LRA 225 WEEK 3 PRACTICE STUDY SHEET
QUESTIONS AND DETAILED ANSWERS
●● Parsimonious-
Answer: all simple logical explanation must be ruled out before more
complex explanations are considered (simplest explanation, requires the
fewest assumptions )
●● Empiricism-
Answer: objective observation, thorough description, systematic and
repeated measurement, and precise quantification of the phenomena of
interest.
●● Experimentation-
Answer: involves arranging events to evaluate their influence on
phenomena, requires control over extraneous variables, requires that all
variables be controlled except the dependent variable, is an evaluation of
the cause of one event by other events.
●● Ontogenic-
Answer: learning that results from an organisms interaction with his
environment. Operant behavior is due to ontogenic history and
onotgenic behavior is usually emitted.
,●● Phylogenic-
Answer: refers to behavior that is inherited genetically. unconditioned
respondent behavior is due to phylogenic history, Phylogenic behavior is
elicited.
●● Philosphic doubt-
Answer: questioning what is regarded as fact. You must accept
belief/data until contrary findings emerge.
●● Explanatory fiction-
Answer: is circular reasoning whereby the cause and effect are both
inferred from the same information. For example, "He cried because he
felt sad." The sad feeling and the crying are both inferred from the same
cluster of depressive behaviors.
●● Words that are sometimes associated with explanatory fictions
include...
Answer: attitude, feeling, ability, talent, expectation, knowledge.
●● Mentalism-
Answer: points to feelings, sensations, will, and other unobservable and
unmeasurable entities. Once so attributed, and since there is no means of
evaluating these events, further inquiry into causal elements tends to
stop. Mentalism is most like an antecedent analysis. Mentalism is a
,traditional view of psychology, it is the nature of mental processes and
conscious states of mind.
●● What does not cause behavior, can be explanatory fictions, can be
collateral products?
Answer: Feelings
●● Circular reasoning-
Answer: occurs when a cause is determined from the same information
as the effect. For example, a child's disrespect for others (cause) may be
attributed to a bad attitude (effect). However, the bad attitude is only
another description of the behavior. Attitude doesn't cause disrespect.
Contrast this to, say, tantruming that is determined from a functional
assessment is due to contingent attention. The cause (contingent
attention) is determined by evaluating the environment contingencies-
not the tantrum itself.
●● What points to feelings, sensations, will, and other unobservable and
unmeasurable entities?
Answer: Mentalism
Mentalist encourage clients to examine their thoughts to understand why
they feel depressed.
, ●● Which science doesnt employ mentalism, and uses objective
measurement?
Answer: behavior analysis
●● Radical Behaviorism-
Answer: a comprehensive analysis of all forms of human bx according
to behavioral principles, including actions that are not publicly
observable. Mental events affects behavior. Behavior occurs as a
function of antecedent and consequent events occurring in the physical
environment according to the SRS model. Radical behaviorism
interprets covert or private acts (like thinking) in terms of the same
behavioral processes as similar overt or public acts (such as talking out
loud).
●● Methodological behaviorists-
Answer: an analysis of publicly observable events in order to make
inferences about presumed mental variables that affect behavior.
●● S-O-R stands for "stimulus-organismic variable-response-
Answer: According to the S-O-R model of psychology, a stimulus
change occurs in the environment (S), some internal variable specific to
the behaving organism (O) is affected by the stimulus change, and
thereby produces a response (R). This model of psychology describes
the methodological behaviorist's attempt to explain the effect of
presumed mediating variables on the way humans respond to
environmental stimuli. This is in contrast to Watson's S-R (stimulus-
QUESTIONS AND DETAILED ANSWERS
●● Parsimonious-
Answer: all simple logical explanation must be ruled out before more
complex explanations are considered (simplest explanation, requires the
fewest assumptions )
●● Empiricism-
Answer: objective observation, thorough description, systematic and
repeated measurement, and precise quantification of the phenomena of
interest.
●● Experimentation-
Answer: involves arranging events to evaluate their influence on
phenomena, requires control over extraneous variables, requires that all
variables be controlled except the dependent variable, is an evaluation of
the cause of one event by other events.
●● Ontogenic-
Answer: learning that results from an organisms interaction with his
environment. Operant behavior is due to ontogenic history and
onotgenic behavior is usually emitted.
,●● Phylogenic-
Answer: refers to behavior that is inherited genetically. unconditioned
respondent behavior is due to phylogenic history, Phylogenic behavior is
elicited.
●● Philosphic doubt-
Answer: questioning what is regarded as fact. You must accept
belief/data until contrary findings emerge.
●● Explanatory fiction-
Answer: is circular reasoning whereby the cause and effect are both
inferred from the same information. For example, "He cried because he
felt sad." The sad feeling and the crying are both inferred from the same
cluster of depressive behaviors.
●● Words that are sometimes associated with explanatory fictions
include...
Answer: attitude, feeling, ability, talent, expectation, knowledge.
●● Mentalism-
Answer: points to feelings, sensations, will, and other unobservable and
unmeasurable entities. Once so attributed, and since there is no means of
evaluating these events, further inquiry into causal elements tends to
stop. Mentalism is most like an antecedent analysis. Mentalism is a
,traditional view of psychology, it is the nature of mental processes and
conscious states of mind.
●● What does not cause behavior, can be explanatory fictions, can be
collateral products?
Answer: Feelings
●● Circular reasoning-
Answer: occurs when a cause is determined from the same information
as the effect. For example, a child's disrespect for others (cause) may be
attributed to a bad attitude (effect). However, the bad attitude is only
another description of the behavior. Attitude doesn't cause disrespect.
Contrast this to, say, tantruming that is determined from a functional
assessment is due to contingent attention. The cause (contingent
attention) is determined by evaluating the environment contingencies-
not the tantrum itself.
●● What points to feelings, sensations, will, and other unobservable and
unmeasurable entities?
Answer: Mentalism
Mentalist encourage clients to examine their thoughts to understand why
they feel depressed.
, ●● Which science doesnt employ mentalism, and uses objective
measurement?
Answer: behavior analysis
●● Radical Behaviorism-
Answer: a comprehensive analysis of all forms of human bx according
to behavioral principles, including actions that are not publicly
observable. Mental events affects behavior. Behavior occurs as a
function of antecedent and consequent events occurring in the physical
environment according to the SRS model. Radical behaviorism
interprets covert or private acts (like thinking) in terms of the same
behavioral processes as similar overt or public acts (such as talking out
loud).
●● Methodological behaviorists-
Answer: an analysis of publicly observable events in order to make
inferences about presumed mental variables that affect behavior.
●● S-O-R stands for "stimulus-organismic variable-response-
Answer: According to the S-O-R model of psychology, a stimulus
change occurs in the environment (S), some internal variable specific to
the behaving organism (O) is affected by the stimulus change, and
thereby produces a response (R). This model of psychology describes
the methodological behaviorist's attempt to explain the effect of
presumed mediating variables on the way humans respond to
environmental stimuli. This is in contrast to Watson's S-R (stimulus-
