Behaviorism Quote by Steven Pinker
““In behaviorism, an infant's talents and abilities didn't matter because there was no such thing as a talent or an ability. Watson had banned them from psychology, together with other contents of the mind, such as ideas, beliefs, desires, and feelings. They were subjective and unmeasurable, he said, and unfit for science, which studies only objective and measurable things. To a behaviorist, the only legitimate topic for psychology is overt behavior and how it is controlled by the present and past environment. (There is an old joke in psychology: What does a behaviorist say after making love? "It was good for you; how was it for me?")””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker, 2007
Behaviorism rejects internal mental states as unobservable, focusing solely on observable actions and environmental causes.
In simple terms: Behaviorism ignores thoughts and feelings, studying only actions.
Key Takeaway
Consider both observable behavior and hidden mental processes.
Themes
psychology
behaviorism
science
mind
observation
Mood
critical
analytical
skeptical
Type
theoretical
explanatory
When to use this quote
- clinical therapy
- education
- research design
- parenting
- organizational behavior
Key Concepts
empiricism
determinism
subjectivity
measurement
Questions to Reflect On
- How do internal states influence overt behavior?
- Can behavior be fully explained without reference to mental processes?
A Different Perspective
Overemphasis on observable data can miss crucial internal motivations.
![“Some have said that the thesis [of indeterminacy] is a consequence of my behaviorism. Some have said that it is a reductio ad absurdum of my behaviorism. I disagree with this second point, but I agree with the first. I hold further that the behaviorism approach is mandatory. In psychology one may…” quote by Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3e0/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_ads_some-have-said-that-the-thesis-of-indete_315688.jpg)
