I absolutely love so much of your work, and I agree with your basic values when it comes to how we should treat children. But I have to protest, if just a little bit, when it comes to this use of the word behaviorism. One of the classic books in the field is Murray Sidman's Coercion and its fallout, published in 1989, and the title says it all. Skinner himself was pretty clear about coercion being mostly to be avoided. Sure, there's been tons of bad things done in the name of behaviorism. But that's the case in almost any field that works with kids. I don't mind if someone doesn't like behaviorism as a field and as an idea, but reducing it to something it isn't doesn't seem very helpful. Are people who work within the ABA framework just beyond the pale? I know some of them, and they agree pretty much to all you say in these posts.
Good point. When I talk about behaviourism, I’m really talking about the popular application of behaviourist ideas, rather than the much more nuanced scientific field. From Watson on, there has been a tendency to focus on children’s behaviour in a very reductionist way - and you see this in the UK at the moment with the talk of Behaviour Hubs and the behaviour ‘tsar’. A good example of what I mean is the recent Guardian article by the author of a popular parenting course https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/13/are-your-kids-good-around-other-people-but-behave-badly-with-you-its-all-about-consequences.
Thanks for the reply, and I see your point. Still, as an educator who has learned a lot from behaviorism, and lessons that were very much aligned with what you talk about here, I find it a little frustrating that so many people have nothing but negative associations with that whole field. I also thought that behaviorism was all about punishments and such, and I was quite surprised when I found out that the main names in this tradition clearly advised against coercion and punishments. Not only that, they make some very compelling arguments for why we should avoid them, which makes these theories a potential helpful ally in making life better for more kids.
Pat Friman wrote a great article in 2021 called "There is no such thing as a bad boy: The Circumstances View of problem behavior", which both discusses some of the reasons for why people like Skinner so often get misunderstood, but also looks at children's behavior, especially when it's deemed difficult, much like you do here on the Substack.
I absolutely love so much of your work, and I agree with your basic values when it comes to how we should treat children. But I have to protest, if just a little bit, when it comes to this use of the word behaviorism. One of the classic books in the field is Murray Sidman's Coercion and its fallout, published in 1989, and the title says it all. Skinner himself was pretty clear about coercion being mostly to be avoided. Sure, there's been tons of bad things done in the name of behaviorism. But that's the case in almost any field that works with kids. I don't mind if someone doesn't like behaviorism as a field and as an idea, but reducing it to something it isn't doesn't seem very helpful. Are people who work within the ABA framework just beyond the pale? I know some of them, and they agree pretty much to all you say in these posts.
Good point. When I talk about behaviourism, I’m really talking about the popular application of behaviourist ideas, rather than the much more nuanced scientific field. From Watson on, there has been a tendency to focus on children’s behaviour in a very reductionist way - and you see this in the UK at the moment with the talk of Behaviour Hubs and the behaviour ‘tsar’. A good example of what I mean is the recent Guardian article by the author of a popular parenting course https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/13/are-your-kids-good-around-other-people-but-behave-badly-with-you-its-all-about-consequences.
Thanks for the reply, and I see your point. Still, as an educator who has learned a lot from behaviorism, and lessons that were very much aligned with what you talk about here, I find it a little frustrating that so many people have nothing but negative associations with that whole field. I also thought that behaviorism was all about punishments and such, and I was quite surprised when I found out that the main names in this tradition clearly advised against coercion and punishments. Not only that, they make some very compelling arguments for why we should avoid them, which makes these theories a potential helpful ally in making life better for more kids.
Pat Friman wrote a great article in 2021 called "There is no such thing as a bad boy: The Circumstances View of problem behavior", which both discusses some of the reasons for why people like Skinner so often get misunderstood, but also looks at children's behavior, especially when it's deemed difficult, much like you do here on the Substack.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349251900_There_is_no_such_thing_as_a_bad_boy_The_Circumstances_View_of_problem_behavior