Rule-Governed Behavior: Cognition, Contingencies and Instructional Control - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306431726 ISBN 13: 9780306431722

Publisher: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 1989

Synopsis

Animal learning and human learning traditions have been distinguishable within psychology since the start of the discipline and are to this day. The human learning wing was interested in the development of psychological functions in human organisms and proceeded directly to their examination. The animal learning wing was not distinguished by a corresponding interest in animal behavior per se. Rather, the animal learners studied animal behavior in order to identify principles of behavior of relevance to humans as well as other organisms. The two traditions, in other words, did not differ so much on goals as on strategies. It is not by accident that so many techniques of modem applied psychol- ogy have emerged from the animal laboratory. That was one of the ultimate purposes of this work from the very beginning. The envisioned extension to humans was not just technological, however. Many animal researchers, B. F. Skinner most prominently among them, recognized that direct basic research with humans might ultimately be needed in certain areas but that it was wise first to build a strong foundation in the controlled environment of the animal laboratory. In a sense, animal learning was always in part a human research program in development.

About this title

About the Author

Steven C. Hayes, PhD, is Nevada Foundation Professor and director of clinical training in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of forty-one books and nearly 600 scientific articles, his career has focused on analysis of the nature of human language and cognition, and its application to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering and promotion of human prosperity. Among other associations, Hayes has been president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. His work has received several awards, including the Impact of Science on Application Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0306431726
• ISBN 13: 9780306431722
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 412
• Editor: Hayes Steven C.