Dictionary

behaviorism en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-der. Proto-Germanic *habjaną Proto-West Germanic *habbjan Proto-West Germanic *bihabbjan Old English behabban Middle English behaven Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti Proto-Italic *haβēō Latin habeō Old French avoirbor. Middle English havour Middle English behavoure English behavior Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English behaviorism From behavior + -ism.

Meanings

1. (US, countable, uncountable) An approach focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environment and denying any independent significance for mind, largely ignores any pathophysiological processes which may, or may not, underlie subjective, behavioral phenomena.
   • Behaviorism is considered by most philosophers of medicine, to be an expression of the weaker, minimalist interpretation of the 'medical model' of clinical psychology because it focuses the study and classification of mental disorders upon a phenomenological, rather than a pathophysiological, approach to the subject.
2. (US, uncountable) The theory that a mental state is identical to the disposition or tendency to behave in accordance with the physical causes; statements about the mind are reducible to statements of physical behavior.
   • Behaviorism rejects the idea that the mind is a spiritual thing, and rejects it principally because there can never be the public human experience of spirits upon which alone the idea and knowledge of such things could be founded. 1980, Keith Campbell, Body and Mind, Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 61:
   • Supporters of behaviorism claim that to be "in pain" is nothing more than the tendency to wince, yelp, scream "ouch!" and so on.
   • Behaviorism provides an avenue for the proponent of scientism to resist the argument from the nature of the mind because it holds that minds solely consist in third-person, objective, public facts about people (namely, their behavior) which are amenable to scientific investigation. 2020, Joseph C. Schmid, The Majesty of Reason: A Short Guide to Critical Thinking in Philosophy, →ISBN, 4.3.1 The objection from behaviorism:
   • A traditional objection to behaviorism was that behaviorism could not be right because a system could behave as if it were conscious without actually being conscious. 2002, John R. Searle, Consciousness and Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 16:

Forms

Deriveds

neobehaviorism · eliminative behaviorism

Relateds

functionalism (philosophical theory (sense 2)) · under derived terms · materialism (philosophical theory (sense 2)) · depth psychology (approach to psychology focusing on behavior (sense 1)) · verificationism (philosophical theory (sense 2))

Synonyms

analytic behaviourism · logical behaviourism · behavioral psychology · analytical behaviorism · behaviourism · analytical behaviourism · philosophical behaviorism · analytic behaviorism · philosophical behaviourism · analytical behaviorism · philosophical behaviorism · behaviorism · logical behaviorism

Translations (42)

pt behaviorismo (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ru бихевиори́стика (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ru бихевиори́зм (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · nb atferdspsykologi (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · nb behaviorisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · tr davranışçılık (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · sh biheviorizam (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · uk біхевіори́зм (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ky бихевиоризм (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · cs behaviorismus (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · kl behaviorisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · pl behawioryzm (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · fi käyttäytymistiede (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · bg бихевиори́зъм (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ba бихевиоризм (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · cmn 行為主義 /行为主义 (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · fi behaviorismi (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · vi chủ nghĩa hành vi (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · et biheiviorism (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · pt comportamentismo (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · sv behaviorism (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · es behaviorismo (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · es conductismo (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · fr béhaviorisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · lv biheviorisms (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ro behaviorism (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ca conductisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · fr comportementalisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ja 行動主義 (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · de Behaviorismus (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ms ketingkahlakuan (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · el συμπεριφορισμός (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · nn behaviorisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ms behaviorisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · ko 행동주의 (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · sh бихевиоризам (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · nn åtferdspsykologi (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · kk бихевиоризм (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · nb adferdspsykologi (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · hu behaviorizmus (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · it comportamentismo (approach to psychology focusing on behavior) · nl behaviorisme (approach to psychology focusing on behavior)