behavior analysis and contextualism

7/29/2019 Behavior Analysis and Contextualism

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Behavior Analysis is Not

Contextualistic:

Dermot Barnes-Holmes

Yvonne Barnes-Holmes

National University of Ireland, Maynooth

What an Absurd Suggestion!


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Department of Psychology


World Views Stephen C. Pepper (1942)

outlined four world viewsthat may guide the

analysis of events. Formism Mechanism

Organicism

Contextualism

Obscure philosopherwrites impenetrable book

that baffles behaviorists50 years later!


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Three World Views Explicitly

Assume An Ontological Reality Formism:

All events are instances of

specifiable forms, and thusthe purpose of analysis is toknow these forms and namethem. The formists' simplecorrespondence is nothing

more than the "truth" ofcommon sense language.

The formist assumes,without question, theontological reality of the

forms to be known and

named.

Hard green shell; tough, gray

wrinkled skin; moves slowly.Must be a tortoise. Nerdy human withmagnifying glass;goes around

naming things.

Must be a formist.


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Assume An Ontological Reality Mechanism: An extended type of formism

and its truth criterion is an

elaborated form ofcorrespondence.

The mechanist assumes that theuniverse is organized a prioriinto events, relations, and

forces, and the truth is foundthrough the construction ofverbal formulae that reveal, viapredictive verification, theassumed organization of the

universe. The mechanist assumes, without

question, the ontological realityof the to-be-revealed

organization of the universe.

Computers are fascinating;

I must dismantle one andfind out how it works.

Uh oh! Dangerous duck

with mallet -- Wants tosmash me open to find

out how I work:Must be a mechanist.


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Assume An Ontological Reality Organicism: The organicist assumes that

there is a grand story evolving,

in which all apparentlycontradictory elements will befound to be part of the evolvingwhole. Such a changing,developing organic system "tells

a story" that can either beread correctly or not.

Truth is the removal of allapparently contradictoryelements so that they are seen

to be part of the evolvingwhole: in a word, coherence.

The organicist assumes, withoutquestion, the ontological reality

of the evolving whole.

Birth

Infancy

Childhood

AdolescenceEarlyAdulthood

Mid-Life

Old Age

Death

Ah! The circle of life.How it all comes together

in the end!


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Department of PsychologyDepartment of Psychology


Assume An Ontological Reality Summary: In all three of these world

views the analyst considers the

task of analysis to be one ofdiscovery -- literally, a matterof "taking the cover off" whatis already there.

The history of the analyst may

influence how well the task isdone, but it does not change itsnature.

This means that the analystneed not deal with the difficult

issue of values -- of why aparticular piece of knowledge isimportant. The analyst canappeal to the ontological basisof knowledge as a defense.

Reality

Knowledge

Im a scientistand I know lots

of stuff. . .


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Contextualism The Root Metaphor:

The act-in-context is acommon sense historical act,

alive and in the present.Acts like "going to college toget a degree" have whatPepper calls a satisfaction.

Blah, blah, blah. . .

Yippee!Im so satisfied!


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Contextualism The Truth Criterion:

When we apply this rootmetaphor to the action of

the analyst, it too is relatedto a consequence. Achievingthat consequence is the truthcriterion of contextualism.

This truth criterion is often

referred to as "successfulworking" or "effectiveaction".

Successful is the importantword here. Success is an

outcome concept: it is amatter of reaching a goal,fulfilling a purpose, orproducing a desirableconsequence.


Successful Working

Truth

Theres somethingnot quite rightabout this picture.


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Contextualism The Truth Criterion: Pepper says it this way:

Serious analysis for [the

contextualist] is alwayseither directly or indirectlypractical . . . If from onetexture you wish to get toanother, then analysis has an

end, and a direction, andsome strands have relevancyto this end and others donot, and . . . the enterprisebecomes important in

reference to the end"(Pepper, 1942, pp. 250-251).

I dont care about truth.All I want is a carrot.


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Contextualism The Truth Criterion:

Note that Pepper uses theterm "wish." This impliesthat an analysis is true to

the extent that it reachesthe end, or takes one in thedirection, that was importantbefore the action ofanalysis.

This is a crucial point,because it means that"successful working" is notfoundational in contextualism.

What is foundational is aconsequence, end, purpose,or goal, in terms of whichthe truth criterion ofsuccessful working can be

applied.


End/Purpose/Goals

Successful Working

Truth

Thats more like it!Goals are foundational,for without themsuccessful workingcannot be defined!


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Contextualism Truth is Psychological:

If goals, consequences,purposes, and the like arefoundational, then truth for

the contextualist isinherently psychological,rather than ontological.Truth is defined in terms ofreaching a desired end (a

psychological event), not interms of uncovering thenature of reality.

No goals = No truth.Shit -- thats

weird!

End/Purpose/Goals

Successful WorkingTruth

Now hes worried.If truth is based on

goals, then what abouthis precious reality?


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ContextualismNo reality?

Oh God, I feelsick -- I wantto sit down.

