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. 2004 Spring;27(1):43–53. doi: 10.1007/BF03392091

Stability over time: Is behavior analysis a trait psychology?

Stuart Vyse
PMCID: PMC2755368  PMID: 22478416

Abstract

Historically, behavior analysis and trait psychology have had little in common; however, recent developments in behavior analysis bring it closer to one of the core assumptions of the trait approach: the stability of behavior over time and, to a lesser extent, environments. The introduction of the concept of behavioral momentum and, in particular, the development of molar theories have produced some common features and concerns. Behavior-analytic theories of stability provide improved explanations of many everyday phenomena and make possible the expansion of behavior analysis into areas that have been inadequately addressed.

Keywords: traits, dispositions, behavioral momentum, molar theory, teleological behaviorism, moral attribution, behavioral stability

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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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