Radical Behaviorism and the Rest of Psychology: A Review/Precis of Skinner's About Behaviorism

Abstract

Radical behaviorism is fundamentally different from traditional psychology, so it is not surprising that it has been widely misunderstood. It offers an alternative to the traditional treatments of mind that avoids some of the insoluble problems raised by those views. B. F. Skinner attempted many times to describe this alternative with limited success, partially attributable to the opacity of his prose and the excessiveness of his proposed applications. We offer annotated excerpts from one of his books dedicated to this end in an effort to show how his approach deals with topics usually viewed as cognitive psychology. While modern radical behaviorism has progressed beyond Skinner's