APA Citation
Roche, B., & Barnes, D. (1997). The Behavior of Organisms? The Psychological Record, 47, 597–618. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395248
Publication Topic
Behavior Analysis: Conceptual
Publication Type
Article
Language
English
Abstract
The term organism enjoys a revered place within the vocabulary of behavior analysis, most notably perhaps within the title of Skinner’s seminal work (The Behavior of Organisms, 1938). The exact status of this term, however, is unclear. For instance, the term does not appear to be a technical one. Nevertheless, its widespread use in the behavior-analytic literature suggests that it is masquerading as such. The present paper appraises the scientific utility of the term organism’ within the domain of behavior analysis and discusses some possible reasons for its widespread use.