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Developing the Cultural Awareness Skills of Behavior Analysts

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Abstract

All individuals are a part of at least one culture. These cultural contingencies shape behavior, behavior that may or may not be acceptable or familiar to behavior analysts from another culture. To better serve individuals, assessments and interventions should be selected with a consideration of cultural factors, including cultural preferences and norms. The purpose of this paper is to provide suggestions to serve as a starting point for developing behavior analysts’ cultural awareness skills. We present strategies for understanding behavior analysts’ personal cultural values and contingencies and those of their clients, integrating cultural awareness practices into service delivery, supervision, and professional development, and becoming culturally aware in everyday practice.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, USA

    Elizabeth Hughes Fong

  2. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA

    Robyn M. Catagnus

  3. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Matthew T. Brodhead

  4. The University of New Mexico Medical Group, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Shawn Quigley

  5. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA

    Sean Field

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Hughes Fong
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  2. Robyn M. Catagnus
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  3. Matthew T. Brodhead
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  4. Shawn Quigley
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  5. Sean Field
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Correspondence to Robyn M. Catagnus.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Elizabeth Hughes Fong, Robyn M. Catagnus, and Matthew T. Brodhead shared first author

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Fong, E.H., Catagnus, R.M., Brodhead, M.T. et al. Developing the Cultural Awareness Skills of Behavior Analysts. Behav Analysis Practice 9, 84–94 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0111-6

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