Understanding Behaviorism

William M. Baum is Professor Emeritus at the University of New Hampshire and has appointments at the University of California, Davis and at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is an associate editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and serves on the Executive Committee for the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. He is also president of the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior.

Part I: What Is Behaviorism?1. Behaviorism: Definition and History.Historical Background.Free Will Versus Determinism.Summary.Further Reading.2. Behaviorism as Philosophy of Science.Realism Versus Pragmatism.Radical Behaviroism and Pragmatism.Summary.Further Reading.3. Public, Private, Natural, and Fictional.Mentalism.Category Mistakes.Private Events.Summary.Further Reading.Part II: A Scientific Model of Behavior.4. Evolutionary Theory and Reinforcemen.Evolutionary History.History of Reinforcement.Summary.Further Reading .5. Purpose and Reinforcement.Hisotry and Function.Three Meanings of Purpose.Summary.Further Reading.6. Stimulus Control and Knowledge.Stimulus Control.Knowledge.The Behavior of Scientists.Summary.Further Reading.7. Verbal Behavior and Language.What Is Verbal Behavior?Functional Units and Stimulus Control.Meaning.Grammar and Syntax.Summary.Further Reading.8. Rule-Governed Behavior and Thinking.What Is Rule-Governed Behavior?Learning To Follow Rules.Thinking and Problem-SolvingSummary.Further Reading.Part III: Social Issues.9. Freedom.Uses of the Word Free.The Challenge of Traditional Thinking.Summary.Further Reading.10. Responsibility, Credit, and Blame.Responsibility and the Causes of Behavior.Responsibility and the Consequences of Behavior.Summary.Further Reading.11. Relationships, Management, and Government.Relationships.Exploitation.Control and Counter-Control.Summary.Further Reading.12. Values: Religion and Science.Questions About Value.A Scientific Approach to Values.Summary.Further Reading.13. The Evolution of Culture.Biological Evolution and Culture.Variation, Transmission, and Selection.Summary.Further Reading.14. Design of Culture: Experimenting for Survival.Design from Evolution.The Experimental Society.Objections.Summary.Further Reading.Index.