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Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a
reflex In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus. Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...
elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history, including especially
reinforcement In Behaviorism, behavioral psychology, reinforcement refers to consequences that increase the likelihood of an organism's future behavior, typically in the presence of a particular ''Antecedent (behavioral psychology), antecedent stimulus''. Fo ...
and
punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...
contingencies, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. Although behaviorists generally accept the important role of
heredity Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...
in determining behavior, deriving from Skinner's two levels of selection: phylogeny and ontogeny. they focus primarily on environmental events. The
cognitive revolution The cognitive revolution was an intellectual movement that began in the 1950s as an interdisciplinary study of the mind and its processes, from which emerged a new field known as cognitive science. The preexisting relevant fields were psychology, ...
of the late 20th century largely replaced behaviorism as an explanatory theory with
cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, whi ...
, which unlike behaviorism views internal mental states as explanations for observable behavior. Behaviorism emerged in the early 1900s as a reaction to
depth psychology Depth psychology (from the German term ''Tiefenpsychologie'') refers to the practice and research of the science of the unconscious, covering both psychoanalysis and psychology. It is also defined as the psychological theory that explores the rel ...
and other traditional forms of psychology, which often had difficulty making predictions that could be tested experimentally. It was derived from earlier research in the late nineteenth century, such as when
Edward Thorndike Edward Lee Thorndike ( – ) was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to his " theory of connectionism" and helped ...
pioneered the law of effect, a procedure that involved the use of consequences to strengthen or weaken behavior. With a 1924 publication,
John B. Watson John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, establishing it as a List of psychological schools, psychological school.Cohn, Aaron S. 2014.Watson, J ...
devised methodological behaviorism, which rejected introspective methods and sought to understand behavior by only measuring observable behaviors and events. It was not until 1945 that
B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in ...
proposed that covert behavior—including
cognition Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
and
emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...
s—are subject to the same controlling variables as observable behavior, which became the basis for his philosophy called ''radical'' behaviorism. While Watson and
Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...
investigated how (conditioned) neutral stimuli elicit reflexes in respondent conditioning, Skinner assessed the reinforcement histories of the discriminative (antecedent) stimuli that emits behavior; the process became known as
operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...
. The application of radical behaviorism—known as
applied behavior analysis Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also referred to as behavioral engineering, is a behavior modification system based on the principles of respondent and operant conditioning. ABA is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two are: ...
—is used in a variety of contexts, including, for example, applied animal behavior and
organizational behavior management Organizational behavior management (OBM) is a subdiscipline of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is the application of behavior analytic principles and contingency management techniques to change behavior in organizational settings. Through ...
to treatment of mental disorders, such as
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
and
substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...
. In addition, while behaviorism and
cognitive Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
schools of psychological thought do not agree theoretically, they have complemented each other in the cognitive-behavioral therapies, which have demonstrated utility in treating certain pathologies, including simple
phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected ...
s,
PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...
, and
mood disorders A mood disorder, also known as an affective disorder, is any of a group of conditions of mental and behavioral disorder where the main underlying characteristic is a disturbance in the person's mood. The classification is in the ''Diagnostic ...
.


Branches of behaviorism

The titles given to the various branches of behaviorism include: *
Behavioral genetics Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" c ...
: Proposed in 1869 by
Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...
, a relative of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
. Galton believed that inherited factors had a significant impact on individuals' behaviors, however did not believe nurturing was not important. Which was later discredited due to association with the eugenics movement - researchers did not want to associate with Nazi politics whether direct or indirect. *
Interbehaviorism Jacob Robert "J.R." Kantor (August 8, 1888, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – 1984, Chicago, Illinois) was a prominent American psychologist who pioneered a naturalistic system in psychology called interbehavioral psychology or interbehaviorism. He ...
: Proposed by Jacob Robert Kantor before
B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in ...
's writings. * Methodological behaviorism:
John B. Watson John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, establishing it as a List of psychological schools, psychological school.Cohn, Aaron S. 2014.Watson, J ...
's behaviorism states that only public events (motor behaviors of an individual) can be objectively observed. Although it was still acknowledged that thoughts and feelings exist, they were not considered part of the science of behavior. It also laid the theoretical foundation for the early approach behavior modification in the 1970s and 1980s. Often compared to the views of B.F Skinner (radical behaviorism). Methodological behaviorism "representing the logical positivist-derived philosophy of science" which is common in science today, radical focuses on the "pragmatist perspective." *
Psychological behaviorism Psychological behaviorism is a form of behaviorism—a major theory within psychology which holds that generally human behaviors are learned—proposed by Arthur W. Staats. The theory is constructed to advance from basic animal learning principles ...
: As proposed by Arthur W. Staats, unlike the previous behaviorisms of Skinner, Hull, and Tolman, was based upon a program of human research involving various types of human behavior. Psychological behaviorism introduces new principles of human learning. Humans learn not only by animal learning principles but also by special human learning principles. Those principles involve humans' uniquely huge learning ability. Humans learn repertoires that enable them to learn other things. Human learning is thus cumulative. No other animal demonstrates that ability, making the human species unique. *
Radical behaviorism Radical behaviorism is a "philosophy of the science of behavior" developed by B. F. Skinner. It refers to the philosophy behind behavior analysis, and is to be distinguished from methodological behaviorism—which has an intense emphasis ...
: Skinner's philosophy is an extension of Watson's form of behaviorism by theorizing that processes within the organism—particularly, private events, such as thoughts and feelings—are also part of the science of behavior, and suggests that environmental variables control these internal events just as they control observable behaviors. Behavioral events may be observable but not all are, some are considered "private": they are accessible and noticed by only the person who is behaving. B.F. Skinner described behavior as the name for the part of the functioning of the organism that consists of its interacting or having commerce with its surrounding environment. In simple terms, how an individual interacts with its surrounding environmen
[RB
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/nowiki>Although private events cannot be directly seen by others, they are later determined through the species' overt behavior. Radical behaviorism forms the core philosophy behind applied behavior analysis">behavior analysis Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with human behaviour.Hallsworth, M. (2023). A manifesto for applying behavioural science. ''Nature Human Behaviour'', ''7''(3), 310-322. While the term can technically be applied to the stu ...
. Willard Van Orman Quine used many of radical behaviorism's ideas in his study of knowledge and language. * Teleological behaviorism: Proposed by Howard Rachlin, post-Skinnerian, purposive, close to
microeconomics Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and Theory of the firm, firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarcity, scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. M ...
. Focuses on objective observation as opposed to cognitive processes. *
Theoretical behaviorism Theoretical behaviorism is a framework for psychology proposed by J. E. R. Staddon as an extension of experimental psychologist B. F. Skinner's radical behaviorism. It originated at Harvard in the early 1960s. In the late 1980s, R. H. Ettinger ...
: Proposed by J. E. R. Staddon,Staddon, John (2014) ''The New Behaviorism'' (2nd edition). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. adds a concept of internal state to allow for the effects of context. According to theoretical behaviorism, a state is a set of equivalent histories, i.e., past histories in which members of the same stimulus class produce members of the same response class (i.e., B. F. Skinner's concept of the operant). Conditioned stimuli are thus seen to control neither stimulus nor response but state. Theoretical behaviorism is a logical extension of Skinner's class-based (generic) definition of the operant. Two subtypes of theoretical behaviorism are: * Hullian and post-Hullian: theoretical, group data, not dynamic, physiological * Purposive: Tolman's behavioristic anticipation of cognitive psychology


