Abstract
Before the present century, the primary means of studying animals was observation of the form and effects of their behavior combined with presumption of their intent. In the present century, ethologists continued to emphasize observation of form and replaced presumption of intent with the study of proximate function and evolution. In contrast, most learning psychologists minimized both observation of form and presumption of intent by defining behavior in terms of simple environmental effects and establishing intent by deprivation operations. We discuss advantages of the use of observation in the study of learning, examine arguments that it is unnecessary, irrelevant, and unscientific, and consider some practical considerations in using observation. We conclude that observation of the form of behavior and concern with its ecological function should be an important part of the arsenal of techniques used to study learning.
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Completion of this manuscript was facilitated by NIMH Grant 37892 and NSF Grant IBN 9121647 We thank Peter Balsam, Kristi Bell, Eliot Hearst, Pat Kelly, Gary Lucas, Joe Pear, Kathleen Silva, and Wesley White for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.
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Timberlake, W., Silva, F.J. Observation of behavior, inference of function, and the study of learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 1, 73–88 (1994). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200762
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200762