History of Behavior Analysis (4)

Christine L. Whitley

Is it “logical” to study the past? We can learn from the

“History of Behavior Analysis” History

To be “part of”, to be initiated Learning from past successes and past failure Shaping our behavior on models and mentors: Skinner

Behavior Observable, measurable, described

Analysis Method, research, theory, model

Behavior Analysis Approach, field, tools, applied science

An important step in acquiring tangible tools, applicable processes, and to back up any further activity in B.A.

1. Introduction

“We believe that Skinner developed an experimental paradigm that revealed a lot of order. This is a goal of science[;] (…) allow[ing] more accurate prediction and control than other system do.”

p. ix

Textbook 1. Introduction 2. B.F. Skinner – The man 3. Skinner’s Intellectual

Background 4. Skinner’s Philosophy of

a Science of Human Behavior – Radical Behaviorism

5. Operant Conditioning and the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

6. Skinner on Cognition 7. Skinner on Language 8. Applied Behavior

Analysis 9. B.F. Skinner: Expert

Self-Manager 10. Skinner’s Views on

Bettering Society 11. Criticism of Skinner 12. Skinner’s Legacy 13. B.F. Skinner’s

Published Works

Wilhelm Wundt founded the first psychological laboratory,

in Liepzig, Germany Wundt combined

philosophical introspection with techniques and laboratory apparatuses brought over from his physiological studies with Helmholtz, as well as many of his own design. This experimental introspection was in contrast to what had been called psychology until then, a branch of philosophy where people introspected themselves. Wundt argued that "we learn little about our minds from casual, haphazard self-observation...It is essential that observations be made by trained observers under carefully specified conditions for the purpose of answering a well-defined question." (Principles of Physiological Psychology, translated by Edward Titchener, 1904)

Franz Joseph Gall Franz Joseph Gall (

March 9, 1758 - August 22, 1828) was a neuroanatomist and physiologist who was a pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.

William James William James (

January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher.

Consciousness cannot be divided into elements but should be studied as a continuous stream

Thomas Kuhn

Thomas Samuel Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996) was an American intellectual who wrote extensively on the history of science and developed several important notions in the philosophy of science.

“Examination of the history of physics reveals that there are often a number of false starts in the development of a science.”

“Scientists define problems and methodologies in certain ways and then go about trying them”

Scientific revolution: defines proper subject matter and methods and solves an important problem.

They use the puzzle-solving methods and concepts as a paradigm for solbing other scientific problems.

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St

Alban, KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman and essayist but is best known for leading the scientific revolution with his new 'observation and experimentation' theory which is the way science has been conducted ever since.

Interested in ancient Greek philosophy, Aristotle and Plato

argument from an appeal to authority Use of observation (read p. 30)

Appeal to authority An appeal to authority is a type of argument in

logic, consisting on basing the truth value of an otherwise unsupported assertion on the authority, knowledge or position of the person asserting it. It is also known as argument from authority, argumentum ad verecundiam (Latin: argument to respect) or ipse dixit (Latin: he himself said it). It is one method of obtaining propositional knowledge, but a fallacy in regards to logic, because the validity of a claim does not follow from the credibility of the source. The corresponding reverse case would be an ad hominem attack: to imply that the claim is false because the asserter is objectionable.

On the other hand, there is no fallacy involved in simply arguing that the assertion made by an authority is plausible: it is likely true, we just don't know for sure, because authority alone is not a proof.

Induction Induction or inductive reasoning, sometimes called

inductive logic, is the process of reasoning in which the premises of an argument are believed to support the conclusion but do not ensure it. It is used to ascribe properties or relations to types based on tokens (i.e., on one or a small number of observations or experiences); or to formulate laws based on limited observations of recurring phenomenal patterns. Induction is used, for example, in using specific propositions such as:

This ice is cold. A billiard ball moves when struck with a cue.

...to infer general propositions such as: All ice is cold. There is no ice in the Sun. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Anything struck with a cue moves.

Deduction In traditional Aristotelian logic, Deductive

reasoning is reasoning in which the conclusion is necessitated by, or reached from, previously known facts. The premises: if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. This is distinguished from abductive and inductive reasoning, where the premises may predict a high probability of the conclusion, but do not ensure that the conclusion is true.

Deductive reasoning may also be defined as inference in which the conclusion is of no greater generality than the premises or inference in which the conclusion is just as certain as the premises.

Hypothesis A hypothesis (from Greek ὑπόθεσις) is a

suggested explanation of a phenomenon or reasoned proposal suggesting a possible correlation between multiple phenomena. The term derives from the ancient Greek, hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". The scientific method requires that one can test a scientific hypothesis. Scientists generally base such hypotheses on previous observations or on extensions of scientific theories.

Four major types of prejudices

1. The Idols of the Tribe. These are the natural weaknesses and tendencies common to human nature. Because they are innate, they cannot be completely eliminated, but only recognized and compensated for. Some of Bacon’s examples are:

Our senses – which are inherently dull and easily deceivable. (Which is why Bacon prescribes instruments and strict investigative methods to correct them.)

Our tendency to discern (or even impose) more order in phenomena than is actually there. As Bacon points out, we are apt to find similitude where there is actually singularity, regularity where there is actually randomness, etc.

