The Analysis of Whose Verbal Behavior?

ABSTRACT

Recent reviews of behavior analytic journals suggest that participant demographics are inadequately described. These reviews have been limited to brief periods across several journals, emphasized specific variables (e.g., socioeconomic status), or only included specific populations. The current scoping review included all published articles in The Analysis of Verbal Behavior from 1982-2020. Six demographic variables were coded for 1888 participants across 226 articles. Despite small sample sizes (i.e., fewer than six participants in 62.3% of studies), only age (85.4%) and gender identity (71.6%) were reported for the majority of participants. Socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and primary language were reported for fewer than 20% of participants. Over time, the number of demographic variables reported showed a slight increasing trend, although considerable variability was observed across years. These findings suggest that editors and reviewers must consider what constitutes acceptable participant characterization. Researchers might also be emboldened to extend their work to populations currently underrepresented in the journal.