Behavior analysis and mechanism: One is not the other

Abstract

Behavior analysts have been called mechanists, and behavior analysis is said to be mechanistic, that is, aligned with the philosophy of mechanism. What this means is analyzed by (1) examining standard and specialized dictionary and encyclopedia definitions and descriptions of mechanism and its cognates and (2) reviewing contemporary representations of the mechanistic worldview in the literature on the philosophy of psychology. Although the term mechanism and its cognates are sometimes an honorific, their standard meanings, usages, and functions in society, science, psychology, and philosophy mischaracterize how behavior analysts conceptualize the behavior of their Ss and the individuals with whom they work and their own behavior as scientists.