In the late 1800's, Edwards Thorndike's "Law of Effect" made a very basic assumption about human behaviour. The basis of the law is that any behaviour that we perform has some sort of benefit to ourselves. Our whole behavioural repertoire (the behaviours that we are able to do) is formulated on consequences (what happens due to us performing the behaviour) of that behaviour. We will perform behaviours that benefit us more often, and those that hinder us, less often. This whole idea is the basis of the whole of Behaviour Analysis.
In the early years of the 1900's, a man by the name of John Watson became interested in stimulus-response behaviour. In other words, he wanted to examine the effects that certain events have on our own behaviour. In order to do this, he abandoned his earlier project that was related to his profession of a physician, and analyse a simple stimulus-response of a dog and his food.
Watson wanted to measure the amount of saliva that a dog would produce when presented with a bowl of food. To achieve this, he quite gruesomely, cut into the cheeks of the dogs, to expose the saliva glands, and thus able to measure salivation. As predicted, the dogs would salivate more when given food than being in the absence of food. He then later began ringing a bell every time the dog would receive food. After a few pairings of these two stimuli, the dog would salivate at the sound of the bell. This then demonstrated that stimuli (events) can be paired together, which then give them an association to one another. It has also been reported that the dogs would, after a fair few pairings, would salivate when Watson entered the room.
This experiment led the way to understanding more about the nature of human behaviour.
Watson believed that the only behaviour worth studying was behaviour that we could actually see with our own eyes. However, the man who is considered to be the founding father of Behaviour Analysis, B.F Skinner thought differently.
In the late 1930's B.F Skinner, Behaviour Analysis' most celebrated Psychologist, gave us the concept of Radical Behaviourism. This take on behaviour highlighted that behaviour is not limited observable actions, but also that internal thoughts and emotions are important to analyse. Radical Behaviourism's take on behaviour also included the statement that every behaviour that we engage in, is either part of our own personal history (our ontogeny), or within our evolutionary history (our phylogeny). This basically states that every behaviour we engage in has either benefited us personally in the past, or that it has benefited humankind in the past.
Skinner also introduced the basic research of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour, which proceeded Radical Behaviourism as its philosophy, and Applied Behaviour Analysis, as the application of the basic research.
Radical Behaviourism has six key assumptions that make up its philosophy. These assumptions are key within Behaviour Analysis, and as Behaviour Analysts, we need to keep these assumptions in mind at all times.
The first one is Determinism. This assumption illustrates that all behaviour is lawful, and that we can predict (to an extent) what behaviour is going to occur based on environmental events.
Empiricism. That every measurement that we conduct is conducted properly, and measured reliably. Accuracy is extremely important.
Experimentation. All practice of Applied Behaviour Analysis is based on experimentation. This is achieved by measuring the effects that one change in the environment at a time, has on behaviour.
Replication. Although as scientists, we strive to be as empirical as possible, replications that show the same or similar results increase a studies validity.
Parsimony. It is common sense that having a very complicated explanation is redundant when a simpler explanation does the job just as well. This is parsimony.
Philosophic Doubt. We need to be sceptical about every bit of information we receive. Think about when someone says something to do, and you can't work out if they are telling the truth or not.
As well as these six, we also follow the Dimensions of Applied Behaviour Analysis, of which were formulated in an very important paper by Baer, Wolf and Risley (1968).
Applied. The behaviour that we are attempting to change must be of some importance to the individual's behaviour that we are changing.
Behavioural. We have to change something that is definable, measurable, and observable.
Analytic. This is that when we are looking at the environment and behaviour, we must be able to come to the conclusion that there is a relation between the two.
Technological. We need to use language that is universally used within the area of Applied Behaviour Analysis, so that everyone in the field can follow all information.
Conceptually Systematic. Everything needs to be explained fully and accurately.
Effective. Any behaviour that we change must see a significant change for it to be deemed a good application of resources.
General. We expect to see a behaviour change to occur in other situations other than the ones that we have changed the behaviour in. For example, actively reducing a child's tantrum in the supermarket should also lead to decreases in this behaviour in the home as well.
So, in close, we know how Behaviour Analysis has arisen through scientific experimentation, and the guidelines that we follow within the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis.
Ask any questions you want to know more about, or do not understand.
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