or IG @BeautifulHumansChange Follow Megan on FB and IG @UncomfortableBCBA and visit the website. Resources shared during this conversation: https://www.apa.org/monitor/features/king-challenge Goldiamond, I. (2002). Toward a constructional approach to social problems: ethical and constitutional issues raised by applied behavior analysis. Behavior and Social Issues, 11(2), 108–197. Mattaini, M. A. (1996). Envisioning cultural practices. The Behavior Analyst, 19(2), 257-272. Mattaini, M., & Aspholm, R. (2016). Contributions of a behavioral systems science to leadership for a new progressive movement. The Behavior Analyst, 39, 109-121. Metzl, J. M., Petty, J., & Olowojoba, O. V. (2018). Using a structural competency framework to teach structural racism in pre-health education. Social Science & Medicine, 199, 189-201. National Association of Social Workers. (2001). NASW standards for cultural competency in social work practice. Washington, DC: Author. Nevin, J. A. (2005). The inertia of affluence. Behavior and Social Issues, 14, 7–20. Rakos, R. (1983). Behavior analysis as a framework for a multidisciplinary approach to social change. Behaviorists for Social Action, 4(1), 8-16. Slocum, T. A., Detrich, R., Wilczynski, S. M., Spencer, T. D., Lewis, T., & Wolfe, K. (2014). The evidence-based practice of applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 37(1), 41-56. Tanaka-Matsumi, J., Seiden, D. Y., & Lam, K. N. (1996). The Culturally Informed Functional Assessment (CIFA) interview: A strategy for cross- cultural behavioral practice. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 3, 215-233. Wyatt, W. J. (2000). Behavioral science in the crosshairs: The FBI File on B.F. Skinner. Behavior and Social Issues, 10, 101-109. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beautiful-humans/support

Previous Episode

Ep 08: A Behavioral Guide to Getting Through Thanksgiving

In this conversation, Denisha and Erin discuss perspectives on Thanksgiving and opportunities to develop cultural awareness surrounding the highly celebrated holiday. This conversation touches on the original event, Native American History, Standing Rock, and how to get through Thanksgiving dinner with loved ones who share false information. We hope that you enjoy the conversation, as much as we enjoyed recording it. Please follow us on FB @BeautifulHumansCast or IG @BeautifulHumansChange Resources shared during this conversation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76401.Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee Hooper, N., Erdogan, A., Keen, G., Lawton, K., & McHugh, L. (2015). Perspective taking reduces the fundamental attribution error. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4(2), 69-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2015.02.002 https://native-land.ca/mobile-app/ https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/teaching-thanksgiving-in-a-socially-responsible-way Standingrock.org https://www.daplpipelinefacts.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY_a-HjdiOE --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beautiful-humans/support

Next Episode

Ep 10: Living Your Values with Evelyn Gould

On this conversation we discussed how we deal with the hard stuff. This week’s hard stuff includes privilege, equity, racism, complicity, and everything else in between. Evelyn walked us through how we can sit with discomfort and use it for the things we really care about-- ie social justice. The rants were rampant this week, so listen closely in as you get raw reactions filled truth and meaningful nuggets to carry with you on your beautiful human journey! As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation, as much as we enjoyed recording it. Please follow us on FB @BeautifulHumansCast or IG @BeautifulHumansChange Dr. Evelyn Gould is a Clinical Behavior Analyst and Research Associate at the Child and Adolescent OCD Institute (OCDI-Jr), at McLean Hospital, and Instructor at Harvard Medical School. Resources provided by Dr. Gould: Association for contextual behavioral science – general ACT community – lots of resources, access to JCBS etc. ACBS SIGS: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion SIG, Gender and Sexual Diversity SIG, Women in ACBS SIG, Asian Culture and CBS SIG. https://contextualscience.org/special_interest_groups Oluo, Ijeoma (2019). So you want to talk about Race? Seal Press Friman, P. C., Hayes, S. C., & Wilson, K. G. (1998). Why behavior analysts should study emotion: The example of anxiety. Journal of applied Behavior analysis, 31(1), 137-156. ABAI SIGS: – Culture and Diversity, Behavior Analysis for Sustainable Societies, Behaviorists for Social Responsibility, https://www.abainternational.org/constituents/special-interests/special-interest-groups.aspx Diversity and equity PPT from our recent workshop: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ai4mfleg4ncffw/Diversity%20ABA%20Gingles%20%26%20Gould%20FINAL%202019.pdf?dl=0 Fong, E. H., & Tanaka, S. (2013). Multicultural alliance of behavior analysis standards for cultural competence in behavior analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 8(2), 17-19. Fong, E. H., Catagnus, R. M., Brodhead, M. T., Quigley, S., & Field, S. (2016). Developing the cultural awareness skills of behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9(1), 84-94 McIntosh, P. (2003). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. In S. Plous (Ed.), Understanding prejudice and discrimination (pp. 191-196). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press. Skinta, M. & Williams, K. (2016). Queering the Globe: Promoting Equality, Connection, and Community. In Skinta, M, & Curtin, A. (Eds), Mindfulness and Acceptance for Gender and Sexual Minorities: A Clinician's Guide to Fostering Compassion, Connection, and Equality Using Contextual Strategies. New Harbinger Publications. Tervalon M., Murray-Garcia J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: a critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2):117–125. Williams, K. (2011) The Pain of Exclusion, Scientific American. Retrieved from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-pain-of-exclusion/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beautiful-humans/support