Behavior Analysis and Developmental Psychology

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Abstract
Relationships between the fields of behavior analysis and developmental psychology are examined. First, the influence of behavior-analytic research within developmental psychology is surveyed. In the next two sections, integrations of the two approaches are examined with respect to metatheory and methodology. The section on metatheory examines the behavior-analytic approach to nature and nurture, structure and function, traits and situations, and organismic and mechanistic world views. The section on methodology examines the usefulness of combining the approaches for studying developmental phenomena, specifically prosocial behavior. Two commentaries on these issues conclude the discussion by pointing out that rigorous experimentation is a common element of the two fields, and that differences in metatheoretical assumptions, research strategies, and research questions are worth consideration by both perspectives.

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