This ground-breaking book presents a brief history of behaviorism, along with a critical analysis of radical behaviorism, its philosophy and its applications to social issues. This third edition is much expanded and includes a new chapter on experimental method as well as longer sections on the philosophy of behaviorism. It offers experimental and theoretical examples of a new approach to behavioral science. It provides an alternative philosophical and empirical foundation for a psychology that has rather lost its way. The mission of the book is to help steer experimental psychology away from its current undisciplined indulgence in "mental life" toward the core of science, which is an economical description of nature: parsimony, explain much with little. The elementary philosophical distinction between private and public events, even biology, evolution and animal psychology are all ignored by much contemporary cognitive psychology. The failings of radical behaviorism as well as a philosophically defective cognitive psychology point to the need for a new theoretical behaviorism, which can deal with problems such as "consciousness" that have been either ignored, evaded or muddled by existing approaches. This new behaviorism provides a unified framework for the science of behavior that can be applied both to the laboratory and to broader practical issues such as law and punishment, the health-care system, and teaching.
John Staddon's entertaining book begins with a brief history of behaviourism and goes on to explain and criticize radical behaviourism, its philosophy and its application to social issues.
The basic book about the controversial philosophy known as behaviorism, written by its leading exponent.
This classic text has been substantially updated for its third edition, incorporating new developments that have occurred over the last decade.
This book examines the scientific basis of reductionist approaches to understanding visual perception, as well as a critique of con-temporary thinking on perceptual science.
In Behaviorism, Consciousness, and the Literary Mind, Joshua Gang offers a radical new approach to these questions, which are among the most challenging philosophical problems faced by literary study today.
Behaviorism: Mind, Mechanism and Society
Handbook of Behaviorism provides a comprehensive single source that summarizes what behaviorism is, how the various "flavors" of behaviorism have differed between major theorists both in psychology and philosophy, and what aspects of those ...
... Behaviorism, 12, 41–69. O'Donnell, J. M. (1985). The origins of behaviorism. New York: New York University Press. Quine ... Reflections on behaviorism and society. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall. Skinner, B. F. (1987). Upon further ...
Only some of this work made its way to publication. Edited by Sam Leigland, this book brings together in one place the most important papers, published and unpublished, of the leader in behavioral philosophy.
For their dangerous and “mawkish” impulses to kiss and hug their child, “most mothers should be indicted for psychological murder.” Behave is the story of Rosalie Rayner, Watson’s ambitious young wife and the mother of two of his ...