Defining applied behavior analysis: an historical analogy

Abstract

This article examines two criteria for a definition of applied behavior analysis. The criteria are derived from a 19th century attempt to establish medicine as a scientific field. The first criterion, experimental determinism, specifies the methodological boundaries of an experimental science. The second criterion, philosophic doubt, clarifies the tentative nature of facts and theories derived from those facts. Practices which will advance the science of behavior are commented upon within each criteria. To conclude, the problems of a 19th century form of empiricism in medicine are related to current practices in applied behavior analysis.