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Science And Human Behavior

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The psychology classic—a detailed study of scientific theories of human nature and the possible ways in which human behavior can be predicted and controlled—from one of the most influential behaviorists of the twentieth century and the author of Walden Two.

“This is an important book, exceptionally well written, and logically consistent with the basic premise of the unitary nature of science. Many students of society and culture would take violent issue with most of the things that Skinner has to say, but even those who disagree most will find this a stimulating book.” —Samuel M. Strong, The American Journal of Sociology

“This is a remarkable book—remarkable in that it presents a strong, consistent, and all but exhaustive case for a natural science of human behavior…It ought to be…valuable for those whose preferences lie with, as well as those whose preferences stand against, a behavioristic approach to human activity.” —Harry Prosch, Ethics

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 1965
Edition ‏ : ‎ First Paperback Edition, Later Printing
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 461 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0029290406
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0029290408
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.1 x 5.31 x 8.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #51,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #5 in Behaviorism Psychology #16 in Behavioral Psychology (Books) #137 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions
Customer Reviews: 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 483 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });

Customers say

Customers find the book readable and full of knowledge, though some mention it’s a tough read. They appreciate its useability, with one customer noting it’s a great addition to BCBA classes.

13 reviews for Science And Human Behavior

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  1. Marshall L. Dermer

    Human Behavior–Walking, Talking, Dreaming, Thinking, Problem Solving and More as Understood by B. F. Skinner
    This is Fred Skinner’s most accessible book. It ambitiously uses one set of principles to address significant aspects of human and social behavior (p. 334), including events that occur beneath our skins such as dreaming and talking to ourselves ( p. 257).Basically Skinner was interested in all the ways we can arrange the environment to ethically produce and maintain behavior. Consider, the simple case of teaching your dog to sit. You could say “sit,” gently push your dog’s rear down, then say “good,” and give your dog some food. Eventually your dog will sit on command provided sitting sometimes produces food.If asked to explain the dog’s behavior, Skinner would focus on what was done (in the environment) that produced sitting. This would include your saying “sit,” next gently pushing your dog’s rear down, your saying “good,” and then feeding your dog. Actually, more environmental events ought to be specified such as your dog being food deprived and distractive stimuli being absent.But most people have a very hard time using relations between the environment and behavior to explain behavior. When asked to explain why the dog sat after the environment was so programed, my students would say “the dog associated food with sitting,” “the dog was hungry,” “the dog expected food” or even “the dog had learned to sit on command.” None of these explanations disposes us to focus on the environment.

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  2. Misty Fish

    interesting read
    interesting & easy to read

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  3. Memphis Reviewer

    Very helpful conceptualization of a science of human behavior
    I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) so I am probably biased. Now that that is spelled out, I will write this message: “Science and Human Behavior” is an awesome and enlightening read!Behaviorism (Behavior Analysis) is a growing field. As more people get comfortable with the idea of a true science of human behavior, we will make strides in predicting and controlling human behavior. In the future, the controllers or nurturers (parents, teachers, coaches, military leaders, politicians, bosses, etc.) will have an evidenced-based science of human behavior to change people in positive ways. Effective checks can also be developed to control the new science of human behavior as B.F. Skinner recommends. This science and knowledge sure beats the haphazard techniques politicians, bosses, etc. use to influence people to do the right behaviors in order to achieve a common goal.Perhaps some day the nurtured (controlled) and nurturers (controllers) will work together to make the world a better place. People surrender themselves to the controllers with employment, military service, sports team participation and so forth. Why not study those controls scientifically?(Note: For a historical perspective on Skinner (and Behavior Analysis), I would recommend “Beyond the Box: B.F. Skinner’s Technology of Behavior from Laboratory to Life, 1950s-1970s”.)

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  4. Logan P.

    A must read for all humanity
    This is a must read for all generations. If you want to shape human behavior or want a deeper dive into what BF Skinner actually says-this is the book! I share this with all of my colleagues or future BCBAs.

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  5. Dolores A.

    Great book
    Book came in great condition. A little dense to read, but if your into behavior analysis you will find it very interesting. I bought it for class and was interesting to see things from a philosophical perspective.

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  6. Michael

    Human Behavior
    Just received my copy (excellent condition), and have just started reading. I am looking to understand the theories and science of the human behavior, and the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of our temperament capacity.

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  7. Camisha Matthews

    skinner
    amazing quality skinner and his behavior work is impeccable

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  8. Mary Katherine

    Excellent Reference
    I bought this for my BCBA class. It arrived on time and is paperback. It was perfect condition. It’s a great addition to anyone’s BCBA classes or for general knowledge about ABA.

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  9. Saúl Pérez

    El producto llegó en buen estado. Es increíble, 100% recomendado, como todas las obras de Skinner.

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  10. Nö

    Very good information but i guess mr Skinner is not the greatest story teller.

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  11. sergio liera aguilar

    Lo compre con la intención de complementar mi formación como psicólogo, la cual fue deficiente en mi opinión, dada la orientación de dicha licenciatura (psicoanálisis). Realmente considero que leer esta obra es una tarea obligatoria para cualquier psicólogo o persona interesada en el comportamiento humano. Los planteamientos de Skinner aun siguen dando frutos a intervenciones terapéuticas importante como: la Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso (ACT), la Terapia Analítico Funcional (FAP) y es gran parte de la Terapia Dialéctico Conductual, sin mencionar que el aspecto conductual se encuentra prácticamente en todas las intervenciones terapéuticas que cuentan con evidencia científica de su efectividad y mecanismos de cambio. En pocas palabras, si deseas entender el comportamiento humano y animal y de igual forma comprender las bases teóricas de los tratamientos efectivos, este es el libro para ti.

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  12. Calebe Ferraz

    Muito bom, linguagem compreensível para nós brasileiros que temos o inglês como segunda língua.

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  13. Joshua Fox

    In 1958 I discovered this book while I was studying for a degree in psychology. It was a completely different approach from what I was being taught. At the time I could not convince my fellow students or lecturers that it was more convincing and applicable than their syllabus.Since then as a Counselling and Occupational Psychologist, I was increasingly convinced by what Skinner wrote and in this and subsequent books, where he expanded and illustrated the validity and applicability of the guidelines set out in this book. Recently, I bought a new copy from Amazon because my copy had fallen apart though constant use.Psychology is the science that tries to identify the factors that influence and guide our thoughts, feelings and actions. In this book Skinner sets out clearly with numerous examples the principle that, if desired actions are positively reinforced, then these actions are more likely to be repeated in the future. On the other hand, if undesired actions are negatively reinforced they are less likely to occur. Negative reinforcement means undesired actions are ignored and other actions that help the person escape are positively reinforced. This approach is completely opposite to punishment which tries to forcibly stop undesired action. So if a child misbehaves the normal response is to tell them off, threaten them with punishment or punish them. Did that work when we were children or with our children?Instead of punishment Skinner suggests we stop reinforcing undesirable behaviour by ignoring our child and waiting until they do something right. Then give them the positive reinforcement of praising them and giving them more of your time and suggesting what they could do to get positive reinforcement from other people or themselves. Our child will soon, consciously or not, learns to act in ways which get positively reinforced. .Between 1953 when this book was published and 1993 when he died, Skinner was himself repeatedly positively reinforced by the growing acceptance of his principles and their successful application to teaching children and adults more quickly and effectively and helping individuals overcome their emotional, mental and social problemsSince he wrote this book, a rival approach called Cognitive Psychology claims that internal thoughts and feelings explain our external actions – speech writing, gestures and movements. Skinner has repeatedly pointed out that the supposed internal “mental way stations” are “explanatory fictions” because they explain nothing. In contrast, argues Skinner, all of our current actions, whether external or internal, speaking writing, gesturing or moving are best explained by factors created when in the past these actions were reinforced. We continually generate new actions, which are reinforced and, in turn, become factors that influence and guide our future actions.I strongly recommend this book. Read it and decide if his principles of positive and negative reinforcements give you useful and helpful guidelines on understanding yourself and others. . .

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    Science And Human Behavior
    Science And Human Behavior

    Original price was: $23.00.Current price is: $17.91.

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