Abstract

SALGADO GARCIA, Edgar. Aproximación epistemológica de la conciencia en psicología: una perspectiva comportamental. Actual. psicol. [online]. 2003, vol.19, n.106, pp. 46-65. ISSN 0258-6444.

This paper presents an overview of the study of consciousness and how it may be viewed from a behavioral standpoint. Behavior analysis’ main contributions are discussed and compared with the other major approaches to consciousness. The first sections focus on the conceptual and empirical issues associated with the concept of consciousness. The next sections are devoted to discussing a behavioral epistemology in the midst of the phenomenal, cognitive, and biological perspectives, as well as some developments in the field of behavior analysis (e.g., verbal behavior, rule-governed behavior, stimulus control) that constitute an alternative to mentalistic explanations. It is concluded that consciousness, from a behavioral perspective, should be conceptualized as conscious behavior, and not as an explanatory term for behavior.

Keywords : Consciousness; Behaviorism; Behavior analysis; Experimental psychology; Cognitive psychology; Cognitive science; Neuroscience.

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