Abstract
Our culture at large continues many practices that work against the well-being of its members and its chances for survival. Our discipline has failed to realize its potential for contributing to the understanding of these practices and to the generation of solutions. This failure of realization is in part a consequence of the general failure of behavior analysts to view social and cultural analysis as a fundamental component of radical behaviorism. This omission is related to three prevailing practices of our discipline. First, radical behaviorism is characteristically defined as a “philosophy of science,” and its concerns are ordinarily restricted to certain epistemological issues. Second, theoretical extensions to social and cultural phenomena too often depend solely upon principles derived from the analysis of behavior. Third, little attention has been directed at examining the relationships that do, or that should, exist between our discipline and related sciences. These practices themselves are attributed to certain features of the history of our field. Two general remedies for this situation are suggested: first, that radical behaviorism be treated as a comprehensive world view in which epistemological, psychological, and cultural analyses constitute interdependent components; second, that principles derived from compatible social-science disciplines be incorporated into radical behaviorism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Branch, M. N., & Malagodi, E. F. (1980). Where have all the behaviorists gone? The Behavior Analyst, 3, 31–38.
Day, W. (1983). On the difference betwen radical and methodological behaviorism. Behaviorism, 11, 89–102.
Dickens, C. (1859). A tale of two cities (1962 edition). New York: Signet-Classics.
Ehrlich, P. R., & Ehrlich, A. H. (1974). The end of affluence. New York: Random House.
Ferster, C. B., & Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of reinforcement. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Glenn, S.S. (1985). Some reciprocal roles between behavior analysis and institutional economics in post-Darwinian science. The Behavior Analyst, 8, 15–27.
Harris, M. (1964). The nature of cultural things. New York: Random House.
Harris, M. (1974). Cows, pigs, wars, and witches: The riddles of culture. New York: Random House.
Harris, M. (1977). Cannibals and kings: The origins of cultures. New York: Random House.
Harris, M. (1980). Cultural materialism: The struggle for a science of culture. New York: Random House.
Harris, M. (1981). America now: The anthropology of a changing culture. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Harris, M. (1983). Culture anthropology. New York: Harper and Row.
Johnston, J. M., & Pennypacker, H. S. (1980). Strategies and tactics of human behavioral research. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kennan, G. F. (1982). The nuclear delusion. New York: Pantheon Books.
Lloyd, K. E. (1985). Behavioral anthropology: A review of Marvin Harris’ Cultural Materialism. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 43, 279–287.
Mayr, E. (1982). The growth of biological thought. Cambridge: Belknap-Harvard.
Michael, J. (1980). Flight from behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 3, 1–22.
Michotte, A. (1946). La perception de la causalité. Louvain: Institut Supérieur de Philosophie.
Moore, J. (1975). On the principle of operationism in the science of behavior. Behaviorism, 3, 120–138.
Moore, J. (1981). On mentalism, methodological behaviorism, and radical behaviorism. Behaviorism, 9, 55–77.
The Random House College Dictionary. (1982). New York: Random House.
Riddle, O. (1954). The unleashing of evolutionary thought. New York: Vantage Press.
Sarason, S. S. (1981). Psychology misdirected. New York: Free Press.
Scheer, R. (1982). With enough shovels: Reagan, Bush, and nuclear war. New York: Random House.
Schell, J. (1982). The fate of the earth. New York: Avon Books.
Schnaitter, R. (1978). Private causes. Behaviorism, 6, 1–12.
Sidman, M. (1960). Tactics of scientific research: Evaluating experimental data in psychology. New York: Basic Books.
Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Skinner, B. F. (1945). The operational analysis of psychological terms. Psychological Review, 52, 270–277.
Skinner, B. F. (1948). Walden Two. New York: Macmillan.
Skinner, B. F. (1950). Are theories of learning necessary? Psychological Review, 57, 193–216.
Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: Macmillan.
Skinner, B. F. (1955a). The control of human behavior. Transactions of the New York Academy of Science, 17, 547–551.
Skinner, B. F. (1955b). Freedom and the control of men. American Scholar, 25, 47–65.
Skinner, B. F. (1956). A case history in scientific method. American Psychologist, 11, 221–233.
Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B.F. (1961). The design of cultures. Daedalus, 90, 534–546.
Skinner, B.F. (1964). “Man.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 108, 482–485.
Skinner, B. F. (1966a). An operant analysis of problem solving. In B. Kleinmuntz (Ed.), Problem solving: Research, method, and theory (pp. 225–257). New York: John Wiley.
Skinner, B. F. (1966b). The phylogeny and ontogeny of behavior. Science, 153, 1205–1213.
Skinner, B. F. (1966c). What is the experimental analysis of behavior? Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 9, 213–218.
Skinner, B.F. (1968a). The design of experimental communities. In International encyclopedia of the social sciences (vol. 16, pp. 271–275). New York: Macmillan.
Skinner, B. F. (1968b). The technology of teaching. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B. F. (1969). Contingencies of reinforcement: A theoretical analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Skinner, B.F. (1972). Cumulative record (3rd ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Skinner, B. F. (1978). Reflections on behaviorism and society. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Skinner, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, 213, 501–504.
Skinner, B.F. (1984a). The evolution of behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 41, 217–221.
Skinner, B.F. (1984b). Reply to Harnad. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7, 721–724.
Skinner, B. F., & Rogers, C. R. (1956). Some issues concerning the control of human behavior: A symposium. Science, 124, 1057–1066.
Smith, H. W. (1952). Man and his gods. New York: Grosset and Dunlap.
Tuchman, B. W. (1984). The march of folly. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Vargas, E. A. (1985). Cultural contingencies: A review of Marvin Harris’ Cannibals and Kings. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 43, 419–428.
Wann, T. W. (Ed.) (1964). Behaviorism and phenomenology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This article is dedicated to B. F. Skinner, whose concern for his culture has been equalled by his contributions to its survival.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Malagodi, E.F. On Radicalizing Behaviorism: A Call for Cultural Analysis. BEHAV ANALYST 9, 1–17 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391925
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391925