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Behaviorism or Behaviourism, also called the learning perspective, is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things which organisms do — including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Behavior or behaviour (see spelling differences) refers to the actions or Reactions of an object or Organism, usually [1] The school of psychology maintains that behaviors as such can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as the mind. Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena In Scientific theory a hypothetical Construct is an explanatory variable which is not directly observable MIND ( Moving In New Directions) (est 1975 is an alternative education high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [2] Behaviorism comprises the position that all theories should have observational correlates but that there are no philosophical differences between publicly observable processes (such as actions) and privately observable processes (such as thinking and feeling). [3]

From early psychology in the 19th century, the behaviorist school of thought ran concurrently and shared commonalities with the psychoanalytic and Gestalt movements in psychology into the 20th century; but also differed from the mental philosophy of the Gestalt psychologists in critical ways. Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior Gestalt psychology (also Gestalt of the Berlin School) is a theory of mind and brain that proposes that the operational principle of the brain is holistic The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Philosophy of mind is the branch of Philosophy that studies the nature of the Mind, Mental events Mental functions mental properties Its main influences were Ivan Pavlov, who investigated classical conditioning, Edward Lee Thorndike, John B. Watson who rejected introspective methods and sought to restrict psychology to experimental methods, and B.F. Skinner who conducted research on operant conditioning. For other uses see Pavlov (disambiguation. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (Иван Петрович Павлов September 14, 1849 &ndash February Classical Conditioning (also Pavlovian or Respondent Conditioning) is a form of Associative learning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov Edward Lee Thorndike ( August 31, 1874 Williamsburg Mass – August 9, 1949) was an American psychologist who John Broadus Watson ( January 9, 1878 &ndash September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of Conscious inner Thoughts desires and Sensations It is a conscious mental and usually Experimental psychology approaches Psychology as one of the natural sciences investigates it using the experimental method. Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( March 20, 1904 &ndash August 18 1990) was an influential American Psychologist, author [3]

Contents

Versions

There is no classification generally agreed upon, but some titles given to the various branches of behaviorism include:

Two popular subtypes are Neo: Hullian and post-Hullian, theoretical, group data, not dynamic, physiological, and Purposive: Tolman’s behavioristic anticipation of cognitive psychology. Clark Leonard Hull (1884 - 1952 was an influential American psychologist who sought to explain Learning and Motivation by scientific laws Edward Chace Tolman (1886 - 1959 was an American psychologist.

B. F. Skinner and radical behaviorism

Main article: Radical behaviorism

Skinner, who carried out experimental work mainly in comparative psychology from the 1930s to the 1950s, but remained behaviorism's best known theorist and exponent virtually until his death in 1990, developed a distinct kind of behaviorist philosophy, which came to be called radical behaviorism. Radical behaviorism is a philosophy developed by B F Skinner that underlies the Experimental analysis of behavior approach to psychology Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( March 20, 1904 &ndash August 18 1990) was an influential American Psychologist, author The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Radical behaviorism is a philosophy developed by B F Skinner that underlies the Experimental analysis of behavior approach to psychology He is credited with having founded a new version of psychological science, which has come to be called behavior analysis or the experimental analysis of behavior after variations on the subtitle to his 1938 work The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis Of Behavior. The experimental analysis of behavior is the name given to school of Psychology founded by B Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Definition

B. F Skinner was influential in defining radical behaviorism, a philosophy codifying the basis of his school of research (named the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, or EAB. ) While EAB differs from other approaches to behavioral research on numerous methodological and theoretical points, radical behaviorism departs from methodological behaviorism most notably in accepting treatment of feelings, states of mind and introspection as existent and scientifically treatable. This is done by identifying them as something non-dualistic, and here Skinner takes a divide-and-conquer approach, with some instances being identified with bodily conditions or behavior, and others getting a more extended 'analysis' in terms of behavior. Dualism denotes a state of two parts The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two". However, radical behaviorism stops short of identifying feelings as causes of behavior. [1] Among other points of difference were a rejection of the reflex as a model of all behavior and a defense of a science of behavior complementary to but independent of physiology. Radical behaviorism has considerable overlap with other western philosophical positions such as American pragmatism [4]

Experimental and conceptual innovations

This essentially philosophical position gained strength from the success of Skinner's early experimental work with rats and pigeons, summarized in his books The Behavior of Organisms[5] and Schedules of Reinforcement. [6] Of particular importance was his concept of the operant response, of which the canonical example was the rat's lever-press. In contrast with the idea of a physiological or reflex response, an operant is a class of structurally distinct but functionally equivalent responses. For example, while a rat might press a lever with its left paw or its right paw or its tail, all of these responses operate on the world in the same way and have a common consequence. Operants are often thought of as species of responses, where the individuals differ but the class coheres in its function--shared consequences with operants and reproductive success with species. This is a clear distinction between Skinner's theory and S-R theory.

