Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-2dmjx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-08T13:24:32.747Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Précis of Behaviorism: A conceptual reconstruction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

G. E. Zuriff
G. E. Zuriff
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Wheaton College. Norton, Mass. 02766
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The conceptual framework of behaviorism is reconstructed in a logical scheme rather than along chronological lines. The resulting reconstruction is faithful to the history of behaviorism and yet meets the contemporary challenges arising from cognitive science, psycholinguistics, and philosophy. In this reconstruction, the fundamental premise is that psychology is to be a natural science, and the major corollaries are that psychology is to be objective and empirical. To a great extent, the reconstruction of behaviorism is an elaboration of behaviorist views of what it is for a science to be objective and empirical. The reconstruction examines and evaluates behaviorist positions on observation and the rejection of introspection, the behavioral data language, theory construction, stimulus-response psychology, the organization of behavior, complex processes, agency, and the interpretation of mentalistic language. The resulting reconstruction shows behaviorism to be a pragmatic psychological version of positivism based on a behavioral epistemology.

Keywords

behaviorismcognitivismconditioningepistemologyhistory of scienceintrospectionmindphilosophy of sciencetheory-construction

Information

Type
Target article
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , December 1986 , pp. 687 - 699
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Allport, D. A. (1975) The state of cognitive psychology: A critical notice of W. G. Chase (ed.), visual information processing. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 27:141–52. [HJE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakan, D. (1966) Behaviorism and American urbanization. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 2:5–28. [LK]3.0.CO;2-8>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baum, W. M. (1973) The correlation-based law of effect. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 20:137–53. [HR]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benacerraf, P. & Putnam, H., eds. (1984) Philosophy of mathematics, 2nd ed.Cambridge University Press. [MJM]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergmann, G. (1953) Theoretical psychology. Annual Review of Psychology 4:435–58. [RS]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bergmann, G. (1956) The contribution of John B. Watson. Psychological Review 63:265–76. [JAD, RE]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bergmann, G. & Spence, K. W. (1941) Operationism and theory in psychology. Psychological Review 48:1–14. [WWR]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bever, T. G., Fodor, J. A. & Garrett, M. (1968) A formal limit of associationism. In: Verbal behavior and general theory, ed. Dixon, T. R. & Morton, D. L.. Prentice-Hall. [MNB]Google Scholar
Carroll, D. W. (1986) Psychology of language. Brooks/Cole. [RS]Google ScholarPubMed
Catania, A. C. (1971) Elicitation, reinforcement and stimulus control. In: The nature of reinforcement, ed. Glaser, R.. Academic Press. [HR]Google Scholar
Chaplin, J. & Krawiec, T. (1968) Systems and theories of psychology, 2nd ed.Holt. [JAD]Google Scholar
Chomsky, N. (1959) A review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior: Language 35:26–58. [MNB]Google Scholar
Costall, A. P. (1984) Are theories of perception necessary? A review of Gibson's The ecological approach to visual perception. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of behavior 41:109–15. [PNH]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dennett, D. C. (1978) Brainstorms. Bradford Books. [HR]Google Scholar
Dennett, D. C. (1984) Elbow room. Bradford Books/MIT Press. [GG]Google Scholar
Dinsmoor, J. A. (1983) The cognitive challenge in historical perspective. Paper presented at annual meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Nashville, Tenn. [JAD]Google Scholar
Dunlap, K. (1916) Thought-content and feeling. Psychological Review 23:49–70. [RE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebbinghaus, H. (1885) Ueber das Gedächtnis. Leipzig. [RE]Google Scholar
Epstein, R. (1984) The case for praxics. The Behavior Analyst 7:101–19. [RE]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Epstein, R. (1985a) Animal cognition as the praxist views it. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 9:623–30. [RE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, R. (1985b) Further comments on praxics: Why the devotion to behaviorism? The Behavioral Analyst 8:269–71. [RE]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Epstein, R. (in press a) In the yellow wood (concluding chapter). In: B. F. Skinner: Consensus and controversy, ed. Modgil, S. & Modgil, C.. Falmer Press. [RE]Google Scholar
Epstein, R. (in press b) Reflections on thinking in animals. In Language, cognition, and consciousness: Integrative levels, ed. Greenberg, G. & Tobach, E.. Erlbaum Associates. [RE]Google Scholar
