Rules of Conduct for Behavior Analysts in the Presence of Hypothetical Constructs: A Commentary on Eckard and Lattal (20
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Rules of Conduct for Behavior Analysts in the Presence of Hypothetical Constructs: A Commentary on Eckard and Lattal (2020) Armando Machado 1 Francisco J. Silva 4
& Paulo
Guilhardi 2 & Marcelo S. Caetano 3 &
Accepted: 4 November 2020/ # Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020
Abstract Eckard and Lattal (2020) summarized the behavioristic view of hypothetical constructs and theories, and then, in a novel and timely manner, applied this view to a critique of internal clock models of temporal control. In our three-part commentary, we aim to contribute to the authors’ discussion by first expanding upon their view of the positive contributions afforded by constructs and theories. We then refine and question their view of the perils of reifying constructs and assigning them causal properties. Finally, we suggest to behavior analysts four rules of conduct for dealing with mediational theories: tolerate constructs proposed with sufficient reason; consider them seriously, both empirically and conceptually; develop alternative, behavior-analytic models with overlapping empirical domains; and contrast the various models. Through variation and selection, behavioral science will evolve. Keywords Behavior analysis . Hypothetical constructs . Internal clock models .
Mediational theories . Temporal control
Even a cursory survey of any textbook about psychology or its history reveals that most, if not all, psychological theories include hypothetical constructs. These postulated, mediational entities tend to figure more prominently in some approaches than others. They occur in greater numbers and degrees of inference in psychological approaches that conceive of behavior as the output of internal information-processing * Armando Machado [email protected]
1
University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
2
Beacon ABA Services, Inc., Leominster, MA, USA
3
Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, Brazil
4
University of Redlands, Redlands, CA, USA
Perspectives on Behavior Science
devices, or as the outcome of computations performed on internal representations, than in behavior-analytic theories. Eckard and Lattal (2020) remind us why. The authors describe the well-known radical behavioristic critique of these constructs, their potential contributions to our understanding of behavior, and the negative effects that are likely to occur when they are used incorrectly. The novelty and perhaps main contribution of Eckard and Lattal’s article is that the authors apply the behavior analytic critique to a specific and reasonably well-defined research domain, that of the temporal control of behavior.1 The authors summarized internal-clock models and theories of temporal control, exposed their philosophical foundations, identified their strengths and weaknesses, and then sketched an alternative behavior-analytic view of temporal control. It is rare to see contemporary scientists engage in internal epistemology—the critique of the assumptions of a specific theory, the analysis of its terms, and the evaluation of its associ
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