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Abstract:
Written by a methodological behaviorist, this treatise critiques
neo-Hullian, Freudian, Eriksonian, and Piagetian theories and presents an
ethological perspective on behavior and personality development. The
critique is extended to cover social learning, cognitive-developmental,
neo-Freudian, and Skinnerian theories, as well as the ideas of Bandura.
Assumptions for conducting research and allowing for interpretation and
integration of findings are specified and discussed. These assumptions
include the following ideas: (1) that fundamentally important behaviors can
be seen in conflict situations; (2) that all behavior must be viewed with
the past history of the subject in mind; (3) that important manipulative
skills can be noted directly and that covert behavior can be inferred by an
observer who has been engaged in an extensive longitudinal study; (4) that
only unobtrusive observations used to interpret the behavior of single
subjects will be unbiased; (5) that all behavior is directly or indirectly
interactive with the environment, is homeostatic, or works toward
homeostasis and that all species-typical behavioral developments are
adaptive; (6) that all behaviors must be construed "within the subject's
perceptual-thought system"; and (7) that interpretation involves comparing
present behaviors with similar past behaviors and interpreting them in terms
of various possible types of behaviors and in terms of specified mechanisms
of change. Any theory that fulfills these assumptions is considered to be an
ethological theory of personality development. A bibliography of suggested
readings is appended.
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