March 2023
Cumulative Record. Chapter 20: What Is Psychotic Behavior? Quote 6
The study of behavior, psychotic or otherwise, remains securely in the company of the natural sciences so long as we take as our subject matter the observable activity of the organism, as it moves about, stands still, seizes objects, pushes and pulls, makes sounds, gestures, and so on. (p. 306)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 20: What Is Psychotic Behavior? Quote 5
The study of human behavior is, of course, still in its infancy, and it would be rash to suppose that anyone can foresee the structure of a well-developed and successful science. Certainly no current formulation will seem right fifty years hence. (p. 306)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 20: What Is Psychotic Behavior? Quote 3
Of all the myriad aspects of behavior which present themselves to observation, which are worth watching? Which will prove most useful in establishing functional relations? . . . Frequency of response has proved to be a remarkably sensitive variable, and with its aid the exploration of causal factors has been gratifyingly profitable. (p. 304)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 20: What Is Psychotic Behavior? Quote 1
The object [of my research] has been to discover the functional relations which prevail between measurable aspects of behavior and various conditions and events in the life of the organism. The success of such a venture is gauged by the extent to which behavior can, as a result of the relationships discovered, actually be predicted […]
B. F. Skinner Foundation’s Board of Directors Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the B. F. Skinner Foundation’s Board of Directors took place on March 18-19, 2023 in Watertown, MA. Members of the Board reviewed Foundation’s activities in 2022 and set plans for 2023. Main topics of discussion during the Board meeting included the progress of our archival project, our educational services, reprinting of […]
Happy Birthday B. F. Skinner!
March 20th is the birthday of B. F. Skinner. To celebrate, we are offering a PDF copy of Verbal Behavior: Extended Edition, one of Skinner’s most widely read books, complementary* for 24 hours only. For the entire day of March 20th, 2023 only, Verbal Behavior: Extended Edition in PDF format is yours to download at no charge from bfskinner.org. The […]
Cumulative Record. Chapter 19: Psychology in the Understanding of Mental Disease. Quote 6
It will be recalled that the old introspective psychologist had a trained observer, but it is now clear that in training him the psychologist was definitely shaping the way in which the observer reacted to stimuli and was to some extent creating the very data which he was trying to collect. (p. 302)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 19: Psychology in the Understanding of Mental Disease. Quote 5
We acquire the vocabulary which describes our own behavior under great difficulty. The verbal community which can easily teach a child to distinguish colors, for example, cannot with the same technique teach him to distinguish aches, pains, feelings, and emotions. (p. 301)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 19: Psychology in the Understanding of Mental Disease. Quote 3
Recent work in the field of learning has enabled the psychologist to achieve an extensive control over the behavior of an organism, and to bring this behavior under the control of complex environmental conditions. (pp. 298-299)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 19: Psychology in the Understanding of Mental Disease. Quote 1
Of special importance in the field of mental disease are many forms of behavior resulting from the use of punishment as a measure of control. It is now clear that in punishing a response, we do not simply lower the probability that it will be emitted. (p. 297)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 12
Freud appears never to have considered the possibility of bringing the concepts and theories of a psychological science into contact with the rest of physical and biological science by the simple expedient of an operational definition of terms. (p. 294)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 11
Freud’s contribution has been widely misunderstood. The important point was not that the individual was often unable to describe important aspects of his own behavior or identify important causal relationships but that his ability to describe them was irrelevant to the occurrence of the behavior or to the effectiveness of the causes. (p. 293)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 10
There are many words in the layman’s vocabulary which suggest the activity of an organism yet are not descriptive of behavior in the narrower sense . . . We say that a man discriminates between two objects when he behaves differently with respect to them; but discriminating is not itself behavior. (p. 291)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 9
In spite of Freud’s valuable analysis of verbal slips and of the techniques of wit and verbal art, he rejected the possibility of an analysis of verbal behavior in its own right rather than as the expression of ideas, feelings, or other inner events, and therefore missed the importance of this field for the analysis […]
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 8
Inevitably, [Freud’s mental apparatus] stole the show. Little attention was left to behavior per se. Behavior was relegated to the position of a mere mode of expression of the activities of the mental apparatus or the symptoms of an underlying disturbance. [p. 289]
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 7
In the process of therapy, the analyst necessarily acts upon the patient only through physical means . . . Nevertheless, it is commonly assumed that the mental apparatus is being directly manipulated. (p. 288)