A Summary of the Recommendations to Increase Cultural Responsiveness in the Field of Applied Behavior Analysis

Abstract

Cultural contingencies help shape the development of an individual’s behavioral repertoire. Researchers within field of behavior analysis have, within the past decade, reiterated the importance of connecting behavioral principles to a client's cultural practices. The incorporation of cultural preferences within behavioral services is paramount to the effectiveness and sustainability of those services. The present paper summarizes the guidance of researchers for practitioners beginning to develop this repertoire and apply it to their clinical practice. This paper begins by acknowledging that the foundation of the field of applied behavior analysis set the stage for understating how cultural considerations make the field applied. Different themes related to increasing the cultural responsiveness of the field are summarized by reviewing the supporting literature. The research is further summarized into guiding principles for practitioners as they begin to sharpen this skill. The paper ends with a call for scientist practitioners and researchers to capture data related to culturally responsive service provision to inspire efforts in empirical evaluation of the recommendations provided.