Modern-day theory: radical behaviorism

B. F. Skinner proposed radical behaviorism as the conceptual underpinning of the
experimental analysis of behavior The experimental analysis of behavior is a science that studies the behavior of individuals across a variety of species. A key early scientist was B. F. Skinner who discovered operant behavior, reinforcers, secondary reinforcers, contingencies of r ...
. This viewpoint differs from other approaches to behavioral research in various ways, but, most notably here, it contrasts with methodological behaviorism in accepting feelings, states of mind and introspection as behaviors also subject to scientific investigation. Like methodological behaviorism, it rejects the reflex as a model of all behavior, and it defends the science of behavior as complementary to but independent of physiology. Radical behaviorism overlaps considerably with other western philosophical positions, such as American
pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that views language and thought as tools for prediction, problem solving, and action, rather than describing, representing, or mirroring reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics� ...
. Although John B. Watson mainly emphasized his position of methodological behaviorism throughout his career, Watson and Rosalie Rayner conducted the infamous
Little Albert experiment The Little Albert experiment was an unethical study that mid-20th century psychologists interpret as evidence of classical conditioning in humans. The study is also claimed to be an example of stimulus generalization although reading the researc ...
(1920), a study in which
Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...
's
theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
to respondent conditioning was first applied to eliciting a fearful reflex of crying in a human infant, and this became the launching point for understanding covert behavior (or private events) in ''radical'' behaviorism; however, Skinner felt that aversive stimuli should only be experimented on with animals and spoke out against Watson for testing something so controversial on a human. In 1959, Skinner observed the emotions of two pigeons by noting that they appeared angry because their feathers ruffled. The pigeons were placed together in an operant chamber, where they were aggressive as a consequence of previous
reinforcement In Behaviorism, behavioral psychology, reinforcement refers to consequences that increase the likelihood of an organism's future behavior, typically in the presence of a particular ''Antecedent (behavioral psychology), antecedent stimulus''. Fo ...
in the environment. Through
stimulus control In behavioral psychology, stimulus control is a phenomenon in operant conditioning that occurs when an organism behaves in one way in the presence of a given Stimulus (psychology), stimulus and another way in its absence. A stimulus that modifies b ...
and subsequent discrimination training, whenever Skinner turned off the green light, the pigeons came to notice that the food reinforcer is discontinued following each peck and responded without aggression. Skinner concluded that humans also learn aggression and possess such emotions (as well as other private events) no differently than do nonhuman animals.


Experimental and conceptual innovations

As experimental behavioural psychology is related to
behavioral neuroscience Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology,Psychobi ...
, we can date the first researches in the area were done in the beginning of 19th century. Later, this essentially philosophical position gained strength from the success of Skinner's early experimental work with rats and pigeons, summarized in his books ''The Behavior of Organisms'' and ''Schedules of Reinforcement.'' Of particular importance was his concept of the operant response, of which the canonical example was the rat's lever-press. In contrast with the idea of a physiological or reflex response, an operant is a class of structurally distinct but functionally equivalent responses. For example, while a rat might press a lever with its left paw or its right paw or its tail, all of these responses operate on the world in the same way and have a common consequence. Operants are often thought of as species of responses, where the individuals differ but the class coheres in its function-shared consequences with operants and reproductive success with species. This is a clear distinction between Skinner's theory and S–R theory. Skinner's empirical work expanded on earlier research on
trial-and-error Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan ( ...
learning by researchers such as Thorndike and Guthrie with both conceptual reformulations—Thorndike's notion of a stimulus-response "association" or "connection" was abandoned; and methodological ones—the use of the "free operant", so-called because the animal was now permitted to respond at its own rate rather than in a series of trials determined by the experimenter procedures. With this method, Skinner carried out substantial experimental work on the effects of different schedules and rates of reinforcement on the rates of operant responses made by rats and pigeons. He achieved remarkable success in training animals to perform unexpected responses, to emit large numbers of responses, and to demonstrate many empirical regularities at the purely behavioral level. This lent some credibility to his conceptual analysis. It is largely his conceptual analysis that made his work much more rigorous than his peers, a point which can be seen clearly in his seminal work ''Are Theories of Learning Necessary?'' in which he criticizes what he viewed to be theoretical weaknesses then common in the study of psychology. An important descendant of the experimental analysis of behavior is the
Society for Quantitative Analysis of Behavior The Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior was founded in 1978 by Michael Commons, Michael Lamport Commons and John Anthony Nevin. The first president was Richard Herrnstein, Richard J. Herrnstein. In the beginning it was called the Harv ...
.


Relation to language

As Skinner turned from experimental work to concentrate on the philosophical underpinnings of a science of behavior, his attention turned to human language with his 1957 book ''
Verbal Behavior ''Verbal Behavior'' is a 1957 book by psychologist B. F. Skinner, in which he describes what he calls verbal behavior, or what was traditionally called linguistics. Skinner's work describes the controlling elements of verbal behavior with termin ...
'' and other language-related publications; ''Verbal Behavior'' laid out a vocabulary and theory for functional analysis of verbal behavior, and was strongly criticized in a review by
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
. Skinner did not respond in detail but claimed that Chomsky failed to understand his ideas, and the disagreements between the two and the theories involved have been further discussed. Innateness theory, which has been heavily critiqued, is opposed to behaviorist theory which claims that language is a set of habits that can be acquired by means of conditioning. According to some, the behaviorist account is a process which would be too slow to explain a phenomenon as complicated as language learning. What was important for a behaviorist's analysis of human behavior was not
language acquisition Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language. In other words, it is how human beings gain the ability to be aware of language, to understand it, and to produce and use words and s ...
so much as the interaction between language and overt behavior. In an essay republished in his 1969 book ''Contingencies of Reinforcement'', Skinner took the view that humans could construct linguistic stimuli that would then acquire control over their behavior in the same way that external stimuli could. The possibility of such "instructional control" over behavior meant that contingencies of reinforcement would not always produce the same effects on human behavior as they reliably do in other animals. The focus of a radical behaviorist analysis of human behavior therefore shifted to an attempt to understand the interaction between instructional control and contingency control, and also to understand the behavioral processes that determine what instructions are constructed and what control they acquire over behavior. Recently, a new line of behavioral research on language was started under the name of relational frame theory.Blackledge, J. T. (2003). An introduction to relational frame theory: Basics and applications. ''The Behavior Analyst Today, 3''(4), 421-43

/ref>


Education

B. F. Skinner's book ''
Verbal Behavior ''Verbal Behavior'' is a 1957 book by psychologist B. F. Skinner, in which he describes what he calls verbal behavior, or what was traditionally called linguistics. Skinner's work describes the controlling elements of verbal behavior with termin ...
'' (1957) does not quite emphasize on language development, but to understand human behavior. Additionally, his work serves in understanding social interactions in the child's early developmental stages focusing on the topic of caregiver-infant interaction. Skinner's functional analysis of verbal behavior terminology and theories is commonly used to understand the relationship between language development but was primarily designed to describe behaviors of interest and explain the cause of those behaviors.
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
, an American linguistic professor, has criticized and questioned Skinner's theories about the possible suggestion of parental tutoring in language development. However, there is a lack of supporting evidence where Skinner makes the statement. Understanding language is a complex topic but can be understood through the use of two theories: innateness and acquisition. Both theories offer a different perspective whether language is inherently "acquired" or "learned".


Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...
was developed by
B.F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in 1 ...
in 1938 and is form of learning in which the frequency of a behavior is controlled by consequences to change behavior. In other words, behavior is controlled by historical consequential contingencies, particularly
reinforcement In Behaviorism, behavioral psychology, reinforcement refers to consequences that increase the likelihood of an organism's future behavior, typically in the presence of a particular ''Antecedent (behavioral psychology), antecedent stimulus''. Fo ...
—a stimulus that increases the probability of performing behaviors, and
punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...
—a stimulus that decreases such probability. The core tools of consequences are either positive (presenting stimuli following a response), or negative (withdrawn stimuli following a response). The following descriptions explains the concepts of four common types of consequences in operant conditioning: * Positive reinforcement: Providing a stimulus that an individual enjoys, seeks, or craves, in order to reinforce desired behaviors. For example, when a person is teaching a dog to sit, they pair the command "sit" with a treat. The treat is the positive reinforcement to the behavior of sitting. The key to making positive reinforcement effect is to reward the behavior immediately. * Negative reinforcement: Increases the frequency of a behavior, but the behavior results from removing unpleasant or unwanted stimulus. For example, a child hates being nagged (negative) to clean his room (behavior) which increases the frequency of the child cleaning his room to prevent his mother from nagging. Another example would be putting on sunscreen (behavior) before going outside to prevent sunburn (negative). * Positive punishment: Providing a stimulus that an individual does not desire to decrease undesired behaviors. For example, if a child engages in an undesired behavior, then parents may spank (stimulus) the child to correct their behavior. * Negative punishment: Removing a stimulus that an individual desires in order to decrease undesired behaviors. An example of this would be grounding a child for failing a test. Grounding in this example is taking away the child's ability to play video games. As long as it is clear that the ability to play video games was taken away because they failed a test, this is negative punishment. The key here is the connection to the behavior and the result of the behavior. A classical experiment in operant conditioning, for example, is the ''Skinner Box'', "puzzle box" or
operant conditioning chamber An operant conditioning chamber (also known as a Skinner box) is a laboratory apparatus used to study animal behavior. The operant conditioning chamber was created by B. F. Skinner while he was a graduate student at Harvard University. The c ...
to test the effects of operant conditioning principles on rats, cats and other species. From this experiment, he discovered that the rats learned very effectively if they were rewarded frequently with food. Skinner also found that he could shape (create new behavior) the rats' behavior through the use of rewards, which could, in turn, be applied to human learning as well. Skinner's model was based on the premise that reinforcement is used for the desired actions or responses while punishment was used to stop the responses of the undesired actions that are not. This theory proved that humans or animals will repeat any action that leads to a positive outcome, and avoid any action that leads to a negative outcome. The experiment with the pigeons showed that a positive outcome leads to learned behavior since the pigeon learned to peck the disc in return for the reward of food. These historical consequential contingencies subsequently lead to (antecedent)
stimulus control In behavioral psychology, stimulus control is a phenomenon in operant conditioning that occurs when an organism behaves in one way in the presence of a given Stimulus (psychology), stimulus and another way in its absence. A stimulus that modifies b ...
, but in contrast to respondent conditioning where antecedent stimuli elicit reflexive behavior, operant behavior is only emitted and therefore does not force its occurrence. It includes the following controlling stimuli: * Discriminative stimulus (Sd): An antecedent stimulus that increases the chance of the organism engaging in a behavior. One example of this occurred in Skinner's laboratory. Whenever the green light (Sd) appeared, it signaled the pigeon to perform the behavior of pecking because it learned in the past that each time it pecked, food was presented (the positive reinforcing stimulus). * Stimulus delta (S-delta): An antecedent stimulus that signals the organism not to perform a behavior since it was extinguished or punished in the past. One notable instance of this occurs when a person stops their car immediately after the traffic light turns red (S-delta). However, the person could decide to drive through the red light, but subsequently receive a speeding ticket (the positive punishing stimulus), so this behavior will potentially not reoccur following the presence of the S-delta.


Respondent conditioning

Although
operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...
plays the largest role in discussions of behavioral mechanisms, respondent conditioning (also called Pavlovian or classical conditioning) is also an important behavior-analytic process that needs not refer to mental or other internal processes. Pavlov's experiments with dogs provide the most familiar example of the classical conditioning procedure. In the beginning, the dog was provided meat (unconditioned stimulus, UCS, naturally elicit a response that is not controlled) to eat, resulting in increased salivation (unconditioned response, UCR, which means that a response is naturally caused by UCS). Afterward, a bell ring was presented together with food to the dog. Although bell ring was a neutral stimulus (NS, meaning that the stimulus did not have any effect), dog would start to salivate when only hearing a bell ring after a number of pairings. Eventually, the neutral stimulus (bell ring) became conditioned. Therefore, salivation was elicited as a conditioned response (the response same as the unconditioned response), pairing up with meat—the conditioned stimulus) Although Pavlov proposed some tentative physiological processes that might be involved in classical conditioning, these have not been confirmed. The idea of classical conditioning helped behaviorist John Watson discover the key mechanism behind how humans acquire the behaviors that they do, which was to find a natural reflex that produces the response being considered. Watson's "Behaviourist Manifesto" has three aspects that deserve special recognition: one is that psychology should be purely objective, with any interpretation of conscious experience being removed, thus leading to psychology as the "science of behaviour"; the second one is that the goals of psychology should be to predict and control behaviour (as opposed to describe and explain conscious mental states); the third one is that there is no notable distinction between human and non-human behaviour. Following Darwin's theory of evolution, this would simply mean that human behaviour is just a more complex version in respect to behaviour displayed by other species.


