Wilson, K. G., & Hayes, S. C. (2000). Why it is crucial to understand thinking and feeling: an analysis and application to drug abuse. The Behavior Analyst, 23, 25-43.
Behavior analysis has long accepted the legitimacy of the analysis of private events in a natural science of behavior. The topic has languished though as a focus of empirical research in either applied or basic arenas. We will argue that recent empirical work examining the bi-directional nature of verbal relations may shed light on the role of private events in complex human behavior. Skinner argued that while it would be possible to analyze private events, we need not, since thoughts and feelings were viewed as co-occuring products of the same contingencies responsible for changes in overt responses. However, the bi-directional transformation of stimulus function inherent in verbal behavior changes the way that private events participate in complex behavioral episodes for verbal organisms. We will examine why we have reached such a conclusion with special emphasis on the role of self-awareness. Finally, we will conclude with an application of our analysis to the applied problem of substance abuse.