A view from outside the Skinner box.

Bailey, Robert E.; Bailey, Marian B.

doi:10.1037/0003-066x.35.10.942

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…A few years later Jenkins and associates sent Melton one of their papers (the subsequently widely cited Jenkins, Mink & Russell, 1958) and were told by Melton, scribbled across their submission letter, that 'this would be of no interest to my readers. ' 6 Another example of behaviorist hegemony was the difficulty that K. and M. Breland had in publishing any criticisms of Skinner's position on innate dispositions (Bailey & Bailey, 1980).…”

Section: The Birth and Failure Of American Behaviorismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origins of the cognitive (r)evolution

Mandler

2002

J History Behavioral Science

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The well documented cognitive 'revolution' was to a large extent an evolving return to attitudes and trends that were present prior to the advent of behaviorism and that were alive and well outside of the United States, where behaviorism had not developed any coherent support.The behaviorism of the 1920 to 1950 period was replaced because it was unable to address central issues in human psychology, a failure that was inherent in part in J. B. Watson's founding manifesto with its insistence on the seamless continuity of human and nonhuman animal behavior. The 'revolution' was often slow and piece meal, as illustrated by four conferences held between 1955 and 1966 in the field of memory. With the realization that different approaches and concepts were needed to address a psychology of the human, developments in German, British and Francophone psychology provided some of the fuel of the 'revolution'.The facts of the cognitive revolution in psychology in mid 20th century have been well documented (see, for example, Baars, 1986;Greenwood, 1999, and on more special issues see Murray, 1995; Newell & Simon, 1972). What follows is intended as a further elaboration of those previous presentations. The adoption of, or return to, cognitive themes occured in other disciplines as well, for example in linguistics, but those developments are outside the scope of this presentation. Nor do I wish to treat in detail all areas of experimental psychology; I will concentrate on approaches to human memory. I wish to add the following four arguments to our general understanding of the events surrounding the cognitive resurgence: (1) Part of Watson's program prevented the success of behaviorism and contributed to its replacement. (2) The term 'revolution' is probably inappropriate --there were no cataclysmic events, the change occurred slowly in different subfields over some 10 to 15 years, there was no identifiable flashpoint or leader, and there were no Jacobins. (3) The behaviorist dogmas against which the revolution occurred were essentially confined to the United States. At the same time that behaviorism reigned in the U.S. structuralist, cognitive, and functionalist psychologies were dominant in Germany, Britain, France and even Canada. (4) Stimulus-response behaviorism was not violently displaced, rather as a cognitive approach evolved behaviorism faded because of its failure to solve basic questions about human thought and action, and memory in particular. The birth and failure of American behaviorismThe early 20th century in the United States was marked by a turning inward, a new American consciousness. 1 In science and philosophy the new 20th century was marked by a pragmatic, anti-theoretical preoccupation with making things work --a trend that was to find its expression in psychology in J. B. Watson's behaviorism. I add a remark of Alexis de Tocqueville's which is apposite of the behaviorist development and relates its origin to a more lasting tradition of American democracy: ' ... democratic people are always afraid...

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Section: The Birth and Failure Of American Behaviorismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origins of the cognitive (r)evolution

Mandler

2002

J History Behavioral Science

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“…Modern behaviorists may recognize this phenomenon as the "Breland Effect" (Breland & Breland, 1961, 1966, or as "instinctual drift," in which a presumably innate behavior comes to interfere with a learned performance because of similarities between aspects of the context of conditioning and the unconditioned stimuli that evoke the interfering adaptive behavior in the organism. The lack of mention of this type of phenomenon in the behavioral literature has been used by some critics ofbehaviorism as evidence of behaviorists' inability or unwillingness to deal with innate behavior patterns (e.g., Bailey & Bailey, 1980;Breland & Breland, 1961;Herrnstein, 1977). B. F. Skinner, himself, has attempted to counter these criticisms by suggesting that the effect that the Brelands described may have been observed by Clark Hull in Skinner's laboratory in September 1937, when Skinner's rats were seen licking marbles used as part of a chain ofbehavior leading to food.…”

Section: The Young Ethologistmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Early Research of John B. Watson: Before the Behavioral Revolution

Todd

Morris

1986

BEHAV ANALYST

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John B. Watson is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in modern psychology. Despite this stature, however, presentations of his contributions and career are usually limited to material on his establishment of classical behaviorism in 1913, and then on subsequent elaborations of his position and on his study of conditioned emotional reactions. Watson's career and research prior to 1913 are rarely mentioned or cited; moreover, when this work is mentioned, the presentations often contain errors of fact. To correct these shortcomings, we present an overview of his pre-1913 research that focuses on (1) his doctoral thesis and first book, Animal Education; (2) his studies with Harvey Carr on the role of the various sense modalities in rats' maze learning; (3) his collaboration with Robert Yerkes on the design and construction of psychophysical equipment for the quantitative study of vision, and on experiments on the visual capabilities of monkeys, rabbits, rats, and birds; and (4) his extensive naturalistic studies in Florida on the behavior of noddy and sooty terns, parts of which anticipated better-known subsequent research on imprinting and instinctual drift. Watson's commitment to the development of an objective, natural science of behavior is clearly evident throughout his early research. In addition, his research shows that his range of interests and scientific sophistication are greater than typical descriptions of his work indicate.

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“…For instance, in commenting on Skinner's paper, "The Phylogeny and Ontogeny of Behavior" (Skinner, 1966a), Barkow (1984, p. 681) remarked that Skinner "now seems to understand and accept" that his system must be consistent with evolutionary biology. Garcia (1993) later wrote that Skinner only came to describe the relation between natural selection and operant conditioning "to-ward the end of his career" (p. 1158; see Bailey & Bailey, 1980). Skinner (1983b, p. 367) himself cited a 1981 article in the Economist that stated he "no longer opposed" physiological research.…”

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confidence: 99%

Whether, when, and why Skinner published on biological participation in behavior

2004

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This paper brings some data to bear on the criticisms, claims, and arguments that Skinner (a) denied or dismissed biological participation in behavior, (b) addressed it only late in his career or more often later than earlier, or (c) addressed it only because of the overwhelming evidence for it or the criticisms that he had overlooked it. For this, we coded Skinner's every primary-source publication for three content categories (i.e., genetics, physiology, and evolution) and for the extent to which he addressed them (i.e., in publication titles, substantively, or in passing). Our findings are that Skinner addressed biological participation in over a third of his publications throughout his career, albeit more often later than earlier. The latter, however, is accounted for by an increase in his base rate of publication and in general conditions and specific events in his career, psychology, and science. The discussion addresses our research methods; the reasons for and refutations of the criticisms, claims, and arguments; and their sources.

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A view from outside the Skinner box.

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

Origins of the cognitive (r)evolution

Origins of the cognitive (r)evolution

The Early Research of John B. Watson: Before the Behavioral Revolution

Whether, when, and why Skinner published on biological participation in behavior

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