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. 1998 Fall;21(2):321–354. doi: 10.1007/BF03391971

Radical behaviorist interpretation: Generating and evaluating an account of consumer behavior

Gordon R Foxall
PMCID: PMC2731411  PMID: 22478315

Abstract

This article considers an approach to the radical behaviorist interpretation of complex human social behavior. The chosen context is consumer psychology, a field currently dominated by cognitive models of purchase and consumption. The nature of operant interpretation is considered, and several levels of operant analysis of complex economic behavior in affluent marketing-oriented economies are developed. Empirical evidence for the interpretation is considered, and a case is made for the qualified use of the hypothetico-deductive method in the appraisal of operant interpretations of complex behaviors.

Keywords: radical behaviorist interpretation, consumer behavior, economic psychology

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Selected References

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