The New Behaviorism

Reviews / Votes

The New Behaviorism is a feast of clear thinking and deep scholarship, one deserving careful attention by students and scholars in any field who are curious about human behavior - and about why we understand ourselves so poorly. Professor Staddon recasts some of the simplistic notions that launched behavioral psychology in the early 1900s, challenging us to understand behavior in all it glorious complexity while still avoiding the shoddy thinking that has driven investigations of a "mental world" for more than a century. -- Robert Epstein, American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, USA

B. F. Skinner returned to the public eye after tech companies began to use his conditioning techniques to glue users, expectedly waiting for the next Like, to their social networks. John Staddon offers a deep look into Skinner's thinking, why he rejected freedom and dignity, how he made pigeons superstitious, and why he believed that human behavior should be controlled. The New Behaviorism provides a well-written and well-reasoned analysis of the potential and limits of behaviourism, new and old. It is a marvellous guide to understanding the uneasy relation between behaviorism and the rest of psychology. -- Gerd Gigerenzer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin

Behaviorism is a distinctive and elegant philosophy of social science, and the source of many ideas that have entrenched themselves in psychology and everyday conversation. There is no better account of the substance and evolution of this movement than The New Behaviorism. -- Steven Pinker, Harvard University, USA

The New Behaviorism is quite brilliant: It is frankly the only behaviorism left standing. Staddon never fails to be thought provoking and there is a wry assurance to his written voice which makes him excellent company for the voyage he lays out. This is integrative psychological theorizing of the highest order. -- Clive D. L. Wynne, Arizona State University, USA

I started John Staddon's book on behaviorism at a fast clip, as befits a reader who has been a behaviorist for over 50 years. But quickly I slowed down because the gems that were offered were too rich to be passed over quickly. He knows the history of behaviorism and the many notions in other disciplines that affect its rationale. I've seen most books on the topic and this is, by far, the best of all. Most pleasing to me, Staddon provides a path forward through the recent travails of being an animal learning theorist. His presentation of "theoretical behaviorism" provides a bulwark against many of the criticisms leveled against our endeavors. I thank him for the education his book provides. If you are a behaviorist, your reaction is likely to be the same as mine. -- Alan Silberberg, American University, USA