Resumen

BRITTO, Ilma A. Goulart de Souza  y  ELIAS, Paula Virgínia Oliveira. Análise comportamental das emoções. Psicol. Am. Lat. [online]. 2009, n.16. ISSN 1870-350X.

Due to the importance of investigation of the emotions in psychological science, the present study aims to discuss the issues referring to emotional states, as well as biological evolutionary character of the emotions under the perspective of Psychological Behaviorism of Arthur W. Staats. Because it is not a wide-spread theory, this paper intends to present other key principles proposed by that author, as well as B. F. Skinner’s position regarding the emotions. In order to achieve this, the emotional states are considered a product of the evolutionary and personal history together with the present contingencies. Thus, some aspects of interrelation between respondents and operants need to be approached. From this conception, the analysis of the emotions should be carried out through the identification of consequences that keep the emotional states and their functions to the subject, since the emotional states have an important function in maintenance of several behavioral disorders.

Palabras clave : Emotions; Interrelation between respondents and operants; Psychological behaviorism.