Our tendency towards “wishful thinking.” According to Bacon, we have a natural inclination to accept, believe, and even prove what we would prefer to be true.

Our tendency to rush to conclusions and make premature judgments (instead of gradually and painstakingly accumulating evidence).

http://www.iep.utm.edu/b/bacon.htm#SH2j

2. The Idols of the Cave. Unlike the idols of the tribe, which are common to all human beings, those of the cave vary from individual to individual. They arise, that is to say, not from nature but from culture and thus reflect the peculiar distortions, prejudices, and beliefs that we are all subject to owing to our different family backgrounds, childhood experiences, education, training, gender, religion, social class, etc. Examples include:

Special allegiance to a particular discipline or theory.

High esteem for a few select authorities. A “cookie-cutter” mentality – that is, a

tendency to reduce or confine phenomena within the terms of our own narrow training or discipline. http://www.iep.utm.edu/b/b

acon.htm#SH2j

Four major types of prejudices

3. The Idols of the Market Place. These are hindrances to clear thinking that arise, Bacon says, from the “intercourse and association of men with each other.” The main culprit here is language, though not just common speech, but also (and perhaps particularly) the special discourses, vocabularies, and jargons of various academic communities and disciplines. He points out that “the idols imposed by words on the understanding are of two kinds”: “they are either names of things that do not exist” (e.g., the crystalline spheres of Aristotelian cosmology) or faulty, vague, or misleading names for things that do exist (according to Bacon, abstract qualities and value terms – e.g., “moist,” “useful,” etc. – can be a particular source of confusion). http://www.iep.utm.edu/b/b

acon.htm#SH2j

Four major types of prejudices

4. The Idols of the Theatre. Like the idols of the cave, those of the theatre are culturally acquired rather than innate. And although the metaphor of a theatre suggests an artificial imitation of truth, as in drama or fiction, Bacon makes it clear that these idols derive mainly from grand schemes or systems of philosophy – and especially from three particular types of philosophy:

http://www.iep.utm.edu/b/bacon.htm#SH2j

Four major types of prejudices

Ernst Mach Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 – February 19, 1916)

was an Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher and is the namesake for the "Mach number" (aka Mach speed) and the optical illusion known as Mach bands.

Science should be practical and scientist must” clear up ideas, expose the real significance of the matter, and get rid of metaphysical obscurities”

Science should provide concise, economical descriptions of phenomena.

Functional relationship (read p.37)

Notice the dark band that appears immediately to the right and the light band that appears immediately to the left of the gradient.

Pavlov (1849-1938)

Want to see more of Pavlov in Russia?

http://www.infran.ru/index_eng.htm

Иван Петрович Павлов(his name in Russian)

Want to know more about his life?

http://www.ivanpavlov.com/

Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (Russian: Иван

Петрович Павлов) (September 14, 1849 – February 27, 1936) was a Russian physiologist, psychologist, and physician. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1904 for research pertaining to the digestive system.

Serendipity: scientist sometimes discover something very important about one thing when studying another thing.

Pavlov’s Classic ExperimentBefore Conditioning

During Conditioning After Conditioning

UCS (foodin mouth)

Neutralstimulus(tone)

Nosalivation

UCR (salivation)

Neutralstimulus(tone)

UCS (foodin mouth)

UCR(salivation)

CS(tone)

CR (salivation)

UCS, UCR, Neutral Stimulus, CS, CR

Edward Thorndike Edward Lee Thorndike (August 31, 1874 - August 9,

1949) was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on animal behaviour and the learning process led to the theory of connectionism.

Among Thorndike's most famous contributions were his research on how cats learned to escape from puzzle boxes and his related formulation of the law of effect. The law of effect states that responses that are closely followed by satisfying consequences become associated with the situation, and are more likely to reoccur when the situation is subsequently encountered. Conversely, if the responses are followed by aversive consequences, associations to the situation become weaker. The puzzle box experiments were motivated in part by Thorndike's dislike for statements that animals made use of extraordinary faculties such as insight in their problem solving: "In the first place, most of the books do not give us a psychology, but rather a eulogy of animals. They have all been about animal intelligence, never about animal stupidity." (Animal Intelligence, 1911).

Thorndike

The behavior will more likely occur when followed by a satisfaction that by a dissatisfaction

John Watson John Broadus Watson (January 9,

1878–September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism, after doing research on animal behavior. He is known for having claimed that he could take any 12 healthy infants and, by applying behavioral techniques, create whatever kind of person he desired. He also conducted the controversial "Little Albert" experiment. Later he went on from psychology to become a popular author on child rearing, and an acclaimed contributor to the advertising industry.

Watson In 1913, Watson published what is sometimes considered his

most important work, the article "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It"--sometimes called "The Behaviorist Manifesto." In this article, Watson outlined the major features of his new philosophy of psychology, called "behaviorism." The first paragraph of the article concisely described Watson's behaviorist position:

Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist's total scheme of investigation.

Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. This theory is now considered a cornerstone of biology.

What does Skinner thought about these various authors? Wilhelm Wundt Franz Joseph Gall William James Thomas Kuhn Francis Bacon Ernst Mach Ivan Pavlov Edward Thorndike John Watson Charles Darwin