B. F. Skinner's Behaviorism: An Exploration of Its Principles and Applications

Beth Raz: It is small and lightweight

United States on Jan 04, 2024

Loyse: Sempre un piacere rileggerlo, in qualsiasi lingua.

Italy on Nov 23, 2023

Angela Devlin: The book is tiny but it is good quality and new, perfect condition. Needed for class. I wish it was larger but it’s fine. I think it’s a great book and I respect the work of Skinner. It is an important read for future BCBAs -to know and understand the origins of ABA.

United States on May 27, 2023

Angel: Definitely his easiest to read book. I like how he lays things out much more clearly than previous texts. He also does a better job speaking to the average person, making behaviorism make sense and truly fit as a science. Great book!

United States on Mar 18, 2023

Michael: ... aber wohl trotzdem notwendig um sich mit der Philosophie der Verhaltensanalyse zu beschäftigen.

"Behaviorism is not the science of human behavior; it is the philosophy of that science".

Man kann sich an 12 Missverständnissen über Behaviorism orientieren, die Skinner versucht zu wiederlegen.

Ob man Skinner die Argumentation abkauft, bleibt dann jedem selbst überlassen.

Das Buch wird leider wenig gelesen und auch bei den ernsthaften Skinner Kritikern selten zitiert. Deshalb ist es einigermaßen schwierig sich argumentativ damit auseinander zu setzen und es Bedarf einiger Recherchen oder einschlägigem Fachwissen in Psychologie, zeitgenössischen Behaviroism, (kognitiver) Verhaltenstherapie, ... um die Sichtweise Skinners als glaubhaft einzuschätzen zu können - oder abzulehnen ...

Germany on May 09, 2019

Alan NavarroAlan Navarro: About B.F. Skinner's behaviorism is a fundamental work in the study of the individual ontogenetic behavior of organisms, obviously it has many things to criticize about it, but it must be understood in terms of its context and the current advances in the science of behavior (see the work of Emilio Ribes); however, the contributions were very important and have methodological validity.

Mexico on Aug 28, 2018

Odell Vining: If you truly wish to better understand human behavior then this book is indispensable. About Behaviorism is written at the intermediate to advanced level and may present notable struggles to those outside the psychology field. That said, it is worth the effort if enlightenment is the goal. While certain concepts may be difficult to accept given our lifetime of conditioning, one can rationally explore alternative hypotheses. For example, consider the following three points, though imperfectly stated by this reviewer.

1. Thinking is behaving (it is a verb, something we do).
2. Thoughts are inventions (we can image swimming in a pool, but there is no pool inside our brain - the thought is a representation of something in the outside world).
3. The behaviors in which we engage, and subsequently the thoughts associated with them are under control of external contingencies or consequences (we swim because we are reinforced by swimming).

I recall a wonderful audio debate available on YouTube between B.F. Skinner (radical behaviorism) and Carl Rogers (client-centered or Rogerian therapy). It is 4-hours of amazing insight offered by experts of varying disciplines...

United States on Jun 03, 2018

Amazon Customer: Excellent

Canada on Jan 26, 2017

S P Mead: B. F. Skinner's "About Behaviourism" is a major contribution to the philosophical and theoretical understanding of psychology. Skinner sought, in this book, to present an overview of Behaviourism - outlining its key themes and premises, while highlighting ideas wrongly associated with this school of thought. The book was first published in 1974 - and is, in many ways, a culmination of Skinner's arguments as advanced throughout his career. It brings together - in a highly readable manner - the central tenets made in his previous publications (such as 'Science and Human Behaviour' (1953), 'Verbal Behavior' (1957), and 'Beyond Freedom and Dignity' (1971)). Yet in this particular work, Skinner also aims to clarify the Behaviourist position more generally - commenting on the weaknesses and limitations of earlier theorists, such as John Watson (founder of Behaviourism).

The book is written with a popular readership intended, and as such it's not overly academic in presentation. It can be understood by someone who's new to psychology - and is intended to be insightful and engaging. It is, in all essentials, a book that takes as its purpose the task of explaining the reasons why...

United Kingdom on Jun 05, 2016

T. A. Daniel: Skinner's ABOUT BEHAVIORISM is both his most broad and his most concise work; working as both a rebuttal to behaviorism's critics and a guide to its core principles, this book should be a part of every psychologist's library. Regardless of your theoretical orientation, this book presents the best quick-reference to this ideology. If you don't care for Skinner, I think this is still worthy of reading for the sheer number and quality of ideas developed here. There's much to think about and dwell on.

ABOUT BEHAVIORISM covers nearly all topics of behavior (including language, reasoning, and sleep) and explains them in parsimoniously behaviorist terms. This book comes across as Skinner's case to the world that this science matters. Behaviorism, as it is presented here, is less concerned collection of terms or explanations, but more of a philosophy of how behavior should be interpreted and understood.

There are times when Skinner comes across as caustic and bitter, and I'm not quite sure this book would jive well with people not already at least somewhat familiar and receptive with classical or operant conditioning. Skinner made a point to not dumb or water things down, so...

United States on May 24, 2012