Abstract
The relationship between science and technology is examined in terms of some implications for behavior analysis. Problems result when this relationship is seen as one in which science generally begets technology in a one-way, or hierarchical, relationship. These problems are not found when the relationship between science and technology is seen as two-way, or symmetrical, within a larger context of relationships. Some historical examples are presented. Collectively, these and other examples in the references weaken the case for a prevailing one-way, hierarchical relationship and strengthen the case for a two-way, symmetrical relationship. In addition to being more accurate historically, the symmetrical relationship is also more consistent with the principles of behavior analysis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alford, L. P. (1934). Henry Laurence Gantt. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Azrin, N. H. (1977). A strategy for applied research: Learning based but outcome oriented. American Psychologist, 32, 140–148.
Baer, D. M. (1981). A flight of behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 4, 85–91.
Baer, D. M. (1986). In application, frequency is not the only estimate of the probability of behavior units. In T. Thompson & M. D. Zeiler (Eds.), Analysis and integration of behavioral units (pp. 117–136). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1987). Some still current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 313–327.
Barnes, B., & Edge, D. (Eds.) (1982). Science in context. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press.
Beniger, J. R., & Robyn, D. L. (1978). Quantitative graphics in statistics: A brief history. The American Statistician, 32, 1–11.
Bennett, J. A. (1986). The mechanics’ philosophy and the mechanical philosophy. History of Science, 24, 1–28.
Boakes, R. (1984). From Darwinism to behaviorism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bobbin, F. (1913). Some general principles of management applied to the problems of city-school systems. The twelfth yearbook of the national society for the study of education: Part I. The supervision of city schools (pp. 7–96). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bohme, G., Van Den Daele, W., & Krohn, W. (1978). The’ scientification’ of technology. In W. Krohn, E. T. Layton, & P. Weingart (Eds.), The dynamics of science and technology (pp. 219–250). Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel.
Bryan, W. L., & Harter, N. (1897). Studies in the physiology and psychology of the telegraphic language. The Psychological Review, 4, 27–53.
Bryan, W. L., & Harter, N. (1899). Studies in the telegraphic language: The acquisition of a hierarchy of habits. The Psychological Review, 6, 345–375.
Buchanan, R. A. (1976). The Promethean revolution: Science, technology and history. History of Technology, 1, 73–83.
Bunge, M. (1966). Technology as applied science. Technology and Culture, 7, 329–347.
Bush, V. (1970). Pieces of the action. New York: William Morrow.
Carmony, D. F., & Elliott, J. M. (1980). New Harmony, Indiana: Robert Owen’s seedbed for Utopia. Indiana Magazine of History, 76, 161–261.
Coleman, S. R. (1987). Quantitative order in B. F. Skinner’s early research program. The Behavior Analyst, 10, 47–65.
Danziger, K. (1983). The schema of stimulated motion. History of Science, 21, 183–210.
Day, W. (1980). The historical antecedents of contemporary behaviorism. In R. W. Rieber & K. Salzinger (Eds.), Psychology: Theoretical-historical perspectives (pp. 203–262). New York: Academic Press.
Deitz, S. (1978). Science versus technology. American Psychologist, 33, 805–814.
Deitz, S. (1983). Two correct definitions of applied. The Behavior Analyst, 6, 105–106.
de Solla Price, D. J. (1982). The parallel structures of science and technology. In B. Barnes & D. Edge (Eds.), Science in context (pp. 164–176). Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press.
Drake, S. (1980). Measurement in Galileo’s science. History of Technology, 5, 39–54.
Dresslar, F. B. (1892). Some influences which affect the rapidity of voluntary movements. The American Journal of Psychology, 4, 514–527.
Dvorak, A., Merrick, N. L., Dealey, W. L., & Ford, G. C. (1936). Typewriting behavior: Psychology applied to teaching and learning typewriting. New York: American Book.
Epling, W. F., & Pierce, W. D. (1986). The basic importance of applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 9, 89–99.
Funkhouser, H. (1937). Historical development of the graphical representation of statistical data. Osiris, 3, 269–404.
Gantt, H. L. (1974). Organization for work. Easton, PA: Hive. (Original work published 1919)
Hall, A. R. (1978). On knowing, and knowing how to …. History of Technology, 3, 91–103.
Hayes, S. C., Hayes, L. J., & Reese, H. W. (1988). Finding the philosophical core: A review of Stephen Pepper’s World Hypotheses. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 50, 97–111.
Hayes, S. C., Rincover, A., & Solnick, J. V. (1980). The technical drift of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 275–286.
Henry, J. (1886). The improvement of the mechanical arts. In Scientific writings of Joseph Henry (Vol. 1, pp. 306–324). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. (Original work published 1855)
Henry, J. (1972). In N. Reingold (Ed.), The papers of Joseph Henry (Vol. 1). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. (Original work published 1832)
Herodotus (1972). The histories (A. de Selincourt, Trans.; A. R. Burn, Rev.). Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin.
Hindle, B., & Lubar, S. (1986). Engines of change. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Hodgkin, A. L. (1976). Chance and design in electrophysiology: An informal account of certain experiments on nerve carried out between 1934 and 1952. Journal of Physiology, 263, 1–21.
Hoff, H. E., & Geddes, L. A. (1959). Graphic registration before Ludwig: The antecedents of the kymograph. Isis, 50, 5–21.
Hoff, H. E., & Geddes, L. A. (1962). The beginnings of graphic recording. Isis, 53, 287–324.
Hopkins, B. L. (1987). Comments on the future of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 339–346.
Jevons, F. (1976). The interaction of science and technology today, or, is science the mother of invention? Technology and Culture, 17, 729–742.
Joyce, B., & Moxley, R. A. (1988). August Dvorak (1894–1975): Early expressions of applied behavior analysis and precision teaching. The Behavior Analyst, 11, 33–40.
Keevil, J. J. (1957). Medicine and the navy 1200–1900 (Vol. 1). Edinburgh: Livingstone.
Keller, F. S. (1977). Summers and sabbaticals: Selected papers on psychology and education. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
Keller, A. (1984). Has science created technology? Minerva, 22, 160–182.
Kline, M. (1972). Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times. New York: Oxford University Press.
Langrish, J., Gibbons, M., Evans, W. G., & Jevons, F. R. (1972). Wealth from knowledge. London: Macmillan.
Layton, E. T. (1971). Mirror-image twins: The communities of science and technology in 19th-century America. Technology and Culture, 12, 562–580.
Layton, E. T. (1976). American ideologies of science and engineering. Technology and Culture, 17, 688–701.
Lindsley, O. R. (1974). Precision teaching in perspective. In R. Ulrich, T. Stachnik, & J. Mabry (Eds.), Control of human behavior: Behaviour modification in education (Vol. 3, pp. 387–391). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Lloyd, C. (1961). The introduction of lemon juice as a cure for scurvy. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 35, 123–132.
McGreevy, P. (1984). Frequency and the standard celeration chart: Necessary components of precision teaching. Journal of Precision Teaching, 5, 28–36.
Michael, J. (1980). Flight from behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 3, 1–21.
Mosteller, F. (1981). Innovation and evaluation. Science, 211(4485), 881–886.
O’Brien, J. A. (1926). Silent reading. New York: Macmillan.
Pauly, P. J. (1987). Controlling life: Jacques Loeb and the engineering ideal in biology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Pennypacker, H. S. (1986). The challenge of technology transfer. The Behavior Analyst, 9, 147–156.
Pepper, S. C. (1970). World hypotheses: A study in evidence. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. (Original work published 1942)
Perrone, M., Galizio, M., & Baron, A. (1988). The relevance of animal-based principles in the laboratory study of human operant conditioning. In G. Davey & C. Cullen (Eds.), Human operant conditioning and behavior modification (pp. 59–85). New York: Wiley.
Pierce, J. R. (1961). Symbols, signals and noise: The nature and process of communication. New York: Harper & Row.
Pierce, W. D., & Epling, W. F. (1980). What happened to analysis in applied behavior analysis? The Behavior Analyst, 3, 1–9.
Polanyi, M. (1962). Personal knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Poling, A., Picker, M., Grossett, D., Hall-Johnson, E., & Holbrook, M. (1981). The schism between experimental and applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 4, 93–102.
Purchas, S. (1905). Hakluytus Posthumus (Vol. 2). Glasgow: James MacLehose.
Russell, B. (1970). An outline of philosophy. London: George Allen & Unwin. (Original work published 1927)
Rymer, J. (1988). Scientific composing processes: How eminent scientists write journal articles. In D. A. Joliffe (Ed.), Advances in writing research: Vol. 2. Writing in academic disciplines (pp. 211–250). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Skinner, B. F. (1968). The technology of teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Skinner, B. F. (1972). Cumulative record (3rd ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B. F. (1979). The shaping of a behaviorist. New York: New York University Press.
Skinner, B. F. (1987). Upon further reflection. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Studwell, P., & Moxley, R. (1984). Self-recording in kindergarten: A Study in naturalistic evaluation. Psychology in the Schools, 21, 450–456.
Taylor, F. (1911). Shop management. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Thorndike, E. L. (1913). Educational psychology: The Pychology of Learning (Vol. 2). New York: Columbia University, Teachers College.
Tilling, L. (1975). Early experimental graphs. British Journal for the History of Science, 8, 193–213.
Van Houten, R. (1984). Setting up performance feedback systems in the classroom. In W. L. Heward, T. E. Heron, D. S. Hill, & J. Trapp-Porter (Eds.), Focus on behavior analysis in education (pp. 114–125). Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Vincenti, W. G. (1988). How did it become “obvious” that an airplane should be inherently stable? American Heritage of Invention & Technology, 4, 50–56.
Washburne, C. W. (1922). Educational measurement as a key to individual instruction and promotions. Journal of Educational Research, 5, 195–206.
Watson, J. D. (1968). The double helix. New York: Atheneum.
Westfall, R. S. (1973). Newton and the fudge factor. Science, 179(4075), 751–758.
Ziman, J. (1984). An introduction to science studies: The philosophical and social aspects of science and technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moxley, R.A. Some Historical Relationships between Science and Technology with Implications for Behavior Analysis. BEHAV ANALYST 12, 45–57 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392476
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392476