On the Relation between Human Ecology and Behavioral Social Psychology

Abstract

Human ecology and operant conditioning are compared in order to consider the feasibility and desirability of linking human ecology and behavioral social psychology. General similarities between human ecology and operant conditioning include a recognition of the interaction between behavior and environment, the necessity of longitudinal analyses, the view that change is externally determined, and quantitative analyses involving aggregated behaviors. Major differences include origins of general principles, methodology, and units of analysis. Many similarities also exist among general concepts and principles. Operant principles might be applied to provide complex psychological, social-psychological, sociological, and human-ecological analyses. The major barrier between human ecologists and behavioral social psychologists and sociologists now appears to be the discrepancy in the size of the social systems each studies.