John B. Watson, Methodological Behaviorist?

Authors

  • Bruno Angelo Strapasson Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
  • Kester Carrara

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v12i1.9120

Keywords:

Methodological Behaviorism, ontology, epistemology

Abstract

To attribute titles or qualities to theoretical proposals is always a difficult task, and unhappily, it is rarely done carefully. This article intends to evaluate the characterizations of John B. Watson’s writings as an emblem of the methodological behaviorism movement. The paper presents four conceptions of methodological behaviorism and discusses Watson’s commitment to these views, in the light of his own writings. The paper then suggests that often, the expression Methodological Behaviorism could not be applied to Watson’s writings, and when it can, it is adequate only to his initial texts and without implying the philosophical problems traditionally attributed to this characterization: the inherent problems of body-mind dualism. As a conclusion, the paper indicates some consequences of this mischaracterization.

Keywords: Methodological Behaviorism; ontology; epistemology.

Author Biography

Bruno Angelo Strapasson, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)

Graduado em Psicologia pela Universidade Federal do Paraná e mestrando em Psicologia do Desenvolvimento e Aprendizagem pela Universidade Estadual Paulista.

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How to Cite

Strapasson, B. A., & Carrara, K. (2008). John B. Watson, Methodological Behaviorist?. Interação Em Psicologia, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v12i1.9120

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2008)

Section

Articles

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