A host of special methodological issues arise in any discussion of research on human behavior. This practical new volume addresses many of those questions with 19 superb contributions from leading experts in the field. The text evaluates specific strategies and techniques used in laboratory settings, including - reinforcement and punishment - stimulus control - behavioral pharmacology - and methodologies concerning verbal and social behavior, among others. The book includes 135 illustrations and a notable Appendix that offers the APA's ethical guidelines for research with human subjects.

This volume is based on a conference held at West Virginia University in April, 2000 in recognition of the career-long contributions to psychology of Hayne W. Reese, Centennial Professor of Psychology, who retired from the University at the end of the 1999-2000 academic year. Although Professor Reese may be even better known for his contributions to developmental psychology, his influential scholarly work on philosophical and conceptual issues that impact all of psychology provided the impetus for the confer- ence. Behavior theory and philosophy was the name given by Professor Reese and one...

This volume has three goals with respect to the interplay between philosophy and behavioral psychology's experimental, applied, and interpretive levels of knowing. It aims to examine core principles in the philosophy of science, as they are interpreted by and relate to behavioral psychology; how these core principles interact with different problem areas in the study of human behavior; and how experimental, applied, and interpretive analyses complement one another to advance the understanding of behavior and, in so doing, also the philosophy of science.