A Fun Fictitious Cause (Mysteries of Living 11 of 72)

A Fun Fictitious Cause (Mysteries of Living 11 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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Being able to spot fictional explanations for behavior provides a skill that prevents analysis errors when trying to understand the causes of behaviors, including problem behaviors, from local to global. Here we consider another type of explanatory fiction. Again, our most fundamental objection to fictitious accounts is not that they are fictional, but that such accounts are irrelevant to scientific knowledge and applications about behavior.

Dogs and Neighbors (Mysteries of Living 12 of 72)

Dogs and Neighbors (Mysteries of Living 12 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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Have you ever heard, or said, “Is there no end to the bothersome behaviors of others?” Since examples abound, we will let a short list stand for them all. For instance, does your mate fail to treat the toothpaste tube the way you prefer? Does a neighbor’s lawn left unattended for weeks or months disturb you? Does a dog owner ignoring a dog’s leaving dung on your nice lawn leave you dealing with a severe negative emotional reaction?

Boredom (Mysteries of Living 13 of 72)

Boredom (Mysteries of Living 13 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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Consider the common explanation that some change in behavior occurred out of “boredom.” We often hear this in the complaint form, “I’m bored,” although no inner agent, “I,” is available to “be” bored. The complaint could be, but usually is not, a verbal shortcut. Two words could stand in for over a dozen. “I’m bored” could replace a report that “the amount of reinforcement for current behavior has become too small to maintain the behavior,” so it is extinguishing (that is, undergoing a decrease in occurrences that may reach zero).

Environment and Energy (Mysteries of Living 14 of 72)

Environment and Energy (Mysteries of Living 14 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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We cannot easily separate behavior, organism, and environment when trying to understand them. Without an organism with the necessary physiology, we have no behavior, and behavior always occurs in some part of the environment, either the part existing outside the organism’s skin or the part existing inside the organism’s skin.

Behavior Types (Mysteries of Living 15 of 72)

Behavior Types (Mysteries of Living 15 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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People have traditionally divided behavior into a number of sometimes different and sometimes overlapping types. Some types relate directly to our natural–science interest in behavior. We will consider several behavior types across two broad classifications. “Descriptive classifications” commonly come up first. The more scientifically useful “functional classifications” come up next.

General Behavior Causes (Mysteries of Living 16 of 72)

General Behavior Causes (Mysteries of Living 16 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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On a good–sized, temperate, mid–ocean island, the aging Shaman’s well trained apprentice reported his worries to his master. “I have been making many observations about the crops for the last couple of years, and I am concerned about the harvest this year.” But the Shaman reassured his apprentice, “The rains have been good, the signs read months ago, and the appropriate number of virgins sacrificed. So things should be fine this year.”

Behavior Antecedents and More (Mysteries of Living 17 of 72)

Behavior Antecedents and More (Mysteries of Living 17 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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The general approach to accounting for behavioral events proceeds, in its simplest form, by first analyzing the antecedent events, the ones occurring before the behavior of concern. One looks for any functional relations with the subsequent occurrence of the behavior of concern. Then, if appropriate, a next step involves analyzing the postcedent events, the ones occurring after the behavior of concern. Now one looks for any functional relations with any further subsequent occurrences of the behavior of concern.

Behavior and Genes (Mysteries of Living 18 of 72)

Behavior and Genes (Mysteries of Living 18 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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When contingencies, usually educational contingencies, move people away from either theological or secular (like psychological) mystical accounts for behavior, many people maintain some presumption in scientifically connected genetic accounts of behavior. Even hopelessly simplistic genetic explanations, such as “she does that because she was born that way” or “he does that because it’s in his genes,” carry some aura of scientific authority through a generalization process from real science.

Reflexes, Operants, and Dentist Visits (Mysteries of Living 19 of 72)

Reflexes, Operants, and Dentist Visits (Mysteries of Living 19 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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A century ago, when a child first went to the dentist, few precautions were available to avoid coincidental events that could cause fear reactions regarding future dental visits. This was because little had been discovered scientifically then about the relevant environment–behavior causal relations. So what could go wrong?