behaviourism

British  

/ bɪˈheɪvjəˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. a school of psychology that regards the objective observation of the behaviour of organisms (usually by means of automatic recording devices) as the only proper subject for study and that often refuses to postulate any intervening mechanisms between the stimulus and the response

2. the doctrine that the mind has no separate existence but that statements about the mind and mental states can be analysed into statements about actual and potential behaviour Compare materialism See also mind-body problem

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Other Word Forms

• behaviourist adjective
• behaviouristic adjective

Example Sentences

McCarthy, Minsky and other Intelligentists had bought in to behaviourism, a field straddling the natural and human sciences and offering access to a rich psychological vocabulary.

From Nature

In his lectures, he described the concept of human intentionality — the ability of the mind to be proactive and to represent future goals — as another challenge to behaviourism.

From Nature

“We did go through the period in psychological science called behaviourism,” Keltner tells me.

From The Guardian

Skinner, the father of “radical behaviourism”, who found that training subjects by rewarding them in a variable, unpredictable way works best.

From Economist

Lustig's description is a more specialised one, recalling the tradition of "behaviourism" in psychology.

From The Guardian