Behaviorism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - 0 views
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Loosely speaking, behaviorism is an attitude. Strictly speaking, behaviorism is a doctrine
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purports to explain human and animal behavior in terms of external physical stimuli, responses, learning histories, and (for certain types of behavior) reinforcements
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Analytical or logical behaviorism is a theory within philosophy about the meaning or semantics of mental terms or concepts
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says that the very idea of a mental state or condition is the idea of a behavioral disposition or family of behavioral tendencies.
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Psychology is the science of behavior. Psychology is not the science of mind. Behavior can be described and explained without making reference to mental events or to internal psychological processes. The sources of behavior are external (in the environment), not internal (in the mind). In the course of theory development in psychology, if, somehow, mental terms or concepts are deployed in describing or explaining behavior, then either (a) these terms or concepts should be eliminated and replaced by behavioral terms or (b) they can and should be translated or paraphrased into behavioral concepts.