Why Contextual Behavioral Science Exists: An Introduction to Part I

This introductory chapter of first part of this book focuses on the big picture: what is contextual behavioral science (CBS), how does it differ from other approaches, and what are some of the contemporary issues involved in the progress of CBS? The chapter covers key features of CBS as a philosophical and strategic system. The work on contextualism laid the foundation for CBS as a particular form of behavior analysis, with a particular set of assumptions and purposes. The purposes of functional contextualism were distinguished from the purposes of other forms of contextualism such as social constructionism. The centrality of a psychotherapy approach in CBS challenged behavior analysis in one way. The radical pragmatism of functional contextualism created one kind of disconnect with traditional behavior analysis in the willingness to use terms that are useful in some areas and not others.