On the invulnerability of behavior-analytic theory to biological research

Abstract

Comments on the article by H. W. Reese (see record 1997-05919-001), and agrees with Reese's conclusion that current biological research aimed at a better understanding of behavior has not changed the preexisting behavioral theory. The author agrees that current biological research is often directly relevant to behavior, often adding to the understanding of behavior, but that it simply has not changed behavioral theory. Another area of agreement is the nature of behavior-analytic theory. Although behavior analysts have become more diverse, behavior-analytic theory is still a homogenous core of inductive summaries of very many thoroughly concordant, very well done experimental analyses. These analyses will not change much when the next discipline finally reaches the borders of their domain.