In philosophy

Behaviorism is a psychological movement that can be contrasted with
philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the Body (biology), body and the Reality, external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a ...
. The basic premise of behaviorism is that the study of behavior should be a
natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
, such as
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
or
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
. Catania, A. C. (2013). A natural science of behavior. ''Review of General Psychology, 17''(2), 133-13

/ref>Jackson, M. (2009). The natural selection: behavior analysis as a natural science. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 10:2, 103-11

/ref> Initially behaviorism rejected any reference to hypothetical inner states of organisms as causes for their behavior, but B.F. Skinner's radical behaviorism reintroduced reference to inner states and also advocated for the study of thoughts and feelings as behaviors subject to the same mechanisms as external behavior. Behaviorism takes a functional view of behavior. According to Edmund Fantino and colleagues: "Behavior analysis has much to offer the study of phenomena normally dominated by cognitive and social psychologists. We hope that successful application of behavioral theory and methodology will not only shed light on central problems in judgment and choice but will also generate greater appreciation of the behavioral approach." Behaviorist sentiments are not uncommon within
philosophy of language Philosophy of language refers to the philosophical study of the nature of language. It investigates the relationship between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of Meaning (philosophy), me ...
and
analytic philosophy Analytic philosophy is a broad movement within Western philosophy, especially English-speaking world, anglophone philosophy, focused on analysis as a philosophical method; clarity of prose; rigor in arguments; and making use of formal logic, mat ...
. It is sometimes argued that
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...
defended a logical behaviorist position (e.g., the '' beetle in a box'' argument). In
logical positivism Logical positivism, also known as logical empiricism or neo-positivism, was a philosophical movement, in the empiricist tradition, that sought to formulate a scientific philosophy in which philosophical discourse would be, in the perception of ...
(as held, e.g., by
Rudolf Carnap Rudolf Carnap (; ; 18 May 1891 – 14 September 1970) was a German-language philosopher who was active in Europe before 1935 and in the United States thereafter. He was a major member of the Vienna Circle and an advocate of logical positivism. ...
and
Carl Hempel Carl Gustav "Peter" Hempel (; ; January 8, 1905 – November 9, 1997) was a German writer, philosopher, logician, and epistemologist. He was a major figure in logical empiricism, a 20th-century movement in the philosophy of science. Hempel ...
), the meaning of psychological statements are their verification conditions, which consist of performed overt behavior. W. V. O. Quine made use of a type of behaviorism, influenced by some of Skinner's ideas, in his own work on language. Quine's work in semantics differed substantially from the empiricist semantics of Carnap which he attempted to create an alternative to, couching his semantic theory in references to physical objects rather than sensations.
Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase " ghost in the machine". Some of Ryle's ideas in philosophy of mind have been ca ...
defended a distinct strain of philosophical behaviorism, sketched in his book ''The Concept of Mind''. Ryle's central claim was that instances of dualism frequently represented "
category mistake A category mistake (or category error, categorical mistake, or mistake of category) is a semantic or ontological error in which things belonging to a particular category are presented as if they belong to a different category, or, alternatively, ...
s", and hence that they were really misunderstandings of the use of ordinary language.
Daniel Dennett Daniel Clement Dennett III (March 28, 1942 – April 19, 2024) was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. His research centered on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those ...
likewise acknowledges himself to be a type of behaviorist, though he offers extensive criticism of radical behaviorism and refutes Skinner's rejection of the value of intentional idioms and the possibility of free will.


Law of effect and trace conditioning

* Law of effect: Although
Edward Thorndike Edward Lee Thorndike ( – ) was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to his " theory of connectionism" and helped ...
's methodology mainly dealt with reinforcing observable behavior, it viewed
cognitive Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
antecedents as the causes of behavior, and was theoretically much more similar to the cognitive-behavior therapies than classical (methodological) or modern-day (radical) behaviorism. Nevertheless, Skinner's
operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...
was heavily influenced by the Law of Effect's principle of reinforcement. * Trace conditioning: Akin to B.F. Skinner's radical behaviorism, it is a respondent conditioning technique based on
Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...
's concept of a "memory trace" in which the observer recalls the
conditioned stimulus Classical conditioning (also respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent Stimulus (physiology), stimulus (e.g. food, a puff of air on the eye, a potential rival) is paired with a n ...
(CS), with the memory or recall being the unconditioned response (UR). There is also a time delay between the CS and unconditioned stimulus (US), causing the conditioned response (CR)—particularly the
reflex In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus. Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...
—to be faded over time. According to Marchand, the hippocampus is a part of the cognitive processes during trace conditioning and other forms of classical conditioning in two ways: needing to overcome stimuli or due to mre activity from complex challenges. However, results may vary due to the nature of the task and the design of the experiment .


Molecular versus molar behaviorism

Skinner's view of behavior is most often characterized as a "molecular" view of behavior; that is, behavior can be decomposed into atomistic parts or molecules. This view is inconsistent with Skinner's complete description of behavior as delineated in other works, including his 1981 article "Selection by Consequences". Skinner proposed that a complete account of behavior requires understanding of selection history at three levels:
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
(the
natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...
or
phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...
of the animal); behavior (the reinforcement history or ontogeny of the behavioral repertoire of the animal); and for some species,
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
(the cultural practices of the social group to which the animal belongs). This whole organism then interacts with its environment. Molecular behaviorists use notions from
melioration theory Melioration theory in behavioral psychology is a theoretical algorithm that predicts the matching law. Melioration theory is used as an explanation for why an organism makes choices based on the rewards or reinforcers it receives. The principle of ...
, negative power function discounting or additive versions of negative power function discounting. According to Moore, the perseverance in a molecular examination of behavior may be sign of a desire for an in-depth understanding, maybe to identify any underlying mechanism or components that contribute to comples actions. This strategy might involve elements, procedure, or variables that contribute to behaviorism. Molar behaviorists, such as Howard Rachlin,
Richard Herrnstein Richard Julius Herrnstein (May 20, 1930 – September 13, 1994) was an American psychologist at Harvard University. He was an active researcher in animal learning in the Skinnerian tradition. Herrnstein was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psycho ...
, and William Baum, argue that behavior cannot be understood by focusing on events in the moment. That is, they argue that behavior is best understood as the ultimate product of an organism's history and that molecular behaviorists are committing a fallacy by inventing fictitious proximal causes for behavior. Molar behaviorists argue that standard molecular constructs, such as "associative strength", are better replaced by molar variables such as
rate of reinforcement In behaviorism, rate of reinforcement is number of reinforcements per time, usually per minute. Symbol of this rate is usually ''Rf''. Its first major exponent was B.F. Skinner (1939). It is used in the Matching Law. ''Rf'' = ''# of reinforcement ...
. Thus, a molar behaviorist would describe "loving someone" as a pattern of loving behavior over time; there is no isolated, proximal cause of loving behavior, only a history of behaviors (of which the current behavior might be an example) that can be summarized as "love".


Theoretical behaviorism

Skinner's radical behaviorism has been highly successful experimentally, revealing new phenomena with new methods, but Skinner's dismissal of theory limited its development.
Theoretical behaviorism Theoretical behaviorism is a framework for psychology proposed by J. E. R. Staddon as an extension of experimental psychologist B. F. Skinner's radical behaviorism. It originated at Harvard in the early 1960s. In the late 1980s, R. H. Ettinger ...
recognized that a historical system, an organism, has a state as well as sensitivity to stimuli and the ability to emit responses. Indeed, Skinner himself acknowledged the possibility of what he called "latent" responses in humans, even though he neglected to extend this idea to rats and pigeons. Latent responses constitute a repertoire, from which operant reinforcement can select. Theoretical behaviorism links between the brain and the behavior that provides a real understanding of the behavior, rather than a mental presumption of how brain-behavior relates. The theoretical concept of behaviorism are blended with knowledge of mental structure such as memory and expectancies associated with inflexable behaviorist stances that have traditionally forbidden the examination of the mental state. Because of its flexibility, theoretical behaviorism permits the cognitive process to have an impact on behavior.