End/Purpose/Goals

Successful WorkingTruth

Truth as Psychological: Again, in Pepper's words:

. . . events can[not]correspond without anactive operationaljuncture of one with theother, and there is [no]integration in any senseprior to the act ofintegrating there. [It iswrong to imply] thattruth is a relationindependent of the actof verifying. (Pepper,1942, pp. 277)

Time to go --I think hes

gonna throw up.


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Behavior Analysis

and Contextualism Behavior Analysis and

Ontology: The first three world

views provide each typeof analyst with a

privileged or priest-likeposition, from whence theontological reality of theuniverse may be glimpsedusing the appropriate

analytic methodology. Is this view consistent

with behavior analysis?Apparently not. . .

Ah, thats much

better. Now I cansee whats reallygoing on.


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Behavior Analysis


Ontology: It would be absurd for thebehaviorist to contend thathe is in any way exempt fromhis analysis. He cannot step

outside of the causal streamand observe behavior fromsome special point ofvantage, 'perched on theepicycle of Mercury.' In

the very act of analyzinghuman behavior he isbehaving. . . (Skinner, 1974,p. 234)

Hey, Fred -- I bet

you never managed tocondition a tortoise?


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Behavior Analysis


Ontology:

According to Skinner,scientific activity does notinvolve discovering thefundamental laws of natureor developing an increasingly

accurate picture of anontological reality; instead,scientific activity itself issubject to a behavioranalysis.

Interesting behavior;I must analyze it.




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Behavior Analysis


Ontology:

Again, in Skinner's words: Scientific laws ... specify

or imply responses andconsequences. They arenot ... obeyed by naturebut by men that dealeffectively with nature.The formula s = 1/2 gt

2

does not govern the

behavior of falling bodies,it governs those whocorrectly predict theposition of falling bodiesat given times. (1969, p.

141)

As I recall, I firstcame up with the idea

for an operant chamberwhen I was hit on thehead by a tortoisethat had escaped

from one of Tolmansmazes.

Thanks Fred.That gravitys

a killer!


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Behavior Analysis


Ontology:

In behavior analysis,therefore, the output from acumulative record, forexample, is not arepresentation of what the

subject "really" did in theoperant chamber, but israther a discriminativestimulus for a particular"scientific" response, such as

"scallop" or "break-and-run",that has been differentiallyreinforced in the presence ofthat pattern.

I spent hundreds of hourspecking at your stupid little

keys, and you have the gall tosay that you dont really care

about what I do!


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Behavior Analysis


Ontology:

If the verbal utterances of abehavior analyst are viewed asbehavioral events (i.e., asemerging from the personalhistory of the scientist), it

would be absurd to insist thatthose utterances alsocorrespond to an ontologicalreality.

It is this absurdity thatforces behavior analysis intocontextualism.

Farewell, heartlessHarvard behaviorist. . .

Come back my loyalsubject. I was merely

making a philosophicalpoint to avoid the

absurd.


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Behavior Analysis


Ontology:

When confronted with thisabsurdity in behavior analysis,the most typical response is toargue that behavior-analytictruth is defined simply in

terms of achieving the goals ofprediction and control, withsufficient scope, precision, anddepth.

Prediction andcontrol -- thats

all I want!

End/Purpose/Goals

Prediction & ControlTruth

Thats all you want?What a sad

little man you are.


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Behavior Analysis


Ontology:

To define truth as "useful inachieving certain goals" is to definetruth behaviorally (e.g., having aparticular goal and trying toachieve it are behavioral events).The truth of a behavior-analytic

statement must, therefore, bedefined within a particularbehavioral stream, and as such atruth statement is alwaysinherently historical and context-

specific. From this perspective, ontology issimply irrelevant because thebehavior analyst has no grounds onwhich to speak of hidden essencesand underlying realities.

I dont careabout reality!

End/Purpose/Goals


Youll care aboutreality if I bite

your toe!


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Behavior Analysis


Ontology:

That does not mean thatontological talk must beabandoned, however, becauseit may be useful at times tospeak ontologically.

With that caveat, thepragmatic behavior analysttakes the view that we cannottake ontological talk (or anytalk) literally as it applies toan underlying philosophy ofscience or an underlyingreality, because truth is justsuccessful working -- no moreand no less.

But I dont wantyou to bite my toe!,So, I can talk aboutthat ontologically

to stop you.

End/Purpose/Goals


Neat trickContextualist.

You guys are reallyslippery!


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Behavior Analysis

and Contextualism Behavior Analysis andOntology: The absurd is avoided if it is

made explicit that behavioranalysis is not in the businessof uncovering the nature of anontological reality. And inadopting this strategy,behavior analysis finds itselfto be contextualistic.

The only other alternativewould be to adopt the Mystic

world hypothesis, but then oneis left with nothing to say,and I would not have achievedmy goal today -- to talk withyou about behavior analysis

and contextualism.

You know, Steve, Im notso sure about thiscontextualism stuff.Do you think its wiseto associate behavioranalysis with such a

weird philosophical view?

To be honest Fred Ivebeen so worried aboutthat, most of my hairs

fallen out.

behavior analysis and contextualism

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