Understanding Behaviorism (Baum) Terms: Chapter 1 Flashcards
(18 cards)
Anthropomorphism
Attributing human qualities and abilities to other species or to machines. Anthropomorphism illustrates the fallacy of reasoning by analogy.
Behavior analysis
The standard name for the science of behavior.
Caloric
The essence that was supposed to make an object hot in the Middle Ages. Caloric is an example of a non-behavioral explanatory fiction.
Comparative psychology
The area in psychology devoted to comparing behavior across species, originally inspired by evolutionary theory.
Continuity of species
The view, based on evolutionary theory, that different species resemble one another accorfing to how closely they are related in evolution. One shoulf expect to find human traits in at least rudimentary form in closely related species and less so in distantly related species.
Determinism
The view that all behavior can be understoof and predicted in the light of genetics and evniornmental events, past and present. Determinism contrasts with free will, because free will attributes behavior to the person of a fictioinal inner self, whereas determinism attributes behavior only to genes and enviornment. In behavior analysis, the origins of behavior always lie in the enviornment, past and present, including the past history of the species.
Folk psychology
The mentalistic theory of behavior built into many languages. It posits an inner world apart from an outer world, which creates a dualism incompatible with a science of behavior. It also is incompatible with science because it sttributes behavior to a fictional inner self that is unavaliable for scientific observation.
Introspect
The supposed activity of looking into the inner world or mind and observing its contents. It presupposes a scientifically unacceptable dualism. Even putting this aside by treating introspecting as verbal reporting, verbal reports are unreliable both as a scientific method and in everyday discourse.
Just‐noticeable difference
The smallest change in a simulus that produces a change in behavior. Nineteenth century psychologist took the JND as a unit of sensation.
Libertarian free will
The term philosophers apply to everyday usage of “free will.” It contrasts with other forms of free will that are supposed to reconcile free will with determinism
Methodological behaviorism
B. F. Skinner’s term for a variant of behaviorism that retains the dualism between inner subjective events and external objective events while proposing only to study external objective events. The objective events, being public and measurable, are considered to be indicators of subjective events. Many psychologists are actually methodological behaviorists. Skinner contrasted methodological behaviorism with radical behaviorism, which he espoused.
Objective psychology
A movement in psychology of the 19th century that sought to measure mental processes by measuring their objective aspects, such as reaction time. It might be a precursor to methodological behaviorism.
Phlogiston
The pre-scientific explanation of burning. Phlogiston was supposed to be the essence of combustible things that left the things when the burned. Since things gain weight when they are burned in a closed vessel, phlogiston was supposed to have negative weight. Such phony explanation resembles mentalism.
Psyche
The greek work meaning spirit from which psychology derives. Psychology came to be the study of mind, because mind seemed more concrete than spirit. Centuries passed before John B Watson declared that psychology ought to be the science of behavior, giving birth to behaviorism.
Radical behaviorism
B. F. Skinner’s term for his approach to behaviorism in contrast with methodological behaviorism. “Radical” derives from “root”; Skinner thought of radical behaviorism as getting to the root issues about a science of behavior. He put forward the basic premise that a natural science of behavior is possible, a science that avoids talking about mental fictions and treats behavioral events as natural events.
Reaction time
The time between a stimulus and the response to it. Reaction times became interesting to psychologists initially beacuse they seemed to be an objective measure of mental activity.
Standard narrative
The narrative about behavior that is a part of Folk Psychology. It takes the form, “I did sich and such because I thought (or felt) so and so.” It attributes behavior to inner thoughts and feelings and an inner self, instead of attibuting behavior to the enviornment. The standard narrative encourages mentalism.
Vis viva
The Latin for “life force,” an explanatory fiction that was supposed to explain the difference between living and non‐living things. It is a good example of superfluity, because it gives the appearance of an explanation but only restates the observation that something is alive, because it is a circular explanation. A living thing is said to be alive because it has vis viva, but the only evidence that it has vis viva is that the thing is alive.
