Radical behaviorism and the rest of psychology: A review/precis of Skinner's About Behaviorism

Behavior and Philosophy, 2001 by Malone, John C Jr, Cruchon, Natalie M

* "I miss you" could almost be thought of as a metaphor based on target practice, equivalent to "My behavior with respect to you as a person cannot reach its mark" or "I look for you and fail to find you." (p. 56)

Taking the Long View

It is. almost never the case that what we do is elicited by present stimuli. Our history/context is far more important and knowledge of its influence is absolutely essential in understanding our actions and their causes." Just as we understand love and honor as patterns of activity over time, we must take the long view of learning, memory, perception, and everything else.

* But the conditions that determine the form of probability of an operant are in a person's history ... they are easily overlooked. It is then easy to believe that the will is free .... The spontaneous generation of behavior has reached the same stage as the spontaneous generation of maggots and microorganisms in Pasteur's day. (p. 59)

* Like "idea," "will" is used almost interchangeably with behavior . . . A willingness is a readiness or likelihood. A health authority has said that the important thing in maintaining a regimen of exercise or diet is will power; all he means is that the important thing is that a person continues to exercise or diet. (p. 60)

Homesickness, Hitler, and Gambling

It is possible, albeit not completely satisfying, to account for many states of mind and motivational conditions solely in terms of environment and contingencies of reinforcement. Such an account does seem to apply to many cases, from Hitler's behavior to the prevalence of gambling.

* The behavior of the homesick, forlorn, lovelorn, or lonely is commonly attributed to the feelings experienced rather than to the absence of a familiar environment. (p. 65)

* The condition is sometimes called "abulia," defined as a lack of will power, or a neurotic inability to act, and this is often cited as the source of the trouble, in spite of the fact that the [FR] schedule produces a similar effect in a wide range of species. (p. 66)

* It is said that Hitler prolonged the Second World War for nearly a year "by an incredible exercise of will power . . ." but his behavior . . .can be plausibly attributed to an extraordinarily favorable program . . .in which each of a series of reinforcing successes required an increasingly greater amount of effort [hence, a kind of VR schedule]. (p. 66)

* All gambling systems are based on variable-ratio schedules of reinforcement, though their effects are usually attributed to feelings . . .excitement ... sense of mastery, to dominate, to win-in spite of the fact that gamblers almost always eventually lose. (p. 67)

* His behavior is "abnormal" in the sense that not everyone has been exposed to a program through which a highly unfavorable ratio is made effective. The same variable-ratio schedule affects those who explore, prospect, invent, conduct scientific research, and compose works of art, music, or literature . . . (p. 67)

* ... but operant reinforcement is effective quite apart from any ultimate gain, as the negative utility of gambling abundantly demonstrates. (p. 79)