William M. Baum
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By: HarperCollins Publishers
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
good for review or clarification 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
If you're new to behaviorism, this clear, brief introduction will give you solid footing for any further encounters with the topic. It will let you have intelligent conversations about behaviorism and understand/critique what else you read. If you've already learned some behaviorism, this is a good resource for review or clarification.
This book is about the *philosophy* of behaviorism, its concepts and assumptions. It is NOT a behavior analysis book -- it won't tell you how to make your child stop bedwetting or your dog quit smoking, except in the most general way.
Any student of psychology needs to understand behaviorism. This is a prime resource. Brief, concise, a fairly painless read.
Superb account of why behaviorism matters 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Here's Behaviorism without rats: the focus is on people. And here's excellent writing on Behaviorism but not by Skinner: it's encouraging that others have emerged capable of writing engagingly about Behaviorism.Behaviorism's basis in pragmatism is presented and grounds the entire study. That focus on what works helps makes sense of Behaviorism's emphasis on determinism. Recognition of cause and effect is necessary for any science, even one of human behavior, but that is a pragmatic necessity and hence Behaviorism need not take a position on whether determinism is ultimately true.
Another closely-related theme of Behaviorism is well-covered here, namely the dangers of mentalism. Relying on invented stories or inventing them yourself is a great way to waste years or even a lifetime. One of the big contributions of Behaviorisms is in recognizing mentalisms and providing sound alternative explanations.
Behaviorism's study of verbal behaviors including rule-governed behavior, thinking in general and problem-solving in particular are especially well introduced by Baum. Skinner's "Verbal Behavior" is about 450 pages long and may be tough going without help; Baum covers the basics of verbal behavior in about 30 pages, then uses that effectively in later discussions such as that of human relationships.
One part I found helpful was the discussion of grammar and syntax, which compares the Behaviorist understanding to that of linguists such as Chomsky, who introduce, as a Behaviorist would say, the mentalism of an innate grammar capability. The Behaviorist alternative seems plausible as does its criticism of Chomsky in this regards. This seems an excellent topic upon which to see the difference between Behaviorist and cognitive approaches. Baum notes that Behaviorism does not reject the supplementary role of some truly scientific areas that contribute to cognitive "science" such as brain science, but he sees a lasting place for Radical Behaviorism as a science of behavior.
About 40% of the book is devoted to the Behaviorist understanding of social issues such as exploitation and cultural design. This section builds faithfully on material introduced earlier in the book.
A list of books for "Further Reading" is given at the end of each chapter, each with a sentence explaining its significance. Not only Behaviorist books but also those by opposing authors are included.
This is a meaty overview, with good examples and good attention to the philosophical implications of the Behaviorist views. I expect it would be useful as a introductory text on Behaviorism or as a good way to pull together what one may have read from Skinner and other Behaviorists.
