Operationism in psychology: A discussion of contextual antecedents and an historical interpretation of its longevity

Abstract

Operationism emerged as a particularly important idea in the psychology of the 1930s. The historical, social, and intellectual factors which enhanced its acceptance are discussed with an eye to understanding the reasons for the rapidity and fervor of its adoption. Changes to psychology's version(s) of operationism are documented to demonstrate that the position underwent significant revision in the decade following its introduction. It is argued that the factors responsible for the original acceptance of the idea are, in part, responsible for the surprising longevity of the position.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 31 citations exist upstream.