Estes, W. K., Koch, MacCorquodale, Meehl, Mueller, Schoenfeld, & Verplanck, , eds. (1954) Modern learning theory. Appleton-Century-Crofts. [RS]Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. J. (1979) The structure and measurement of intelligence. Springer. [HJE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, R. (1983) The social applications of Pavlovian theories. The Pavlovian Journal of Biological Studies 18:117–25. [HJE]Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. J. & Eysenck, M. W. (1985) Personality and individual differences: A natural science approach. Plenum Press. [HJE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eysenck, M. W. (1984) A handbook of cognitive psychology. Erlbaum Associates. [HJE]Google Scholar
Fodor, J. A., Bever, T. G. & Garrett, M. F. (1974) The psychology of language. McGraw-Hill. [RS]Google Scholar
French, A. P., ed. (1979) Einstein: A centenary volume. Harvard University Press. [MJM]Google Scholar
Fulker, D. W. (1981) The genetic and environmental architecture of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism. In: A model for personality, ed. Eysenck, H. J.. Springer. [HJE]Google Scholar
Fulker, J. L. & Simmel, E. C. (1983) Behavior genetics. Erlbaum Associates. [HJE]Google Scholar
Geach, P. (1957) Mental acts. Humanities Press. [HR]Google Scholar
Hanson, N. R. (1958) Patterns of discovery. Cambridge University Press. [CPS]Google Scholar
Herbert, N. (1985) Quantum reality. Anchor Press. [MJM]Google Scholar
Herrnstein, R. J. (1969) Method and theory in the study of avoidance. Psychological Review 76:49–70. [HR]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrnstein, R. J. (1970) On the law of effect. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 13:243–66. [HR]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hull, C. L. (1943) Principles of Behavior: An Introduction to Behavior Theory. Appleton-Century-Crofts. [aCEZ, HHK, WWR]Google Scholar
Hunter, W. S. (1925) General anthroponomy and its systematic problems. American Journal of Psychology 36:286–302. [RE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, W. (1907/1975) Pragmatics. Harvard University Press. [HR]Google Scholar
Jammer, M. (1974) The philosophy of quantum mechanics. Wiley. [MJM]Google Scholar
Kane, R. (1985) Free will and values. State University of New York Press. [CC]Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1978) History of behavior modification. University Park Press. [LK]Google Scholar
Kendler, H. H. (1952) “What is learned?” – A theoretical blind alley. Psychological Review 59:269–77. [WWR]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, H. H. (1981) Psychology: A science of conflict. Oxford University Press. [HHK]Google Scholar
Kendler, H. H. (1984) Evolutions or revolutions. In: Psychology in the 1990's, ed. Lagerspetz, K. M. J. & Niemi, P.. North Holland. [HHK]Google Scholar
Kendler, H. H. (1985) Behaviorism and psychology: An uneasy alliance. In: A Century of psychology as science, ed. Koch, S. & Leary, D.. McGraw-Hill. [HHK]Google Scholar
Kendler, H. H. (1987) Historical foundations of modern psychology. Dorsey Press. [HHK]Google Scholar
Kline, M. (1980) Mathematics, the loss of certainty. Oxford University Press. [MJM]Google Scholar
Krasner, L. & Houts, A. C. (1984) A study of the “value” systems of behavioral scientists. American Psychologist 38:840–50. [LK]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuhn, T. S. (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press. [CPS]Google Scholar
Kuo, Z. Y. (1937) Prolegomena to praxiology. The Journal of Psychology 4:1–22. [RE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leahey, T. M. (1980) A history of psychology: Main currents in psychological thought. Prentice-Hall. [JAD]Google Scholar
Levinson, S. C. (1983) Pragmatics. Cambridge University Press. [RS]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, K. E. (1985) Behavioral anthropology: A review of Marvin Harris's Cultural materialsm. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 43:279–87. [PNH]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Logue, A. W. (1985) The growth of behaviorism. In: Points of view in the modern history of psychology, ed. Buxton, C. E.. Academic Press. [JAD]Google Scholar
MacCorquodale, K. & Meehl, P. E. (1948) On a distinction between hypothetical constructs and intervening variables. Psychological Review 55:95–107. [rCEZ, WWR]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mackintosh, N. J. (1974) The psychology of animal learning. Academic Press. [MNB]Google Scholar
Mahoney, M. J. (1976) Scientist as subject: The psychological imperative. Ballinger. [LK]Google Scholar
Malcolm, N. (1977) Memory and mind. Cornell University Press. [MNB]Google Scholar
Mandler, G. (1979) Emotion. In: The first century of experimental psychology, ed. Hearst, E.. Erlbaum Associates. [HHK]Google Scholar
McDougall, W. (1905) Primer of physiological psychology. J. M. Dent. [RE]Google Scholar
Medin, D. L. (1975) A theory of context in discrimination learning. In: The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory, ed. Bower, G. H.. Academic Press. [CPS]Google Scholar
Medin, D. L. & Smith, E. E. (1984) Concepts and concept formation. Annual Review of Psychology 35:113–38. [CPS]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mercier, C. A. (1911) Conduct and its disorders. Macmillan. [RE]Google Scholar
Mill, J. S. (1843) A system of logic, ratiocinative and inductive. J. W. Parker. [RE]Google Scholar
Miller, G. A., Galanter, E. & Pribram, K. H. (1960) Plans and the structure of behavior. Holt. [HHK]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, G. L. & Medin, D. L. (1985) The role of theories in conceptual coherence. Psychological Review 92:289–316. [CPS]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nagel, E. & Newman, J. R. (1958) Gödel's proof. New York University Press. [MJM]Google Scholar
