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Understanding Behaviorism: Behavior, Culture, and Evolution
Understanding Behaviorism explains the basis of behavior analysis and its application to human problems in a scholarly but accessible manner.
328 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 15, 2020
Great if you're interested in the philosophy of being a Behavior Analyst.
November 12, 2022
It's a textbook is the nicest thing I can say.
December 13, 2008
The standout single worst book I read as assigned reading in college, and among the worst I've ever come across. Ever.
Baum promotes the same kind of inexcusably naive and unsubstantiated claims about human behavior that B.F. Skinner did before him. Noam Chomsky wrote the definitive rejection of this kind of behaviorism (or more broadly, this kind of baseless speculation done behind the safety of one's established reputation) with his response to Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Skinner brought new ideas to psychology with his rigorous study of lab animals; however, he went well beyond his expertise into the realm of pure speculation with his totally ungrounded theories of human nature in Verbal Behavior and Walden II. Baum follows in his footsteps, using the latter to illustrate his own ideas about behavior in culture.
Two things bother me about this kind of writing. First of all, it's not scientifically grounded. He presents no evidence, unless we are to consider references to Walden II evidence; because it is a work of fiction, that's out of the question. Baum makes no attempt to draw from the enormous pool of literature available in anthropology, sociology, or any other field of study to support his claims.
Second, it's bad form and just plain embarrassing to resort to petty name calling. Baum doesn't quite go there, but stops just short. I've forgotten the exact language now, but in his glowing praise of Walden Two he points out how the philosopher in the story makes the perfect stereotype: fat, loud, and ignorant, someone who makes claims that are outside his expertise. This kind of low-grade bating has no place in scientific literature, or really literature of any kind.
Baum promotes the same kind of inexcusably naive and unsubstantiated claims about human behavior that B.F. Skinner did before him. Noam Chomsky wrote the definitive rejection of this kind of behaviorism (or more broadly, this kind of baseless speculation done behind the safety of one's established reputation) with his response to Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Skinner brought new ideas to psychology with his rigorous study of lab animals; however, he went well beyond his expertise into the realm of pure speculation with his totally ungrounded theories of human nature in Verbal Behavior and Walden II. Baum follows in his footsteps, using the latter to illustrate his own ideas about behavior in culture.
Two things bother me about this kind of writing. First of all, it's not scientifically grounded. He presents no evidence, unless we are to consider references to Walden II evidence; because it is a work of fiction, that's out of the question. Baum makes no attempt to draw from the enormous pool of literature available in anthropology, sociology, or any other field of study to support his claims.
Second, it's bad form and just plain embarrassing to resort to petty name calling. Baum doesn't quite go there, but stops just short. I've forgotten the exact language now, but in his glowing praise of Walden Two he points out how the philosopher in the story makes the perfect stereotype: fat, loud, and ignorant, someone who makes claims that are outside his expertise. This kind of low-grade bating has no place in scientific literature, or really literature of any kind.
May 5, 2011
Read over a semester as it was an assigned text for a Radical Behaviorism class. Having no previous experience with this (am a Psych minor), I found the book very clear at times with excellent examples, but confusing and murky at other times. Luckily, the professor clarified most concepts in class lectures, especially for parts of the book that were unclear.
September 15, 2007
Loved the analyses on social issues. Mine is actually falling apart from use!
July 12, 2019
Read the 2017 edition.
July 18, 2022
A College reading but a amazing one. Really lucking forward to dive in even more into behavior analysis.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews