Below are trends, for behavior analysis journals, concerning the number of articles that are cited in public policy documents (according to the Overton database). As far as I can discern, this means the number of articles, from the journal’s entire history, that received a policy-document citation in a given year.
These data are a bit tricky to parse because the counts reflect many influences. For instance, the more articles a journal publishes in a year, the more opportunities exist for policy citations. Also, the longer a journal has been in operation, the more articles it has published overall, and thus the more opportunities for policy citations. The latter intersects with the reality that policy citations may follow an article’s publication only after many years. Consider, for instance, JABA has operated since 1968 while JCBS began publishing in 2012, giving policy makers 44 more years’ worth of JABA articles to consider.
For a science that has been said to be world-changing, every instance of public policy impact is a win, but overall I don’t see much reason to celebrate here. Compared to the thousands and thousands of behavior analysis articles that have been published over the years, what we see in the figures below looks like a trickle. Or let’s call it a baseline. Our discipline is pretty great at doing the science; less so at explaining why it’s important. We can do better. For additional context, consult deep dives into the public policy impact of Behavior and Social Issues and Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
And check out these resources on how we can do better:
- Stolz, S. B. (1981). Adoption of innovations from applied behavioral research:“Does anybody care?”. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
- Task Force on Public Policy Association for Behavior Analysis. (1988). Recommendations of the task force on public policy. The Behavior Analyst.
- Fawcett, S. B., Bernstein, G. S., Czyzewski, M. J., Greene, B. F., Hannah, G. T., Iwata, B. A., … & Winett, R. A. (1988). Behavior analysis and public policy. The Behavior Analyst.
- de la Cruz, B., & Bourland, G. (2025). Introduction to the Special Issue on Public Policy Advocacy in Behavior Analysis: Chronicles from Behavior Analysts to Guide Future Public Policy Advocacy Action. Behavior Analysis in Practice.
- Seekins, T., Fawcett, S. B., Cohen, S. H., Elder, J. P., Jason, L. A., Schnelle, J. F., & Winett, R. A. (1988). Experimental evaluation of public policy: The case of state legislation for child passenger safety. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
- Seekins, T., & Fawcett, S. B. (1986). Public policymaking and research information. The Behavior Analyst.
- Napolitano, D. A., Cohen, L. A., & Cihon, T. M. (2024). Behavior analysis at a macro level: The case for behavior analysts in public policy work. Behavior Analysis in Practice.
Notes:
- Axes are not consistent across journals, so you have to compare carefully.
- The POBS data appear to omit its predecessor title The Behavior Analyst.
- The journals shown below are the only behavior analysis journals indexed in the SCImago Journal & Country Rank data base. Journal-ranking services do not attempt to track all of the tens of thousands of scientific journals that exist (with more appearing daily). Instead, they make judgements about which ones really matter. The SCImago site does not specify its criteria for choosing journals to track.
- See the Postscript for a key to journal abbreviations.
Postscript: Key to Journal Abbreviations
| ABBREVIATION | JOURNAL TITLE |
|---|---|
| POBS | Perspectives on Behavior Science |
| JABA | Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |
| JEAB | Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior |
| JCBS | Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science |
| JPBI | Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions |
| BI | Behavioral Interventions |
| BM | Behavior Modification |
| JOBE | Journal of Behavioral Education |
| ETC | Education and Treatment of Children |
| TPR | The Psychological Record |
| JOBM | Journal of organizational Behavior Management |
| EJOBA | European Journal of Behavior Analysis |
| AC | Acta Comportamentalia: Revista Latina de Análisis del Comportamiento |
| B&P | Behavior & Philosophy |