My Missing Piece in ‘Saving the World with Behavior Analysis’

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "Saving the World with Behavior Analysis" countless times—I definitely have. Early in my career, this slogan deeply resonated with me, sometimes as an empowering statement reflecting confidence in our skills to solve big societal problems, and other times as a hopeful, almost idealistic affirmation of our field’s potential. Heward et al. (2022) have thoroughly documented just how broad our application of science has become—350 unique applications. Historically, this phrase emerged during the Vietnam War and the American counter-culture era, when behavior analysts took on ambitious social justice issues—civil rights, economic equality, and environmentalism—by collaborating to apply behavior analysis in practical, meaningful ways.

Over time, though, I've started to question whether our field still shares that unified vision. In the early days, behavior analysts tackled massive societal chal...