Skinner's empirical work expanded on earlier research on trial-and-error learning by researchers such as Thorndike and Guthrie with both conceptual reformulations – Thorndike's notion of a stimulus-response 'association' or 'connection' was abandoned – and methodological ones – the use of the 'free operant', so called because the animal was now permitted to respond at its own rate rather than in a series of trials determined by the experimenter procedures. Trial and error, or trial by error, is a general method of Problem solving for obtaining Knowledge, both Propositional knowledge and Know-how With this method, Skinner carried out substantial experimental work on the effects of different schedules and rates of reinforcement on the rates of operant responses made by rats and pigeons. He achieved remarkable success in training animals to perform unexpected responses, and to emit large numbers of responses, and to demonstrate many empirical regularities at the purely behavioral level. This lent some credibility to his conceptual analysis. It is largely his conceptual analysis that made his work much more rigorous than his peers, a point which can be seen clearly in his seminal work Are Theories of Learning Necessary? in which he criticizes what he viewed to be theoretical weaknesses then common in the study of psychology. An important descendant of the experimental analysis of behavior is the Society for Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. The Society was founded in 1978 by Michael Lamport Commons and John Anthony Nevin. [7]

Relation to language

As Skinner turned from experimental work to concentrate on the philosophical underpinnings of a science of behavior, his attention turned to human language with Verbal Behavior[8] and other language-related publications;[9] Verbal Behavior laid out a vocabulary and theory for functional analysis of verbal behavior, and was strongly criticized in a review by Noam Chomsky. Verbal Behavior is a 1957 book by Psychologist B F Skinner, in which he analyzes human behavior encompassing what is traditionally called language linguistics Avram Noam Chomsky (noʊm ˈtʃɑmski born December 7 1928 is an American linguist, Philosopher, cognitive scientist, Political [10] Skinner did not respond in detail but claimed that Chomsky failed to understand his ideas,[11] and the disagreements between the two and the theories involved have been further discussed. [12][13]

What was important for a behaviorist's analysis of human behavior was not language acquisition so much as the interaction between language and overt behavior. One hotly debated issue is whether the biological contribution includes capacities specific to language acquisition often referred to as Universal grammar. In an essay republished in his 1969 book Contingencies of Reinforcement,[14] Skinner took the view that humans could construct linguistic stimuli that would then acquire control over their behavior in the same way that external stimuli could. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The possibility of such "instructional control" over behavior meant that contingencies of reinforcement would not always produce the same effects on human behavior as they reliably do in other animals. The focus of a radical behaviorist analysis of human behavior therefore shifted to an attempt to understand the interaction between instructional control and contingency control, and also to understand the behavioral processes that determine what instructions are constructed and what control they acquire over behavior.

Molar versus molecular behaviorism

Skinner's view of behavior is most often characterized as a "molecular" view of behavior; that is, each behavior can be decomposed into atomistic parts or molecules. This view is inaccurate when one considers his complete description of behavior as delineated in the 1981 article, Selection by Consequences and many other works. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Skinner claims that a complete account of behavior has involved an understanding of selection history at three levels: biology (the natural selection or phylogeny of the animal); behavior (the reinforcement history or ontogeny of the behavioral repertoire of the animal); and for some species, culture (the cultural practices of the social group to which the animal belongs). Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Natural selection is the process by which favorable Heritable traits become more common in successive Generations of a Population of Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic This whole organism, with all those histories, then interacts with its environment. He often described even his own behavior as a product of his phylogenetic history, his reinforcement history (which includes the learning of cultural practices) interacting with the environment at the moment. Molar behaviorists, such as Howard Rachlin argue that behavior can not be understood by focusing on events in the moment. Howard Rachlin (born 1935 is Emeritus Research Professor of Psychology Department of Psychology State University of New York Stony Brook ( SUNY, Stony Brook New York 11794 That is, they argue that a behavior can be understood best in terms of the ultimate cause of history and that molecular behaviorist are committing a fallacy by inventing a fictitious proximal cause for behavior. Molar behaviorists argue that standard molecular constructs such as "associative strength" are such fictitious proximal causes that simply take the place of molar variables such as rate of reinforcement. [15] Thus, a molar behaviorist would define a behavior such as loving someone as exhibiting a pattern of loving behavior over time, there is no known proximal cause of loving behavior, only a history of behaviors (of which the current behavior might be an example of) that can be summarized as love. Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. Molectular behaviorists use notions from Melioration theory, Negative power function discounting or additive versions of negative power function discounting. Melioration Theory posits that organisms are sensitive to differences in the local rates of Reinforcement: number of reinforcements obtained at an alternative event divided by In Behavioral economics, hyperbolic discounting refers to the Empirical finding that people generally prefer smaller sooner payoffs to larger later payoffs when [16]

