Analysis and Integration of Behavioral Units

Originally published in 1986, this volume was the result of a conference in honor of the 65th birthday of the late Kenneth MacCorquodale, an exceptionally eloquent spokesman for the field of experimental analysis of behaviour at the time. The present volume grew directly out of the issues raised by MacCorquodale and Meehl in their "Excursis: The Response Concept" paper and which MacCorquodale posed so often when he taught. It is a fitting tribute to the man on his 65th birthday that a group of scholars whom he held in the highest regard convened in one place to think out loud about two of the thorniest problems facing behavioral science, namely, the nature of the units of analysis of the subject matter and the mechanisms responsible for their integration.

Michael D. Zeiler, Travis Thompson

Contributors. Preface. Foreword by Travis Thompson. Part 1: Background 1. Behavioral Units: A Historical Introduction Michael D. Zeiler 2. The Problem of Behavioral Units Travis Thompson 3. Molar vs. Molecular Units of Behavior Paolo Meazzini and Carlo Ricci 4. The Language Trap and the Study of Pattern in Human Action Peter Harzem Part 2: Basic Units of Analysis 5. Returning the Operant-Respondent Distinction Philip N. Hineline 6. Behavior Units and Optimality Michael D. Zeiler 7. In Application, Frequency is Not the Only Estimate of the Probability of Behavior Units Donald M. Baer 8. Pharmacological Contributions to Experimental Analysis of Behavior Peter B. Dews Part 3: Language and Mathematics 9. Mathematics and Verbal Behavior M. Jackson Marr 10. Some Nonverbal Properties of Verbal Behavior A. Charles Catania and Daniel T. Cerutti 11. Functional Analysis of Emergent Verbal Classes Murray Sidman 12. Behavior as a Function of Inner States and Outer Circumstances Roger Schnaitter Part 4: Integration of Larger Units of Analysis 13. Functional Units of Human Behavior and their Integration: A Dispositional Analysis David Lubinski and Travis Thompson 14. Trait Language and Behaviorese Paul E. Meehl 15. The Formation of Ritual Behavior John L. Falk. Author Index. Subject Index.