The Science of Sharing Power: Native American Thought and Behavior Analysis

Abstract

Native American cultures have, over thousands of years, identified cultural practices from which other cultural entities, behavior analysis included, may benefit. In this paper, the authors discuss confluences between the principle of shared power in Native American (particularly Pueblo) philosophy and contemporary behavior analysis. Intriguing and useful convergences were identified in the definition of power, recognition of connectedness and definitions of “the person,” the importance of constructional as opposed to coercive processes, lack of hierarchy (related to equivalence relations), and the utility of diverse voices. A behavior analysis of practices that instantiate the sharing of power in Native American cultures provides valuable guidance for work with problems of social importance, particularly for applied work at a cultural level. Examples of current and emerging work consistent with this analysis are also briefly considered.