Behaviorism in philosophy

Behaviorism is a psychological movement that can be compared with philosophy of mind. Philosophy of mind is the branch of Philosophy that studies the nature of the Mind, Mental events Mental functions mental properties The basic premise of radical behaviorism is that the study of behavior should be a natural science, such as chemistry or physics, without any reference to hypothetical inner states of organisms as causes for their behavior. In Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the Universe, which is understood as obeying rules or law of Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. A modern example of such analysis would be Fantino and colleagues work on behavioral approaches to reasoning. [17] Other varieties, such as theoretical behaviorism, permit internal states, but do not require them to be mental or have any relation to subjective experience. Behaviorism takes a functional view of behavior.

There are points of view within analytic philosophy that have called themselves, or have been called by others, behaviorist. Analytic philosophy (sometimes analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of Philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century In logical behaviorism (as held, e. g. , by Rudolf Carnap and Carl Hempel), the meaning of psychological statements are their verification conditions, which consist of performed overt behavior. Rudolf Carnap ( May 18, 1891 &ndash September 14, 1970) was an influential German -born philosopher who was active in Carl Gustav "Peter" Hempel (born January 8 1905 in Oranienburg, Germany died November 9 1997 in Princeton W. V. Quine made use of a type of behaviorism, influenced by some of Skinner's ideas, in his own work on language. Willard Van Orman Quine (June 25 1908 Akron, Ohio &ndash December 25 2000 (known to intimates as "Van" Gilbert Ryle defended a distinct strain of philosophical behaviorism, sketched in his book The Concept of Mind. Gilbert Ryle ( 19 August 1900 - 6 October 1976) was a British Philosopher, and a representative of the generation of Ryle's central claim was that instances of dualism frequently represented 'category mistakes,' and hence that they were really misunderstandings of the use of ordinary language. Daniel Dennett likewise acknowledges himself to be a type of behaviorist. Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a prominent American philosopher whose research [18]

It is sometimes argued that Ludwig Wittgenstein defended a behaviorist position, but while there are important relations between his thought and behaviorism, the claim that he was a behaviorist is quite controversial (e. g. , the Beetle in a box argument). Philosophical Investigations ( Philosophische Untersuchungen) is along with the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the two major works Mathematician Alan Turing is also sometimes considered a behaviorist, but he himself did not make this identification. Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS (ˈt(jʊ(ərɪŋ (23 June 1912 &ndash 7 June 1954 was an English Mathematician

