Jim Johnston

May 29, 2017

What are your intentions?

In common parlance, when talking about human affairs it’s difficult to avoid referencing intentions. The usual assumption is that intentions are something each of us privately […]
April 28, 2017

You can’t understand feelings and emotions without behavior!

Even passing contact with the mainstream research literature on feelings and emotions suggests that most investigators are content with trying to understand these phenomena without considering […]
March 30, 2017

Do we have to explain everything?

Behavior analysts are used to explaining. Whether as researchers or practitioners, we see our job as understanding behavior. This mandate implies that we should be able […]
February 28, 2017

Research methods as a way of talking about behavior

I have more than a passing interest in research methods, particularly those that have driven the basic and applied research literature of behavior analysis over the […]
February 7, 2017

How good are you at recognizing mentalism?

Applied behavior analysts face many challenges. We always need more guidance from our science, for instance, especially its applied literature. Making the best of the opportunities […]
January 1, 2017

How do you know who you are?

“Solitary confinement is not a head banging against the wall in terror or rage. Sometimes it is, but mostly it’s just the slow erasure of who […]
December 6, 2016

Should we talk about controlling as a behavior?

Isn’t it obvious? We often talk about someone controlling his or her environment – especially someone else’s behavior – implying that controlling is a behavior of […]
November 13, 2016

How would they have learned that?

For behavior analysts, talking with other people about behavior can be trying. Knowing that they lack our professional training, we make an effort to be patient […]
October 19, 2016

The behavior analyst and the border collie

I’ve had a variety of dogs over the years, from little (Sealyham Terrier) to big (Irish Wolfhound) and including a number of other breeds and mutts […]