Here's a definition of behavior from a prominent behaviorist: Begin forwarded message:
> Date: July 21, 2009 9:14:03 AM CDT > To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > Subject: [TBA] Definition of behavior > Reply-To: Teaching Behavior Analysis <[email protected]> > > Dick Malott has famously argued that behavior is "anything a dead man > can't do," and in many cases that seems to be a useful touchstone, but > I prefer my own definition, which is discussed in a paper on > "cognition" in Latall & Chase's book, Behavior Theory and Philosophy. > I propose that we define behavior as any activity that is sensitive to > contingencies of operant or classical conditioning. If it responds to > behavioral principles, those that have emerged under controlled > conditions in the laboratory, then it can be usefully called > "behavior." Therefore it need not be observable, peripheral, or > muscular. > > This definition necessarily means that some examples will be > tentative, since we cannot perform the experimental manipulations to > demonstrate such sensitivity to contingencies. When I visualize an > orange, reminisce about my childhood, or "look ahead" in a chess game, > are such activities sensitive to reinforcement? Can they come under > stimulus control? Can they be extinguished? All that any scientist > can do, in the absence of experimental control, is to offer plausible > interpretations that are compatible with those few facts that are at > hand. The interpretive work of Skinner and others on "cognitive > processes" depends on the plausible but not demonstrable claim that > "thought," "imagery," "recall," etc. are behavior. The tentative > nature of such claims should not be cause for despair, because the > problem cannot be escaped by fleeing to another paradigm. > > But technology evolves, and the boundary of what can be observed and > manipulated changes. Recent experiments on both monkeys and humans > have shown that both arbitrary individual neurons and arrays of > neurons in the motor cortex can be operantly conditioned. Such > experiments offer hope that those with spinal injuries might be able > to recover some functions by by-passing the spinal cord. But they > also serve as an excellent test case for a definition of behavior. > According to my definition, such neural activity is "behavior," for > sensitivity to contingencies has been demonstrated, and I see no > drawback to the claim. Unusual findings of this sort help us stake > out the boundaries of the concept of "behavior" and lend some indirect > support to our interpretive work. > > Dave Palmer Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