List of notable behaviorists

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Skinner, B. Edwin Ray Guthrie ( 9 January 1886, Lincoln Nebraska - 23 April 1959, Seattle Washington) was an American Richard J Herrnstein ( May 20 1930 – September 13 1994) was a prominent American researcher in animal Clark Leonard Hull (1884 - 1952 was an influential American psychologist who sought to explain Learning and Motivation by scientific laws For other uses see Pavlov (disambiguation. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (Иван Петрович Павлов September 14, 1849 &ndash February Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( March 20, 1904 &ndash August 18 1990) was an influential American Psychologist, author Edward Lee Thorndike ( August 31, 1874 Williamsburg Mass – August 9, 1949) was an American psychologist who Edward Chace Tolman (1886 - 1959 was an American psychologist. John Broadus Watson ( January 9, 1878 &ndash September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological Animal training refers to Teaching Animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli. Applied behavior analysis ( ABA) is the science of applying experimentally derived principles of behavior to improve socially significant behavior Behavior modification is the use of empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques to improve behavior such as altering an individual's behaviors and reactions to stimuli through Behavioral change theories and models are attempts to explain the reasons behind alterations in individuals' behavioral patterns Classical Conditioning (also Pavlovian or Respondent Conditioning) is a form of Associative learning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines but is generally accepted to mean the process of awareness or thought The " cognitive revolution " is the name for an intellectual movement in the 1950s that began what are known collectively as the Cognitive sciences It began in the modern Dog behaviourist is a term that is used by professional Academics, Veterinarians and experienced trainers who may or not be formally certified The experimental analysis of behavior is the name given to school of Psychology founded by B Introducing Psychology Introducing Psychology F. (1984). "The operational analysis of psychological terms". Behavioral and brain sciences(Print) 7 (4): 547-581.  
  2. ^ Baum, William M. (1994). Understanding behaviorism: science, behavior, and culture. New York, NY: HarperCollins College Publishers. ISBN 0065002865.  
  3. ^ a b Fraley, LF (2001). "Strategic interdisciplinary relations between a natural science community and a psychology community" (pdf). The Behavior Analyst Today 2 (4): 209-324.  
  4. ^ Moxley, RA (2004). "Pragmatic selectionism: The philosophy of behavior analysis" (pdf). The Behavior Analyst Today 5 (1): 108-125.  
  5. ^ Skinner, B. F. (1991). Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( March 20, 1904 &ndash August 18 1990) was an influential American Psychologist, author Behavior of Organisms. Copley Pub Group, 473. ISBN 087411487X.  
  6. ^ Cheney, Carl D. ; Ferster, Charles B. (1997). Schedules of Reinforcement (B. F. Skinner Reprint Series). Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group, 758. ISBN 087411828X.  
  7. ^ Commons, ML (2001). "A short history of the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior" (pdf). Behavior Analyst Today 2 (3): 275-279.  
  8. ^ Skinner, Burrhus Frederick (1957). Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( March 20, 1904 &ndash August 18 1990) was an influential American Psychologist, author Verbal Behavior. Acton, Massachusetts: Copley Publishing Group. ISBN 1-58390-021-7.  
  9. ^ Skinner, BF (1969), An operant analysis of problem-solving, pp. Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( March 20, 1904 &ndash August 18 1990) was an influential American Psychologist, author 133-157 ; chapter in Skinner, B. F. (1969). Contingencies of reinforcement: a theoretical analysis. Appleton-Century-Crofts, 283. ISBN 0131717286.  
  10. ^ Chomsky, Noam (1959). "A Review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior". Language (35): 26-58.  
  11. ^ Skinner, B. F. (1972). "I Have Been Misunderstood. . . ". Center Magazine (March-April): 63.  
  12. ^ MacCorquodale, K. (1970). "On Chomsky's Review of Skinner’s VERBAL BEHAVIOR". Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 13 (1): 83-99. doi:10.1901/jeab.1970.13-83. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
  13. ^ Stemmer N (1990). "Skinner's verbal behavior, Chomsky's review, and mentalism". J Exp Anal Behav 54 (3): 307–15. doi:10.1901/jeab.1990.54-307. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 2103585.  
  14. ^ Skinner, B. F. (1969). Contingencies of reinforcement: a theoretical analysis. Appleton-Century-Crofts, 283. ISBN 0131717286.  
  15. ^ Baum, W. M. (2003). "The molar view of behavior and its usefulness in behavior analysis". Behavior Analyst Today 4: 78-81.  
  16. ^ Fantino E (2000). "Delay-reduction theory--the case for temporal context: comment on Grace and Savastano (2000)". J Exp Psychol Gen 129 (4): 444–6. PMID 11142857.  
  17. ^ Fantino, E. ; Stolarz-fantino, S. ; Navarro, A. (2003). "Logical fallacies: A behavioral approach to reasoning". The Behavior Analyst Today 4: 109-17.  
  18. ^ Dennett, DC. Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a prominent American philosopher whose research The Message is: There is no Medium. Tufts University. Retrieved on 2008-01-10. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war.

Further reading

External links

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP is a freely-accessible Online encyclopedia of Philosophy maintained by Stanford University.

Dictionary

behaviorism

-noun

  1. an approach to psychology focusing on behavior, denying any independent significance for mind and assuming that behavior is determined by the environment
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