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Behaviorism Philosophy of mind, part 2 George Matthews CC 2018

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Question of the Day How can we study the mind scientifically?

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A Science of Mind Psychology as a behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is . . . prediction and control. J. B. Watson, 1913

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Prediction and Control, part 1

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Prediction and Control, part 1 reflexes

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Prediction and Control, part 1 reflexes ! Having a mind enables an organism to respond to a changing environment by changing its behavior.

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Prediction and Control, part 1 reflexes ! Having a mind enables an organism to respond to a changing environment by changing its behavior. ! Whatever has a mind RESPONDS to STIMULI.

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Prediction and Control, part 1 reflexes ! Having a mind enables an organism to respond to a changing environment by changing its behavior. ! Whatever has a mind RESPONDS to STIMULI. ! The task of psychology is describing these stimulus-response pairs.

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Prediction and Control, part 1 reflexes ! Having a mind enables an organism to respond to a changing environment by changing its behavior. ! Whatever has a mind RESPONDS to STIMULI. ! The task of psychology is describing these stimulus-response pairs. ! When that is complete, we can predict and control behavior.

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Prediction and Control, part 1 reflexes ! Having a mind enables an organism to respond to a changing environment by changing its behavior. ! Whatever has a mind RESPONDS to STIMULI. ! The task of psychology is describing these stimulus-response pairs. ! When that is complete, we can predict and control behavior. Case 1: The Sphex Digger Wasp.

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Wikimedia

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Prediction and Control, part 2

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Prediction and Control, part 2 classical conditioning

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Prediction and Control, part 2 classical conditioning ! Reflexes are dumb unconditioned responses, but having a mind means you can also learn new things.

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Prediction and Control, part 2 classical conditioning ! Reflexes are dumb unconditioned responses, but having a mind means you can also learn new things. ! Learning is forming new stimulus-response pairs by ASSOCIATION.

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Prediction and Control, part 2 classical conditioning ! Reflexes are dumb unconditioned responses, but having a mind means you can also learn new things. ! Learning is forming new stimulus-response pairs by ASSOCIATION. ! When we learn a new (conditioned) response can replace an old (unconditioned or natural) response to a stimulus.

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Prediction and Control, part 2 classical conditioning ! Reflexes are dumb unconditioned responses, but having a mind means you can also learn new things. ! Learning is forming new stimulus-response pairs by ASSOCIATION. ! When we learn a new (conditioned) response can replace an old (unconditioned or natural) response to a stimulus. Case 2: Pavlov’s dog.

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How Stuff Works

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Prediction and Control, part 3

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Prediction and Control, part 3 operant conditioning

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Prediction and Control, part 3 operant conditioning ! Having a mind means being able to learn on your own.

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Prediction and Control, part 3 operant conditioning ! Having a mind means being able to learn on your own. ! Operant conditioning uses rewards and punishments to shift an organisms spontaneous responses in one direction or another.

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Prediction and Control, part 3 operant conditioning ! Having a mind means being able to learn on your own. ! Operant conditioning uses rewards and punishments to shift an organisms spontaneous responses in one direction or another. ! By using the right reward/punishment scheme an organism can learn to do many new things.

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Prediction and Control, part 3 operant conditioning ! Having a mind means being able to learn on your own. ! Operant conditioning uses rewards and punishments to shift an organisms spontaneous responses in one direction or another. ! By using the right reward/punishment scheme an organism can learn to do many new things. Case 3: The Skinner Box.

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Andreas1, wikimedia

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Next Question What, then, IS a mind?

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Methodological Behaviorism

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Methodological Behaviorism

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Methodological Behaviorism ! Any scientific study of minds has to limit itself to the study of things that can be observed by all and measured objectively.

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Methodological Behaviorism ! Any scientific study of minds has to limit itself to the study of things that can be observed by all and measured objectively. ! First-person accounts of our own “inner experience” may make for good literature, but they are not science.

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Methodological Behaviorism ! Any scientific study of minds has to limit itself to the study of things that can be observed by all and measured objectively. ! First-person accounts of our own “inner experience” may make for good literature, but they are not science. This approach is alive and well in the social sciences.

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Analytic Behaviorism

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Analytic Behaviorism

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Analytic Behaviorism ! All talk about minds has to be translated into talk about observable behavior, otherwise it is meaningless.

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Analytic Behaviorism ! All talk about minds has to be translated into talk about observable behavior, otherwise it is meaningless. ! Philosophical problems with understanding minds are a result of mistakes in our use of language.

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Analytic Behaviorism ! All talk about minds has to be translated into talk about observable behavior, otherwise it is meaningless. ! Philosophical problems with understanding minds are a result of mistakes in our use of language. Can we really stop talking about feelings, beliefs, intentions, desires, thoughts, plans, etc. and still make sense of human behavior?

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Radical Behaviorism

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Radical Behaviorism

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Radical Behaviorism ! Minds just do not exist as private inner worlds, we are nothing but what we do in the world.

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Radical Behaviorism ! Minds just do not exist as private inner worlds, we are nothing but what we do in the world. ! All of our behavior is caused by forces outside of us – evolution programmed us, stimuli move us, conditioning teaches us to do new things.

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Radical Behaviorism ! Minds just do not exist as private inner worlds, we are nothing but what we do in the world. ! All of our behavior is caused by forces outside of us – evolution programmed us, stimuli move us, conditioning teaches us to do new things. Should we really treat people like “blank slates” entirely determined in their actions by outside forces?