Cooper 1

A thoroughgoing form of behaviorism that attempts to understand all human behavior, including private events such as thoughts and feelings, in terms of controlling variables in the history of the person (ontogeny) and the species (phylogeny).

A natural science approach to the study of behavior as a subject matter in its own right founded by B.F. Skinner; methodological features include rate of response as a basic dependent variable, repeated or continuous measurement of clearly defined response classes, within-subject experimental comparisons instead of group design, visual analysis of graphed data instead of statistical inference, and an emphasis on describing functional relations between behavior and controlling variables in the environment over formal theory testing.

A fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the phenomenon, such as “intelligence” or “cognitive awareness” as explanations for why an organism pushes the lever when the light is on and food is available but does not push the lever when the light is off and no food is available.

An approach to explaining behavior that assumes that a mental, or “inner,” dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension and that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior, if not all.

Exists when a well-controlled experiment reveals that a specific change in one event (the dependent variable) can reliably be produced by specific manipulations of another event (the independent variable) and that the change in the dependent variable was unlikely to be the result of other extraneous factors (confounding variables).

A philosophical position that views behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed as outside the realm of science

A carefully controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (the dependent variable) under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time (the independent variable) differs from one condition to another.

A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena.

The primary method with which scientists determine the reliability and usefulness of their findings and discover their mistakes

A statement of the anticipated outcome of a presently unknown or future measurement; one of three components of the experimental reasoning, or baseline logic, used in single-subject research designs.

The practice of objective observation of the phenomena of interest.

An attitude that the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge should be continually questioned.

The philosophy of a science of behavior.

Requires that all simple, logical explanations for the phenomenon under investigation be ruled out, experimentally or conceptually, before more complex or abstract explanations are considered.

Produces behavior changes that last over time, appear in other environments, or spread to other behaviors.

A presumed but unobserved process or entity (e.g., Freud’s id, ego, and superego).

The assumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which phenomena occur in relation to other events and not in a willy-nilly, accidental fashion.

A science devoted to the understanding and improvement of human behavior.