Coercion, oppression and black woman's loneliness: a behavior-analytical investigation

Abstract

The literature of blackness in behavior analysis is scarce, especially when it comes to the possibilities of using this science in the reduction of behaviors with the function of segregate, neglect and cause violence towards an individual/group based on their physical traits. Hence, despite being a subject of scientific and social relevance, there are many gaps in research, especially on studies that could lead to applications aimed at reducing racial disparities and violent behaviors directed at Black individuals. One of the topics that behavior analysis has not studied yet is the loneliness of Black women. The absence of research apart from noticing this fact relates to the lack of understanding of life experiences specific of Black women by psychologists in several fields, which contributes to the maintenance of institutional racism and psychological suffering of these women. Thus, it is proposed a theoretical work aimed at providing a behavior-analytical interpretation of the loneliness of Brazilian Black women. The specific goals are: 1) to review the literature on this phenomenon; 2) to propose a behavior-analytical definition of this phenomenon; 3) to analyze how the concepts of coercion from behavior analysis relate to this phenomenon; and 4) to establish relations between these concepts and the term "oppression" as given by the (Black) feminist literature. The methodology consists of conceptual research guided by the examination of pre-selected material and complemented by literature reviews on journals related to the field. It is presumed that the functional interpretation of this phenomenon will help to identify its controlling variables, facilitating to delineate, in the future, databased interventions directed at this population. (AU)