Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

  • Examine the evolution of methodological behaviorism from its origins in positivism, pragmatism, and functionalism, as well as its reaction to structuralism.
  • Assess the similarities and differences among the various approaches to neo-behaviorism, in particular those of Clark Hull, Edward Tolman, and Kenneth Spence.
  • Evaluate the impact on contemporary psychology of the contributions made by the radical behaviorist B. F. Skinner.
  • Outline the trends following World War II that led to a transition of behaviorism into the modern disciples of psychology.