The New Behaviorism : Second Edition

This groundbreaking book presents a brief history of behaviorism, the dominant movement in American psychology in the first half of the 20th Century. It then analyzes and criticizes radical behaviorism, as pioneered by B.F. Skinner, and its philosophy and applications to social issues. This second edition is a completely rewritten and much expanded version of the first edition, published nearly 15 years earlier. It surveys what changes have occurred within behaviorism and whether it has maintained its influence on experimental cognitive psychology or other fields. 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. The author argues that parsimony -- the elementary philosophical distinction between private and public events, even biology, evolution and animal psychology -- all are 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. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 Acknowledgments 12 PART I History 14 1 Early Behaviorism 16 2 Behaviorism and Learning Psychology 28 PART II Radical Behaviorism 48 3 Radical Behaviorism, I: Method 50 4 Radical Behaviorism, II: Explanation 62 5 Skinner and Theory 75 6 Variation and Selection 86 7 Behavior-Evolution Parallels 103 8 Rationality 111 9 Truth, Science and Behaviorism 123 10 Free Will and Utopia 135 11 Values 148 12 Skinner and Mental Life 155 PART III The New Behaviorism 160 13 Cognitivism and the New Behaviorism 162 14 Theoretical Behaviorism 179 15 Internal States: The Logic of Historical Systems 189 16 Consciousness and Theoretical Behaviorism 202 Postscript to Parts I–III: Alchemy of the Mind 221 PART IV Behaviorism and Society 226 17 Law, Punishment and Behaviorism 228 18 Health Care, I: The Schedule 246 19 Health Care, II: The Context 262 20 Reinforcement and “Socialized” Medicine 272 21 Teaching 281 Index 286 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 John Staddon. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.