Beyond Pride and Humility

Abstract

Every year, at the end of May, the Association for Behavior Analysis indulges itself in an orgy of self-adulation. In an endless series of talks and symposia, we tell ourselves that we do science the right way, we solve problems effectively, we analyze issues clearly because our vocabulary is pure, and we are not misled by pseudoexplanations-unlike psychologists from competing intellectual traditions, of course. And every year, my fiiend Neuringer and I participate. This is hubris, not humility. When he and I go back to our home institutions, however, we have to talk with colleagues who work in different traditions, and they often have interesting things to say. A prideful behavioral stance could turn them away and keep us isolated, so a degree of humility is an inevitable part of collegiality. Neuringer argues further that humility is functional because it entails tentativeness, openness to criticism, and support for diversity, and I agree. These attributes of humility presumably enhance variation within the behavior analysis community and in the daily professional activities ofits individual members. By analogy with evolution, this increases the range of behavior that is available for selection by its consequences , and thus contributes to progress within our field. It also raises the odds on productive interaction with folks who think differently.