Control: A History of Behavioral Psychology

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NYU Press, 1998 - Medical - 246 pages

Behaviorism has been the dominant force in the creation of modern American psychology. However, the unquestioned and unquestioning nature of this dominance has obfuscated the complexity of behaviorism.
Control serves as an antidote to this historical myopia, providing the most comprehensive history of behaviorism yet written. Mills successfully balances the investigation of individual theorists and their contributions with analysis of the structures of assumption which underlie all behaviorist psychology, and with behaviorism's role as both creator and creature of larger American intellectual patterns, practices, and values.
Furthermore, Mills provides a cogent critique of behaviorists' narrow attitudes toward human motivation, exploring how their positivism cripples their ability to account for the unobservable, inner factors that control behavior. Control's blend of history and criticism advances our understanding not only of behaviorism, but also the development of social science and positivism in twentieth-century America.

 

Contents

The Birth of Psychological Behaviorism
23
Radical Behaviorism
55
The Conceptual Basis of Neobehaviorism
83
Clark L Hull
103
B F Skinner
123
Behavior Modification
152
7
179
Notes
195
Index
239
Copyright

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About the author (1998)

JOHN A. MILLS is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan.

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