What is Skinner's central theory of radical behaviorism?
Radical behaviorism posits that all behavior, including what we call 'thinking' and 'feeling,' is a product of environmental contingencies. It's not that internal events cause behavior, but rather that they are themselves behaviors maintained by the same environmental conditions that control overt actions. The key is to analyze the relationships between environmental stimuli, responses, and the reinforcing consequences that follow. We look at the history of reinforcement to understand why a behavior occurs.
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