Behavior analysis and culture

From its inception, behavior analysis has centered its examination on cultural occurrences ( Skinner, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1974). Nevertheless, the methods used to tackle these occurrences have evolved. Initially, culture was perceived as a factor influencing behavior, later becoming a subject of study in itself. This shift prompted research into group practices and the potential for significant behavioral transformations on a larger scale. Following Glenn's (1986) influential work, "Metacontingencies in Walden Two",  numerous research endeavors exploring behavior analysis in cultural contexts have centered around the concept of the metacontingency. Glenn (2003) posited that understanding the origins and development of cultures necessitates delving beyond evolutionary and behavioral principles governing species characteristics and individual learned behaviors requires analysis at a major level.


Behavior informatics and behavior computing

With the fast growth of big behavioral data and applications, behavior analysis is ubiquitous. Understanding behavior from the informatics and computing perspective becomes increasingly critical for in-depth understanding of what, why and how behaviors are formed, interact, evolve, change and affect business and decision.
Behavior informatics Behavior informatics (BI) is the informatics of behaviors so as to obtain behavior intelligence and behavior insights. BI is a research method combining science and technology, specifically in the area of engineering. The purpose of BI includes ...
and
behavior computing Behavior informatics (BI) is the informatics of behaviors so as to obtain behavior intelligence and behavior insights. BI is a research method combining science and technology, specifically in the area of engineering. The purpose of BI includes a ...
deeply explore behavior intelligence and behavior insights from the informatics and computing perspectives. Pavel et al. (2015) found that in the realm of
healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
and
health psychology Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and il ...
, substantial evidence supports the notion that personalized health interventions yield greater effectiveness compared to standardized approaches. Additionally, researchers found that recent progress in sensor and communication technology, coupled with data analysis and computational modeling, holds significant potential in revolutionizing interventions aimed at changing health behavior. Simultaneous advancements in sensor and communication technology, alongside the field of
data science Data science is an interdisciplinary academic field that uses statistics, scientific computing, scientific methods, processing, scientific visualization, algorithms and systems to extract or extrapolate knowledge from potentially noisy, stru ...
, have now made it possible to comprehensively measure behaviors occurring in real-life settings. These two elements, when combined with advancements in computational modeling, have laid the groundwork for the emerging discipline known as behavioral informatics. Behavioral informatics represents a scientific and engineering domain encompassing behavior tracking, evaluation, computational modeling, deduction, and intervention.


Criticisms and limitations

In the second half of the 20th century, behaviorism was largely eclipsed as a result of the
cognitive revolution The cognitive revolution was an intellectual movement that began in the 1950s as an interdisciplinary study of the mind and its processes, from which emerged a new field known as cognitive science. The preexisting relevant fields were psychology, ...
. This shift was due to radical behaviorism being highly criticized for not examining mental processes, and this led to the development of the
cognitive therapy Cognitive therapy (CT) is a psychotherapeutic approach developed by American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, which aims to change unhelpful or inaccurate thought patterns. CT is one therapeutic approach within the larger group of cognitive behavio ...
movement. In the mid-20th century, three main influences arose that would inspire and shape cognitive psychology as a formal school of thought: *
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
's 1959 critique of behaviorism, and empiricism more generally, initiated what would come to be known as the "
cognitive revolution The cognitive revolution was an intellectual movement that began in the 1950s as an interdisciplinary study of the mind and its processes, from which emerged a new field known as cognitive science. The preexisting relevant fields were psychology, ...
". * Developments in computer science would lead to parallels being drawn between human thought and the computational functionality of computers, opening entirely new areas of psychological thought.
Allen Newell Allen Newell (March 19, 1927 – July 19, 1992) was an American researcher in computer science and cognitive psychology at the RAND Corporation and at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, Tepper School of Business, and D ...
and Herbert Simon spent years developing the concept of
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
(AI) and later worked with cognitive psychologists regarding the implications of AI. The effective result was more of a framework conceptualization of mental functions with their counterparts in computers (memory, storage, retrieval, etc.). * Formal recognition of the field involved the establishment of research institutions such as George Mandler's Center for Human Information Processing in 1964. Mandler described the origins of cognitive psychology in a 2002 article in the ''Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences'' In more recent years, several scholars have expressed reservations about the pragmatic tendencies of behaviorism. * Burgos (2003) highlights the potential peril of pragmatism, noting that within
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
pragmatism—widely discussed in philosophy and science, including behaviorism and behavior analysis—there exists a tolerance for anything deemed useful, even if nonsensical. Additionally, Burgos (2007) contends that pragmatism engenders a relativism that contradicts the emphasis on science as the paramount path to knowledge. * Staddon (2018, as cited in Araiba, 2019) further argues that the proliferation of diversification in
social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
poses disadvantages by hindering healthy and open scientific communication and critique among specialized areas. * Rider (1991) shares a similar concern, highlighting reduced communication between the experimental analysis of behavior and
applied behavior analysis Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also referred to as behavioral engineering, is a behavior modification system based on the principles of respondent and operant conditioning. ABA is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two are: ...
. Contrarily, diversification is portrayed as an innate and uncontrollable consequence of the environment, a natural facet contributing to species' survival. It is viewed as an integral aspect of the evolution of behaviorism. In the early years of
cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, whi ...
, behaviorist critics held that the empiricism it pursued was incompatible with the concept of internal mental states.
Cognitive neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the Biology, biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental ...
, however, continues to gather evidence of direct correlations between physiological brain activity and putative mental states, endorsing the basis for cognitive psychology.


Limitations

Staddon (1993) found that Skinner's theory presents two significant deficiencies: Firstly, he downplayed the significance of processes responsible for generating novel behaviors, which it is term as "behavioral variation." Skinner primarily emphasized reinforcement as the sole determinant for selecting responses, overlooking these critical processes involved in creating new behaviors. Secondly, both Skinner and many other behaviorists of that era endorsed contiguity as a sufficient process for response selection. However
Rescorla and Wagner
(1972) later demonstrated, particularly in
classical conditioning Classical conditioning (also respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent Stimulus (physiology), stimulus (e.g. food, a puff of air on the eye, a potential rival) is paired with a n ...
, that competition is an essential complement to contiguity. They showed that in
operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...
, both contiguity and competition are imperative for discerning cause-and-effect relationships. The influential Rescorla-Wagner model  highlights the significance of competition for limited "associative value," essential for assessing predictability. A similar formal argument was presented by Ying Zhang and John Staddon (1991, in press) concerning operant conditioning: the combination of contiguity and competition among action tendencies suffices as an assignment-of-credit mechanism capable of detecting genuine instrumental contingency between a response and its reinforcer. This mechanism delineates the limitations of Skinner's idea of adventitious reinforcement, revealing its efficacy only under stringent conditions – when the reinforcement's strengthening effect is nearly constant across instances and with very short intervals between reinforcers. However, these conditions rarely hold in reality: behavior following reinforcement tends to exhibit high variability, and superstitious behavior diminishes with extremely brief intervals between reinforcements.


Behavior therapy

Behavior therapy is a term referring to different types of therapies that treat mental health disorders. It identifies and helps change people's unhealthy behaviors or destructive behaviors through learning theory and conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...
's classical conditioning, as well as counterconditioning are the basis for much of clinical behavior therapy, but also includes other techniques, including operant conditioning—or contingency management, and modeling (sometimes called
observational learning Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others. It is a form of Social learning theory, social learning which takes various forms, based on various processes. In humans, this form of learning seems to not n ...
). A frequently noted behavior therapy is systematic desensitization (graduated exposure therapy), which was first demonstrated by Joseph Wolpe and Arnold Lazarus.


Behavior analysis

Applied behavior analysis Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also referred to as behavioral engineering, is a behavior modification system based on the principles of respondent and operant conditioning. ABA is the applied form of behavior analysis; the other two are: ...
(ABA)—also called behavioral engineering—is a scientific discipline that applies the principles of behavior analysis to change behavior. ABA derived from much earlier research in the ''
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior The ''Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of psychology that was established in 1958 by B.F. Skinner and Charles Ferster. JEAB publishes empirical research related to the experimental analysis o ...
'', which was founded by B.F. Skinner and his colleagues at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. Nearly a decade after the study "The psychiatric nurse as a behavioral engineer" (1959) was published in that journal, which demonstrated how effective the
token economy A token economy is a system of contingency management based on the systematic reinforcement of target behavior. The reinforcers are symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforcers. A token economy is based on the principles of o ...
was in reinforcing more adaptive behavior for hospitalized patients with
schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
and
intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...
, it led to researchers at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
to start the ''
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis The ''Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis'' (JABA) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which publishes empirical research related to applied behavior analysis. It was established in 1968 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of ...
'' in 1968. Although ABA and behavior modification are similar behavior-change technologies in that the learning environment is modified through respondent and operant conditioning, behavior modification did not initially address the causes of the behavior (particularly, the environmental stimuli that occurred in the past), or investigate solutions that would otherwise prevent the behavior from reoccurring. As the evolution of ABA began to unfold in the mid-1980s, functional behavior assessments (FBAs) were developed to clarify the function of that behavior, so that it is accurately determined which differential reinforcement contingencies will be most effective and less likely for
aversive In psychology, aversives are suffering, unpleasant Stimulus (physiology), stimuli that induce changes in behavior via negative reinforcement or positive punishment (psychology), punishment. By applying an aversive immediately before or after a be ...
punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...
s to be administered. In addition, methodological behaviorism was the theory underpinning behavior modification since private events were not conceptualized during the 1970s and early 1980s, which contrasted from the radical behaviorism of behavior analysis. ABA—the term that replaced behavior modification—has emerged into a thriving field. The independent development of behaviour analysis outside the United States also continues to develop. In the US, the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
(APA) features a subdivision for Behavior Analysis, titled APA Division 25: Behavior Analysis, which has been in existence since 1964, and the interests among behavior analysts today are wide-ranging, as indicated in a review of the 30 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) within the
Association for Behavior Analysis International The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting behavior analysis. The organization has over 9,000 members. The group organizes conferences and publishes journals on the topic of appl ...
(ABAI). Such interests include everything from animal behavior and
environmental conservation Environmental conservation may refer to: * Environmental protection * Nature conservation {{disambiguation ...
to classroom instruction (such as
direct instruction Direct instruction (DI) is the explicit teaching of a skill set using lectures or demonstrations of the material to students. A particular subset, denoted by capitalization as Direct Instruction, refers to the approach developed by Siegfried E ...
and precision teaching),
verbal behavior ''Verbal Behavior'' is a 1957 book by psychologist B. F. Skinner, in which he describes what he calls verbal behavior, or what was traditionally called linguistics. Skinner's work describes the controlling elements of verbal behavior with termin ...
, developmental disabilities and autism, clinical psychology (i.e., forensic behavior analysis), behavioral medicine (i.e., behavioral gerontology, AIDS prevention, and fitness training), and consumer behavior analysis. The field of applied animal behavior—a sub-discipline of ABA that involves training animals—is regulated by the Animal Behavior Society, and those who practice this technique are called applied animal behaviorists. Research on applied animal behavior has been frequently conducted in the ''Applied Animal Behaviour Science'' journal since its founding in 1974. ABA has also been particularly well-established in the area of developmental disabilities since the 1960s, but it was not until the late 1980s that individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders were beginning to grow so rapidly and groundbreaking research was being published that parent advocacy groups started demanding for services throughout the 1990s, which encouraged the formation of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a credentialing program that certifies professionally trained behavior analysts on the national level to deliver such services. Nevertheless, the certification is applicable to all human services related to the rather broad field of behavior analysis (other than the treatment for autism), and the ABAI currently has 14 accredited MA and Ph.D. programs for comprehensive study in that field. Early behavioral interventions (EBIs) based on ABA are empirically validated for teaching children with autism and have been proven as such for over the past five decades. Since the late 1990s and throughout the twenty-first century, early ABA interventions have also been identified as the treatment of choice by the US Surgeon General,
American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of poli ...
, and US National Research Council.
Discrete trial training Discrete trial training (DTT) is a technique used by practitioners of applied behavior analysis (ABA) that was developed by Ole Ivar Lovaas, Ivar Lovaas at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). DTT uses mass instruction and reinforcem ...
—also called early ''intensive'' behavioral intervention—is the traditional EBI technique implemented for thirty to forty hours per week that instructs a child to sit in a chair, imitate fine and gross motor behaviors, as well as learn eye contact and speech, which are taught through shaping, modeling, and prompting, with such prompting being phased out as the child begins mastering each skill. When the child becomes more verbal from discrete trials, the table-based instructions are later discontinued, and another EBI procedure known as incidental teaching is introduced in the natural environment by having the child ask for desired items kept out of their direct access, as well as allowing the child to choose the play activities that will motivate them to engage with their facilitators before teaching the child how to interact with other children their own age. A related term for incidental teaching, called pivotal response treatment (PRT), refers to EBI procedures that exclusively entail twenty-five hours per week of naturalistic teaching (without initially using discrete trials). Current research is showing that there is a wide array of learning styles and that is the children with
receptive language In psycholinguistics, language processing refers to the way humans use words to communicate ideas and feelings, and how such communications are processed and understood. Language processing is considered to be a uniquely human ability that is ...
delays who initially require discrete trials to acquire speech.
Organizational behavior management Organizational behavior management (OBM) is a subdiscipline of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is the application of behavior analytic principles and contingency management techniques to change behavior in organizational settings. Through ...
, which applies contingency management procedures to model and reinforce appropriate work behavior for employees in organizations, has developed a particularly strong following within ABA, as evidenced by the formation of the OBM Network and ''Journal of Organizational Behavior Management'', which was rated the third-highest impact journal in applied psychology by ISI JOBM rating. Modern-day clinical behavior analysis has also witnessed a massive resurgence in research, with the development of relational frame theory (RFT), which is described as an extension of verbal behavior and a "post-Skinnerian account of language and cognition." RFT also forms the empirical basis for
acceptance and commitment therapy Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT, typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of psychotherapy, as well as a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfu ...
, a therapeutic approach to counseling often used to manage such conditions as
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
and
obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...
that consists of acceptance and commitment, value-based living, cognitive defusion, counterconditioning (
mindfulness Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...
), and contingency management (
positive reinforcement Positive is a property of positivity and may refer to: Mathematics and science * Positive formula, a logical formula not containing negation * Positive number, a number that is greater than 0 * Plus sign, the sign "+" used to indicate a posit ...
). Another evidence-based counseling technique derived from RFT is the functional analytic psychotherapy known as behavioral activation that relies on the ACL model—awareness, courage, and love—to reinforce more positive moods for those struggling with depression.
Incentive In general, incentives are anything that persuade a person or organization to alter their behavior to produce the desired outcome. The laws of economists and of behavior state that higher incentives amount to greater levels of effort and therefo ...
-based contingency management (CM) is the standard of care for adults with substance-use disorders; it has also been shown to be highly effective for other addictions (i.e., obesity and gambling). Although it does not directly address the underlying causes of behavior, incentive-based CM is highly behavior analytic as it targets the function of the client's motivational behavior by relying on a preference assessment, which is an assessment procedure that allows the individual to select the preferred reinforcer (in this case, the monetary value of the voucher, or the use of other incentives, such as prizes). Another evidence-based CM intervention for substance abuse is
community reinforcement approach and family training Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT), developed by Robert J. Meyers in the late 1970s, is a behavioural therapy approach for treating drug addiction. Meyers had worked with Nathan Azrin in the early 1970s and also develo ...
that uses FBAs and counterconditioning techniques—such as behavioral skills training and relapse prevention—to model and reinforce healthier lifestyle choices which promote self-management of abstinence from drugs, alcohol, or cigarette smoking during high-risk exposure when engaging with family members, friends, and co-workers. While schoolwide positive behavior support consists of conducting assessments and a
task analysis Task analysis is a fundamental tool of human factors engineering. It entails analyzing how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities, task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation, ...
plan to differentially reinforce curricular supports that replace students' disruptive behavior in the classroom, pediatric feeding therapy incorporates a liquid chaser and chin feeder to shape proper eating behavior for children with feeding disorders.
Habit reversal training Habit reversal training (HRT) is a "multicomponent behavioral treatment package originally developed to address a wide variety of repetitive behavior disorders". Behavioral disorders treated with HRT include tics, trichotillomania, nail biting, ...
, an approach firmly grounded in counterconditioning which uses contingency management procedures to reinforce alternative behavior, is currently the only empirically validated approach for managing tic disorders. Some studies on exposure ( desensitization) therapies—which refer to an array of interventions based on the respondent conditioning procedure known as
habituation Habituation is a form of non-associative learning in which an organism’s non-reinforced response to an inconsequential stimulus decreases after repeated or prolonged presentations of that stimulus. For example, organisms may habituate to re ...
and typically infuses counterconditioning procedures, such as
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
and breathing exercises—have recently been published in behavior analytic journals since the 1990s, as most other research is conducted from a cognitive-behavior therapy framework. When based on a behavior analytic research standpoint, FBAs are implemented to precisely outline how to employ the
flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...
form of desensitization (also called direct exposure therapy) for those who are unsuccessful in overcoming their specific
phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected ...
through systematic desensitization (also known as graduated exposure therapy). These studies also reveal that systematic desensitization is more effective for children if used in conjunction with shaping, which is further termed ''contact'' desensitization, but this comparison has yet to be substantiated with adults. Other widely published behavior analytic journals include ''Behavior Modification'', ''The Behavior Analyst'', ''Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions'', ''Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science'', ''The Analysis of Verbal Behavior'', ''Behavior and Philosophy'', ''Behavior and Social Issues'', and '' The Psychological Record''.


