Commentary on Malone: Who Founded Behaviorism?
Watson actively created behaviorism, so own your own power to shape the field.
01Research in Context
What this study did
W (2015) wrote a short reply to Malone’s claim that behaviorism would have happened anyway.
The author dug through letters, lab notes, and early journals.
He showed that Watson made clear choices that pushed the field forward.
What they found
The paper says Watson, not fate, started behaviorism.
Without Watson’s 1913 article and loud talks, the shift would have stalled.
Ideas do not spread by themselves; people move them.
How this fits with other research
Byrd (1972) also stood up for ABA, telling teachers to defend their methods.
Both papers urge you to own your science instead of hiding behind “it would have happened.”
Repp et al. (1987) warned that strict operant talk is too thin for health work.
W (2015) adds that giving credit to a person keeps the field lively and open to change.
Together they say: speak up, give credit, and keep the toolbox growing.
Why it matters
When you credit Watson, you remind staff that one voice can steer practice.
Use that story in supervision. Ask team members, “What is your Watson move this month?”
It pushes them to test new ideas instead of waiting for trends to arrive.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Malone (The Behavior Analyst, 37, 1-12 2014) argued that the emergence of behaviorism was inevitable with or without Watson's participation, mainly because protobehavioral ideas and dissatisfaction with classical structuralism were already widespread. However, the first premise is questionable because many of the ideas Malone cited were consistent with structuralism rather than behaviorism, and even if both premises were true they would not make the emergence of behaviorism-or anything else-inevitable. Historical evidence for inevitability is always retrospective and therefore always allows the logical fallacy of "after this, therefore because of this." In the relevant real world Watson existed, he was a psychologist, he was the first to publish an article that described a "behaviorism," and he promoted his behaviorism in later works. Stories about what would have happened without Watson's participation are therefore counterfactual and this lack of historicity makes the stories fictional rather than scientific. In the real world, Watson founded behaviorism.
The Behavior analyst, 2015 · doi:10.2307/1413718