Mentalism
- an approach to explaining behavior that assumes a mental or an inner dimension exists, but differs from behavioural dimensions
- phenomena in this dimension either directly cause, or at least mediates some forms of behaviors if not all
- relies on hypothetical constructs and explanatory fictions
Hypothetical Construct
- a presumed but unobserved process or entity
e. g. freuds ego id superego
Functional relation
πππ
- a verbal statement that summarises the results of an experiment that describes the phenomenon under study as a function of:
1. the operation of one or more specified controlled variables in the expt
2. and that changes in a specified event can be produced by manipulating another event
3. changes in DV was unlikely to be the result of other factors
Explanatory fiction
a hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon that it claims to explain
but contributes nth to explain its functional account or the understanding of the phenomenon
e.g. intelligence
as the explanation as to why an organism pushes a lever when theres food n light but not doing so when light n food are absent
Explanatory analysis of behavior (EAB)
a natural scientific approach of the study of behavior as a subject matter on its own, founded by BF Skinner
Methodological features as follows:
1. Rate of response as the most common DV
- Repeated or continuous measurements are made of clearly defined response class
- Within subject comparison designs are used rather than comparing behavior using expt vs controlled group designs
- visual analysis of graphed data but not statistical inference
- an emphasis on describing functional relations btw behavior and controlling variables in the environment, but not formal theory testing
Experiment
# A carefully conducted comparison of some phenomenon of interest (DV) under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time (IV) differs from one condition to another
Empiricism
the objective observation of the phenomenon of interest
independent of private prejudices, beliefs, tastes of the scientist
open to anyones observation, independent of subjective beliefs of a scientist (zuriff,1985οΌ
Determinism
phenomenon occurs in relation to other events, not in an accidental fashion
assumes that the universe is a lawful and orderly place
Behaviorism
philosophy of the science of behaviour
comes in various forms
ABA applied behavior analysis
science that uses tactics derived from principles of behavior
applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior
experimentation is used to identify variables responsible for behavioral change
Methodological Behaviorism
a philosophical view that behavioural events that cannot be publicly observed are outside the realm of science
Philosophical doubt
The attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge should be continually questioned
Parsimony
the practice of ruling out simple and logical explanations conceptually or experimentally, before considering more complex or abstract explanations
Radical behaviourism
A thorough going form of behaviourism that tries to explain all human behaviour including private events like feelings or thoughts, in terms of:
- the controlling variables, e.g. history of the person (ontogeny);
- species (phylogeny)
Replication
a. repeating conditions within experiments to determine the reliability of the effects n to increasr internal validity
b. repeating whole expt to determine the generality of previous findings to other settings people and behaviour
Science
a systematic approach to study natural phenomena as evidenced by: description, prediction, control
DEERPPd
- relies on determinism as its fundamental assumption
- empiricism as its primary rule
- experimentation as its basic strategy
- replication as a requirement of believability
- parsimony as its value
- philosophical doubt as its guiding confidence