Cognitive-behavior therapy

Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) is a behavior therapy discipline that often overlaps considerably with the clinical behavior analysis subfield of ABA, but differs in that it initially incorporates cognitive restructuring and emotional regulation to alter a person's cognition and emotions. Various forms of CBT have been used to treat physically experienced symptoms that disrupt individuals' livelihood, which often stem from complex mental health disorders. Complications of many trauma-induced disorders result in lack of sleep and nightmares, with cognitive behavior therapy functioning as an intervention found to reduce the average number of
PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...
patients suffering from related sleep disturbance. A popularly noted counseling intervention known as
dialectical behavior therapy Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that began with efforts to treat personality disorders and interpersonal conflicts. Evidence suggests that DBT can be useful in treating mood disorders and suicidal ideati ...
(DBT) includes the use of a chain analysis, as well as cognitive restructuring, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, counterconditioning (mindfulness), and contingency management (positive reinforcement). DBT is quite similar to acceptance and commitment therapy, but contrasts in that it derives from a CBT framework. Although DBT is most widely researched for and empirically validated to reduce the risk of suicide in psychiatric patients with
borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, an acute fear of Abandonment (emotional), abandonment, and intense emotiona ...
, it can often be applied effectively to other mental health conditions, such as substance abuse, as well as mood and eating disorders. A study on BPD was conducted, confirming DBT as a constructive therapeutic option for emotionally unregulated patients. Before DBT, participants with borderline personality disorder were shown images of highly emotional people and neuron activity in the
amygdala The amygdala (; : amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek language, Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is a paired nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclear complex present in the Cerebral hemisphere, cerebral hemispheres of vertebrates. It is c ...
was recorded via
fMRI Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...
; after 1 year of consistent dialectical behavior therapy, participants were re-tested, with fMRI capturing a decrease in amygdala hyperactivity (emotional activation) in response to the applied stimulus, exhibiting increases in emotional regulation capabilities. Most research on exposure therapies (also called desensitization)—ranging from eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy to exposure and response prevention—are conducted through a CBT framework in non-behavior analytic journals, and these enhanced exposure therapies are well-established in the research literature for treating phobic, post-traumatic stress, and other anxiety disorders (such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD). Cognitive-based behavioral activation (BA)—the psychotherapeutic approach used for depression—is shown to be highly effective and is widely used in clinical practice. Some large
randomized control trials In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of definite pattern or predictability in information. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. I ...
have indicated that cognitive-based BA is as beneficial as
antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include Xerostomia, dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathi ...
medications but more efficacious than traditional
cognitive therapy Cognitive therapy (CT) is a psychotherapeutic approach developed by American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, which aims to change unhelpful or inaccurate thought patterns. CT is one therapeutic approach within the larger group of cognitive behavio ...
. Other commonly used clinical treatments derived from behavioral learning principles that are often implemented through a CBT model include community reinforcement approach and family training, and habit reversal training for substance abuse and tics, respectively.