Nevin, J. A. (1969) Interval reinforcement of choice behavior in discrete trials. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 12:875–86. [HR]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olweus, D., Block, J. & Radke-Yarrow, M. (1986) Development of antisocial and prosocial behavior. Academic Press. [HJE]Google Scholar
Parker, T. J. & Haswell, W. A. (1897) A textbook of zoology. Macmillan. [RE]Google Scholar
Posner, M. I. (1984) Neural systems and cognitive processes. In: Psychology in the 1990's, ed. Lagerspetz, K. M. J. & Niemi, P.. North Holland. [HHK]Google Scholar
Premack, D. (1971) Catching up with common sense or two sides of a generalization: Reinforcement and punishment. In: The nature of reinforcement, ed. Glaser, R.. Academic Press. [HR]Google Scholar
Rachlin, H. (1985) Pain and behavior. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 8:43–83. [HR]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rachlin, H., Battalio, R., Kagel, J. & Green, L. (1981) Maximization theory in behavioral psychology. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 4:371–88. [HR]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roitblat, H. L., Bever, T. G. & Terrace, H. S., eds. (1984) Animal cognition. Erlbaum Associates. [CPS]Google Scholar
Rorty, R. (1979) Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton University Press. [MJM, CPS]Google Scholar
Rozeboom, W. W. (1972) Scientific inference: The myth and the reality. In: Science, psychology, and communication: Essays honoring William Stephenson, ed. Brown, S. R. & Brenner, D. J.. Teachers College Press. [WWR]Google Scholar
Rozeboom, W. W. (1984) Dispositions do explain; or, picking up the pieces after Hurricane Walter. Annals of Theoretical Psychology 1:205–23. [WWR]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanford, F. H. (1951) Across the Secretary's desk: Notes on the future of psychology as a profession. American Psychologist 6:74–76. [JAD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, D. (1975) A history of modern psychology, 2nd ed.Academic Press. [JAD]Google Scholar
Shimp, C. P. (1984a) Timing, learning, and forgetting. In: Timing and time perception, ed. Gibbon, J. & Allan, L.. New York Academy of Sciences. [CPS]Google Scholar
Shimp, C. P. (1984b) Relations between memory and operant behavior, according to an associative learner (AL). Canadian Journal of Psychology 38:269–84. [CPS]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shimp, C. P. (1984c) Cognition, behavior, and the experimental analysis of behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of behavior 42:407–20. [CPS]Google ScholarPubMed
Skinner, B. F. (1945) The operational analysis of psychological terms. Psychological Review 52:270–77. [PNH]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skinner, B. F. (1948a) “Superstition” in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology 38:168–72. [HR]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skinner, B. F. (1948b) Walden two. MacMillan. [LK, HR]Google Scholar
Skinner, B. F. (1950) Are theories of learning necessary? Psychological Review 57:193–216. [WWR]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skinner, B. F. (1957) Verbal behavior. Appleton-Century-Crofts. [aGEZ, RS]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skinner, B. F. (1966) What is the experimental analysis of behavior? Journal of the Experimental Analysis of behavior 9:213–18. [aGEZ]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skinner, B. F. (1974) About behaviorism. Knopf. [MNB]Google Scholar
Sperling, G. (1960) The information available in brief visual presentations. Psychological Monographs 74 [Whole No. 498.] [MNB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staddon, J. E. R. (1979) Operant behavior as adaptation to constraint. Journal of Experimental Psychology; General 108:48–67. [HR]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timberlake, W. & Allison, J. (1974) Response deprivation: An empirical approach to instrumental performance. Psychological Review 81:146–64. [HR]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tolman, E. C. (1936) Operational behaviorism and current trends in psychology. In: Proceedings of the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the inauguration of graduate studies, the University of Southern California, ed. Hill, H. W.. University of Southern California. [WWR]Google Scholar
Tulving, E. (1985) How many memory systems are there? American Psychologist 40:385–98. [HHK]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargas, E. A. (1985) Cultural contingencies: A review of Marvin Harris's Cannibals and kings. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 43:419–28. [PNH]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, J. B. (1913) Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review 20:158–77. [JAD, RE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, J. B. (1929) Should a child have more than one mother? Liberty 6:31–35. [LK]Google Scholar
Watson, J. B. & McDougall, W. (1928) The battle of behaviorism: An exposition and an exposure. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. [RE]Google Scholar
Watson, J. B. & Rayner, R. (1920) Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology 3:1–14. [HJE]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wittgenstein, L. (1953) Philosophical investigations, trans. Anscombe, G. E. M.. Macmillan. [MJM, CPS]Google Scholar
Wittgenstein, L. (1978) Remarks on the foundations of mathematics, revised edition. MIT Press. [MJM]Google Scholar
Wolfle, D. (1947) Annual report of the Executive Secretary. American Psychologist 2:516–20. [JAD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zuriff, G. E. (1985) Behaviorism: A conceptual reconstruction. Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar