July 15, 2013
Getting it right: thoughts and
feelings
Behaviorists have not seen or
imagined mobility as a function of attraction. We need cumulative curves
with mobile healthy animals, so scientists could collaborate and describe external causes for
locomotion and spread this knowledge. Human history shows diverse
groups can be conceptually unified.
The future of behaviorism depends
on consensus over feeling and thoughts, shown or voiced daily and written in
newspapers and professional journals. Many people stress a rich inner life
yet rarely ask how hidden emotions or opinions contribute to socialization,
particularly in education. In reality, social reinforcements strengthen
partnerships: parent and toddler, student and teacher. Like other
mortals, behaviorists show how they feel and explain what they think; this
comes with the territory.
When hopes are shared, brainwash
has nothing in common with educational practice. Behavior analysis
differs from physics in that researchers and subject matters interact.
Pavlov taught dogs to anticipate tidbits, and surprisingly, his data can be
presented in cumulative form. Skinner taught animals to manipulate keys
under reinforcement schedules. Sidman warns against coercive solutions,
Extensive research with multiple baselines revives free operant conditioning,
with meaningful questions for teachers: When and where do subjects stay well
and attentive? What attracts them from a distance?