Related therapies

* Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) * Applied animal behavior * Behavioral activation * Behavior modification *
Behavior therapy Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or oth ...
*
Biofeedback Biofeedback is the technique of gaining greater awareness of many physiology, physiological functions of one's own body by using Electronics, electronic or other instruments, and with a goal of being able to Manipulation (psychology), manipulate ...
* Clinical behavior analysis *
Contingency management Contingency management (CM) is the application of the three-term contingency (or operant conditioning), which uses stimulus control and consequences to change behavior. CM originally derived from the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA), but ...
* Desensitization * Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) *
Direct instruction Direct instruction (DI) is the explicit teaching of a skill set using lectures or demonstrations of the material to students. A particular subset, denoted by capitalization as Direct Instruction, refers to the approach developed by Siegfried E ...
*
Discrete trial training Discrete trial training (DTT) is a technique used by practitioners of applied behavior analysis (ABA) that was developed by Ole Ivar Lovaas, Ivar Lovaas at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). DTT uses mass instruction and reinforcem ...
* Exposure and response prevention *
Exposure therapy Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient to the anxiety source or its context (without the intention to cause any danger). Doing so is thought to help them overc ...
*
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It was devised by Francine Shapiro in 1987. EMDR involves talking about traumatic memories while engagin ...
* Flooding (psychology) * Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) *
Habit reversal training Habit reversal training (HRT) is a "multicomponent behavioral treatment package originally developed to address a wide variety of repetitive behavior disorders". Behavioral disorders treated with HRT include tics, trichotillomania, nail biting, ...
*
Organizational behavior management Organizational behavior management (OBM) is a subdiscipline of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is the application of behavior analytic principles and contingency management techniques to change behavior in organizational settings. Through ...
* Pivotal response treatment * Positive behavior support * Prolonged exposure therapy * Social skills training * Systematic desensitization


List of notable behaviorists

*
Nathan Azrin Nathan H. Azrin (November 26, 1930  – March 29, 2013) was a behavioral modification researcher, psychologist, and university professor. He taught at Southern Illinois University and was the research director of Anna State Hospital betwee ...
* Don Baer *
Albert Bandura Albert Bandura (4 December 1925 – 26 July 2021) was a Canadian-American psychologist and professor of social science in psychology at Stanford University, who contributed to the fields of education and to the fields of psychology, e.g. social ...
* Dermot Barnes-Holmes *
Vladimir Bekhterev Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev ( rus, Влади́мир Миха́йлович Бе́хтерев, p=ˈbʲextʲɪrʲɪf; 20 January 1857 – 24 December 1927) was a Russian neurologist and the father of objective psychology. He is best known fo ...
* Sidney W. Bijou *
Hans Eysenck Hans Jürgen Eysenck ( ; 4 March 1916 – 4 September 1997) was a German-born British psychologist. He is best remembered for his work on intelligence and personality psychology, personality, although he worked on other issues in psychology. At t ...
*
Charles Ferster Charles Bohris Ferster (1 November 1922 – 3 February 1981) was an American behavioral psychologist. A pioneer of applied behavior analysis, he developed errorless learning and was a colleague of B.F. Skinner's at Harvard University, co-autho ...
*
Jacque Fresco Jacque Fresco (March 13, 1916 – May 18, 2017) was an American futurist and self-described social engineer. Self-taught, he worked in a variety of positions related to industrial design. Fresco wrote and lectured his views on susta ...
* Edwin Ray Guthrie * Betty Hart * Steven C. Hayes * Richard J. Herrnstein * Clark L. Hull * Brian Iwata * Alan E. Kazdin * Fred S. Keller * Robert Koegel * Robert (Bob) J. Kohlenberg * Jon Levy * Marsha M. Linehan * Ole Ivar Lovaas * F. Charles Mace *
Jack Michael Jack Michael (January 16, 1926 – November 12, 2020) was an American psychologist and professor at Western Michigan University. He developed one of the first token economies, the concept of motivating operations (MOs), and is a pioneer of what ...
* Neal E. Miller * O. Hobart Mowrer *
Charles E. Osgood Charles Egerton Osgood (20 November 1916 – 15 September 1991) was an American psychologist and professor at the University of Illinois. He was known for his research on behaviourism versus cognitivism, semantics (he introduced the term " sema ...
*
Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...
* Murray Sidman *
B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in ...
* Kenneth W. Spence * J. E. R. Staddon *
Edward Thorndike Edward Lee Thorndike ( – ) was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to his " theory of connectionism" and helped ...
* Edward C. Tolman *
John B. Watson John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, establishing it as a List of psychological schools, psychological school.Cohn, Aaron S. 2014.Watson, J ...
* Montrose Wolf *
Joseph Wolpe Joseph Wolpe (20 April 1915 in Johannesburg, South Africa – 4 December 1997 in Los Angeles) was a South African psychiatrist and one of the most influential figures in behavior therapy. Wolpe grew up in South Africa, attending Parktown Boys' ...


See also

* Behavior analysis of child development *
Behavioral change theories Behavioural change theories are attempts to explain why human behaviours change. These theories cite environmental, personal, and behavioural characteristics as the major factors in behavioural determination. In recent years, there has been increa ...
*
Behavioral economics Behavioral economics is the study of the psychological (e.g. cognitive, behavioral, affective, social) factors involved in the decisions of individuals or institutions, and how these decisions deviate from those implied by traditional economi ...
*
Behavioral neuroscience Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology,Psychobi ...
*
Cognitive inhibition Cognitive inhibition refers to the mind's ability to tune out stimuli that are irrelevant to the task/process at hand or to the mind's current state. Additionally, it can be done either in whole or in part, intentionally or otherwise. Cognitive i ...
* Dog behaviorist *
Ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...
*
Functionalism (philosophy of mind) In the philosophy of mind, functionalism is the thesis that each and every mental state (for example, the state of having a belief, of having a desire, or of being in pain) is constituted solely by its functional role, which means its causal relat ...
* *
Operationalization In research design, especially in psychology, social sciences, life sciences and physics, operationalization or operationalisation is a process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon which is not directly measurable, though its existence is ...
* *
Perceptual control theory Perceptual control theory (PCT) is a model of behavior based on the properties of negative feedback control loops. A control loop maintains a sensed variable at or near a reference value by means of the effects of its outputs upon that variable, as ...
*
Professional practice of behavior analysis The professional practice of behavior analysis is a domain of behavior analysis, the others being radical behaviorism, experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis. The practice of behavior analysis is the delivery of intervent ...


Reference in APA 7th edition format


Further reading

* Baum, W.M. (1994) ''Understanding behaviorism: Behavior, Culture and Evolution''. Blackwell. * Cao, L.B. (2013
IJCAI2013 tutorial on behavior informatics and computing
* Cao, L.B. (2014
Non-IIDness Learning in Behavioral and Social Data
The Computer Journal, 57(9): 1358–1370. * Ferster, C.B. & Skinner, B.F. (1957). ''Schedules of reinforcement''. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. * Malott, Richard W. (2008) ''Principles of Behavior''. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Print. * Mills, John A. (2000) ''Control: A History of Behavioral Psychology'', Paperback Edition, New York University Press. * Lattal, K.A. & Chase, P.N. (2003) "Behavior Theory and Philosophy". Plenum. * * Rachlin, H. (1991) ''Introduction to modern behaviorism.'' (3rd edition.) New York: Freeman. * Skinner, B.F. ''Beyond Freedom & Dignity'', Hackett Publishing Co, Inc 2002. * * * Klein, P. (2013) "Explanation of Behavioural Psychotherapy Styles"

* Watson, J.B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. ''Psychological Review'', 20, 158–177.
on-line
. * Watson, J.B. (1919). ''Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist''. * Watson, J.B. (1924). ''Behaviorism''. * Zuriff, G.E. (1985)
''Behaviorism: A Conceptual Reconstruction''
, Columbia University Press. *


External links

* * {{Authority control Behaviorism, Philosophy of psychology Psychological theories Theory of mind Management cybernetics