Some clinical implications of contextualistic behaviorism: The example of cognition

Abstract

Radical behaviorism can be interpreted either mechanistically or contextualistically. The present article describes the essence of the contextualistic interpretation and contrasts it with other positions common in behavior therapy. Contemporary behavior analysis, contextually viewed, is applied to the problem of cognition. Derived stimulus relations are argued to be at the core of cognition, and that the relation between cognition and other kinds of behavior is contextually situated. New therapeutic strategies emerge from a reexamination of the philosophy and theory of contextualistic behavior analysis.