Determinism

Behavior is lawful.  The universe is a lawful and orderly place.

Determinism

All phenomena occur as a result of other events.

Determinism

Behavior is a function of genetics and the environment.

Empiricism

Behavior can be studied scientifically.

Empiricism

Objective observation with thorough description and quantification of the phenomena of interest, behavior, with regard to behavioral dimensions.

Empiricism

Induction is used to derive scientific facts.

Scientific Manipulation

Events that are thought to affect the phenomena of interest are carefully and systematically manipulated to elucidate their effects.

Parsimony

All simple, logical explanations for the phenomena of interest be ruled out experimentally before more complex or extract explanations are considered.

Parsimony

AKA Ocham’s Razor

Philosophic Doubt

Skepticism:  Conclusions derived from scientific manipulations are tentative.  They may be modified or discarded when new facts or discoveries come to life.

Behaviorism

The philosophy underlying behavior analysis

Behaviorism

Rejects casual variables such as the “mind, will, and self” and other hypothetical constructs as explanatory fictions

Behaviorism

Determined by past and current environmental events in concert with genetics and organic variables.

Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism

Includes verbal behavior, private events, and a utopian view:  save the world!

Explanatory fictions

A comprehensive analysis of human behavior based upon contingencies of reinforcement in a person’s life (ontogenic variables) as well as what Natural Selection has chosen for the species (phylogenic variables)

Explanatory fictions

Provides little room for explanations of behavior based on nominal hypothetical constructs such as the “will”, the “self”, and other explanatory fictions

Explanatory fictions

Summary labels of behavior such as traits, states, attitudes, and diagnostic categories, are used to explain behavior.

Explanatory fictions

Description becomes an explanation.  But the supposed cause cannot be observed independently of the behavior it is supposed to explain.

Explanatory fictions

Teleological explanations:  future events, mistakenly, are used to explain behavior (in order to, trying to get, he will)

Experimental analysis of behavior

Provides the scientific method for studying behavior.  It uses cumulative records, manipulation of variables & automated recording

Four methodologies of EAB

Direct, repeated measurement of behavior

Four methodologies of EAB

Rate of response as the basic datum, instead of number of errors of percent (# of responses/unit of time)

Four methodologies of EAB

Visual inference instead of statistical inference (graphing)

Four methodologies of EAB

Within subject comparisons instead of group (statistical) designs.  Each individual subject acts as their own control

Applied Behavior Analysis

The design, implementation, and evaluation of environmental modifications to produce socially significant improvements in human behavior

Applied Behavior Analysis

Includes the use of direct observation, measurement, and functional analysis of the relations between environment and behavior