Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

John Snow's Behaviorsphere

  • Sketch
  • Published:
The Psychological Record Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The near-legendary narratives of the scientific achievements of John Snow, a pioneer English epidemiologist who famously identified the source of the London's Broad Street pump cholera epidemic in 1854, has a behavioral facet which has not been duly explored by historians of public health. In this article, the story of Snow's investigations into the case of the infamous water pump is used as a backdrop to highlight the disciplinary continuum of psychological and biological events, according to the perspective of J.R. Kantor’s philosophy of interbehaviorism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baum, W. M. (2004). Molar and molecular views of choice. Behavioural Processes, 66(3), 349–359.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baum, W. M. (2010). Dynamics of choice: A tutorial. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 94(2), 161–174.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, H., Vinten-Johansen, P., Paneth, N., & Rip, M. R. (1999). John Snow revisited: Getting a handle on the Broad Street pump. Pharos, 62(1), 2–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, H., RIP, M. R., Vinten-Johansen, P., Paneth, N., & Rachman, S. (2000). Map-making and myth-making in Broad Street: The London cholera epidemic, 1854. Lancet, 356(9223), 64–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P. E. (1964). Another look at John Snow. Anesthesia and Analgesia, 43(6), 646–654.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, D., & Jones, I. G. (1983). John Snow, the Broad Street pump and modern epidemiology. International Journal of Epidemiology, 12(4), 393–396.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Delprato, D. J., & Midgley, B. D. (1992). Some fundamentals of B. F. Skinner’s behaviorism. American Psychologist, 47(11), 1507–1520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, G. (1959). John Snow, M.D. (1813–1858). Anaesthesia, 14(2), 113–126.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, L. H. (1992). Role of behavior theory in behavioral medicine. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60(4), 493–498.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frerichs, R. R. (2001). History, maps and the internet: UCLA’s John Snow site. SoC Bulletin, 34(2), 3–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, L. J., & Fryling, M. J. (2009a). Guest editorial: Interdisciplinary science in interbehavioral perspective. Behavior and Social Issues, 18, 5–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, L. J., & Fryling, M. J. (2009b). Toward an interdisciplinary science of culture. The Psychological Record, 59(4), 679–700.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hineline, P. N. (2013). The evolving behaviorist/mentalist disagreements. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 39(2), 81–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantor, J. R. (1959). Interbehavioral psychology (2nd ed.). Chicago: Principia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantor, J. R. (1971). The evolution of mind. In J. R. Kantor (Ed.), The aim and progress of psychology and other sciences (pp. 265–272). Chicago: Principia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantor, J. R. (1981). Interbehavioral philosophy. Chicago: Principia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantor, J. R. (1982). Cultural psychology. Chicago: Principia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantor, J. R., & Smith, N. W. (1975). The science of psychology: An interbehavioral survey. Chicago: Principia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLeod, K. S. (2000). Our sense of Snow: The myth of John Snow in medical geography. Social Science & Medicine, 50(7–8), 923–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McPherson, M. W. (1992). Is psychology the science of behavior? American Psychologist, 47(2), 329–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Midgley, B. D., & Morris, E. K. (Eds.). (2006). Modern perspectives on J. R. Kantor and interbehaviorism. Reno: Context Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J. (1984). Conceptual contributions of Kantor’s interbehavioral psychology. Behavior Analyst, 7(2), 183–187.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mountjoy, P. T. (1976). Science in psychology: J. R. Kantor’s field theory. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 2(1), 3–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paneth, N. (2004). Assessing the contributions of John Snow to epidemiology: 150 years after removal of the Broad Street pump handle. Epidemiology, 15(5), 514–516.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parrott, L. J. (1983). On the differences between Skinner’s radical behaviorism and Kantor’s interbehaviorism. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 9(2), 95–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sá, L. M., Delgado, D. M., & Hayes, L. J. (2004). The functional nature of the behavior segment. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 30(2), 181–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, B. F. (1987). Whatever happened to psychology as the science of behavior? American Psychologist, 42(8), 780–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, J. (1855). On the mode of communication of cholera (2nd ed.). London: John Churchill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snow, S. J. (2002). Commentary: Sutherland, Snow and water: the transmission of cholera in the nineteenth century. International Journal of Epidemiology, 31(5), 908–911.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, S. J. (2008). John Snow: the making of a hero? Lancet, 372(9632), 22–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verplanck, W. S. (1998). A scientist's view of the philosophy of science. Paper presented at the 106th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.

  • Winkelstein, W., Jr. (1995). A new perspective on John Snow's communicable disease theory. American Journal of Epidemiology, 142(9), S3–S9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

Preparation of this article was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Correspondence should be addressed to João Bosco Jardim, Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Avenida Augusto de Lima 1715, Barro Preto, 30190–002 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. E-mail: jardim@cpqrr.fiocruz.br

The author is grateful to Dr. Virgínia T. Schall, Liz Andrade and Katherine Titley for their comments on an earlier version of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to João Bosco Jardim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jardim, J.B. John Snow's Behaviorsphere. Psychol Rec 65, 209–213 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0082-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0082-3

Keywords

Navigation