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. 1983 Fall;6(2):153–160. doi: 10.1007/BF03392394

Misconception and miseducation: Presentations of radical behaviorism in psychology textbooks

James T Todd, Edward K Morris
PMCID: PMC2741965  PMID: 22478585

Abstract

Behavior analysts have recently expressed concern about what appear to be misrepresentations of behaviorism in psychology textbooks. This paper presents an analysis of currently used textbooks in the areas of introductory, social, cognitive, personality, and developmental psychology that confirms this. Topics on which behavior analysis is most often misrepresented relate to the role of animal learning research, environmentalism, the “empty organism,” language, and the overall utility of the approach. Because textbooks are often a major medium of interaction between the public and behaviorism, behavior analysts must work to correct these errors and to prevent possible negative consequences of widespread misunderstanding. Several potential solutions to these problems are presented that take into account current publishing practices and the monetary contingencies which support them.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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