Introduction to Modern Psychology: The Control-Theory View – Richard J. Robertson and William T. Powers

Introduction to Modern Psychology: The Control-Theory View – Richard J. Robertson and William T. Powers

This book is a textbook on the new, control-theory approach to the science of psychology and also a general psychology text based upon the control-system model.The traditional Behaviorist position is that behavior is controlled by the environment. For example Bandura quotes B. F. Skinner (1971), the leading Behaviorist, “A person does not act upon the world, the world acts upon him”It is based upon the assumption that our actions are “stimulated” by forces in our environment. We do not accept the assumption that behavior is caused by forces outside the individual. Rather, forces outside the individual are disturbances which must be controlled as the person acts continually to realize his or her intentions. In other words, we try to make our environment match our specifications; when we do, that is controlling it.