Notas sobre o behaviorismo de ontem e de hoje

Abstract

This paper aims at offering some historical references concerning the origins and development of behaviorist Psychology. It begins with Watson's contributions and highlights his detachment from the causal mode of selection by consequence started in Psychology by Thorndike. Then, the paper discusses some developments of behaviorism under the leadership of Skinner and argues that some achievements have largely resulted from a recovery of selectionism. Finally, it contends that, by the end of the 20th century, the approach started by Skinner extended to new directions, engendering behavior analysis as a multidimensional system. The paper concludes by pointing out that a historical view of the process of behavioral investigation provides a more precise frame of what this approach has represented as a psychological system.