Introduction to Behavior An Evolutionary Perspective

An up-to-date approach to behavior analysis within the framework of evolutionary theory

Introduction to Behavioris a contemporary textbook for students in behavior analysis and other behaviorally-oriented disciplines. Dispensing with outdated models of behavior and reinforcement, this book adopts a new conceptual framework for the understanding of behavior, human and nonhuman. It will help students at all levels, particularly students being trained in applied behavior analysis, offering an easily approachable and plausible framework that can inform both research and practice.Excellent for undergraduate and graduate students alike, as well as others interested in the field of behavior science, this book covers standard topics in behavior analysis from an up-to-date perspective. Readers will be introduced to a far more effective way of viewing behavior than the traditional reinforcement-based approach. 

• Examine traditional concepts of behavior analysis from an evolutionary perspective 
• Gain a concrete conceptual framework that can be used to guide research and practice in applied behavioral science 
• Understand human and nonhuman behaviors, both in laboratory settings and in daily life, from an individual and a social perspective 
• Build your knowledge of why people make the choices they make given particular environmental inputs 

Introduction to Behavior fills an important gap in available texts on behavior analysis, placing helpful behavioral concepts within a sound, evidence-based evolutionary framework. 

William M. Baum is Professor Emeritus at the University of New Hampshire and a Research Associate at the University of California, Davis. He has published over one hundred journal articles and has over twenty years’ teaching experience at universities including Harvard and the University of New Hampshire. His research interests include choice, cultural evolution, behavioral processes, and the philosophy of behavior.

Table of Contents 

Chapter 1. Organism
Chapter 2. Behavior 
Chapter 3. Behavior and Natural Selection
Chapter 4. Covariance 
Chapter 5. Measurement 
Chapter 6. Stability and Change 
Chapter 7. Stimulus 
Chapter 8. Choice and Balance 
Chapter 9. Verbal Behavior and Rules
Chapter 10. Social Behavior and Culture 
Chapter 11. Coda for Instructors