Abstract
Gregory Bateson has influenced many social scientists through his writings and theories. His works are not well known, however, among behaviorists. Since many of his concepts seem to have some relevance to applied and experimental behavior analysis, the purpose of this paper is to introduce his writings, comparing his ideas with other behaviorists such as Skinner, Kuo, and Kantor, and suggest some topics for future research. Some behavioral topic areas most likely to be influenced by Bateson’s theories are the relationship between learning and evolution, and rule-governed behavior.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AZRIN, N.H., HUTCHINSON, R., & HAKE, D.F. 1966. Extinction-induced aggression. Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 9, 191–204.
BARKER, R. 1968. Ecological psychology. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
BATESON, G. 1972. Steps to an ecology of the mind. New York: Ballantine.
BATESON, G. 1979. Mind and nature: A necessary unity. Toronto: Bantam.
BROCKMAN, J. 1977. About Bateson. New York: E. P. Dutton.
DIETZ, S.M. 1978. Current status of applied behavior analysis: Science versus technolog. American Psychologist, 33, 805–814.
FALK, J.L. 1971. The nature and determinants of adjunctive behavior. Physiology and Behavior, 6, 577–588.
HALEY, J. 1980. Leaving home. New York: McGraw-Hill.
HEARST, E., & JENKINS, H.M. 1974. Sign-tracking: The stimulus-reinforcer relation and directed action. Austin, Texas: The Psychonomic Society.
KANTOR, J.R. 1959. Interbehavioral psychology. Bloomington, Indiana: The Principia Press.
KANTOR, J.R. 1970. An analysis of the experimental analysis of behavior (Teab). Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 13, 101–108.
KANTOR, J.R., & SMITH, N.W. 1975. The science of psychology: An interbehavioral survey. Chicago: The PrincipiaPress.
KUO, Z.Y. 1968. The dynamics of behavior development. An epigenetic view. New York: Random House.
LIPSET, D. 1980. Gregory Bateson. The legacy of a scientist. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
MICHAEL, J.L. 1980. Flight from behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 3, 1–24.
MINUCHIN, S. 1974. Families and family therapy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
PRYOR, K., HAAG, R., & O’REILLY, J. 1969. The creative porpoise: Training for novel behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 12, 653–661.
SCHWARTZ, B. 1977. Two types of pigeon key pecking: Suppression of long-but not short-duration key pecks by duration-dependent shock. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 27, 393–398.
SKINNER, B.F. 1948. Superstition in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 168–172.
SKINNER, B.F. 1966. Phylogeny and ontogeny of behavior. Science, 153, 1205–1213.
SKINNER, B.F. 1969. Contingencies of reinforcement: A theoretical analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cullari, S., Redmon, W.K. Bateson and Behaviorism. Psychol Rec 32, 349–364 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394794
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394794