THE ORIGINS OF ENVIRONMENT‐BASED PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY 1

Abstract

Discusses the controversy surrounding B. F. Skinner's environmental approach to psychological research that may be attributed to the clashes that occur between behavior-analytic interpretations and the interpretative patterns of the surrounding culture. Although Skinner's interpretations appear to be culturally typical in the context of the experimentation from which they emerged, they are not culturally typical as applied to other situations. Unconventional features of Skinner's approach include (1) interpretive directionality, (2) the construing of process extended over time, (3) assertions of strong determinism, and (4) rejections of mentalistic terms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)