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Evolution and operant behavior, metaphor or theory?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2001

Frances K. McSweeney  and
Kenjiro Aoyama
Frances K. McSweeney
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4820 fkmcs@mail.wsu.edu www.wsu.edu/~emurphy/mcsweeney.html
Kenjiro Aoyama
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Doshisha University, Kyoto 602-8580, Japanaoyamamk@aol.com www.psychology.doshisha.ac.jp/aoyama/aohome.html
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Abstract

The idea that similar selective processes operate in gene-based evolution, immunology, and operant psychology provides an intuitively appealing metaphor. This idea also isolates questions that operant psychologists should ask and makes some empirical predictions. However, the idea currently lacks the detail needed to precisely separate it from some plausible alternatives. This sort of thinking is the kind that operant psychologists should do if operant theorizing is to survive the competition among ideas.

Type
Brief Report
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , June 2001 , pp. 545 - 546
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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