radical behaviorism
the view that behavior, rather than consciousness and its contents, should be the proper topic for study in psychological science. This term is often used to distinguish classical behaviorism, as originally formulated in 1913 by John B. Watson, from more moderate forms of neobehaviorism. However, it has evolved to denote as well the form of behaviorism later proposed by B. F. Skinner, which emphasizes the importance of reinforcement and its relationship to behavior (i.e., the environmental determinants of behavior). Skinner conceded the existence of private events, such as thinking, feeling, and imagining, but believed them to be irrelevant, viewing them not as causes of behavior but as behavior in need of explanation or as private stimuli that function according to the same laws as public stimuli. See behavior analysis; descriptive behaviorism.