WHY I AM A RADICAL BEHAVIORIST: p 1, continued

Part I
Eye-openers
I became a behaviorist almost overnight. In a flash I knew Skinner was right:
to find out why people talk to each other, the unit for analysis should be at least two parties, speakers and listeners who move one another. ‎“That is so true! ”, I marveled and wondered
why I had not heard such a statement on language before.
At school, I 'd enjoyed rules for syntax and grammar, yet Skinner’s reasoning offers a fresh
view of reality, a straightforward impartiality that I find appealing;
his ‘functional analysis’ still guides me through interviews, political issues, newspaper reports,
and when deciding which side I’m on: ‘terrorist’ or ‘freedom fighter’.
Then later, I saw one-sidedness has no place in applied behavior analysis, where problem and solutions are clearly described, the frequency timed, observer-reliability checked and
outcomes presented in direct causal connection with intervention.

Skinner’s thoughts on mutual relationships amongst people and other animals,
say a horse and a rider, made good sense to me and were intriguing to follow:

' A man engages in behavior that requires further analysis when he turns a horse by
letting the reins touch the skin lightly on the neck. The touch of the reins, unlike the waving
of a frightening object, does not originally cause the horse to turn in a given direction. '

General interpretation of behavior from specific animal experiments was natural in those
days, two decades after The Behavior of Organisms ‎was published.
And in 1968, Ayllon and Azrin applied reinforcement theory to motivate patients in a psychiatric hospital. The Token Economy remains an historical landmark. (2)

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(2) This book starts with Charles F. Kettering's quip: First they tell you you're wrong and
they can prove it. Then they tell you you're right, but it's not important Then they tell you
it's important, but they've known it for years.
And ends with: Pure science does not stay pure indefinitely. Sooner or later it is apt to turn
into applied science and finally into technology. Aldous Huxley
My hope is scientists from diverse disciplines explore my proposal for expansion and the
effects of sound on individuals. Words are external sources of influence. Indeed, words may
inspire even when written by persosns who died centuries ago. Inasmuch as language is our
soul and our legacy, the soul is revived and in a manner of speaking the spirit transported. _________________________________________________________________

Note: the references and bibliography are omitted for blogging this 15-page document.
Should someone be interested, please let me know and I shall provide the information.