Circulating Behavior Analysis in the 1960s: An Analysis of Three

Different Translations

Sergio Dias Cirino;

Anna Christina Porto Maia Passarelli; and

Rodrigo Lopes MirandaUniversidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Goal and paths

Goal

To describe and to analyze the circulation of the Behavior Analysis beyond the United States in the early 1960s.

Paths•Presenting three papers published in the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB);•Showing the Brazilian context to the circulation of Behavior Analysis.

Three countries, Three translations

Within the United States: Behavior Analysis going beyond the laboratory. (Rutherford, 2009)

Beyond United States: Experiences in three different countries

• Richelle, M. (1960) – Suggested French Translations of Expressions in the Field of Operant Conditioning

• Schaefer, H. (1960) - Suggested German Translations of Expressions in the Field of Operant Conditioning

• Azzi, R.; Rocha e Silva, M. I.; Bori, C.; Fix, D. S. R.; & Keller, F. S.(1963) - Suggested Portuguese Translations of Expressions in the Field of Operant Conditioning

Brazil: First steps of Behavior Analysis

“A research laboratory was

assembled with Grason-Stadler

equipment. Nobody knew how it

worked… No one could expect that

psychologists would understand

about relays and electrical circuits

(…) Out of the blue, a teaching

laboratory was created.”

(Matos, 1998, p.90)Figure 1. Maria Amélia Matos, Rodolpho Azzi, and Carolina Bori, circa 1960.

Laboratory in Brazil: a pedagogical site

"In 1961 Keller taught two courses

at São Paulo University. The classes

were given in English and they were

very hard to follow, due to the

language and to the topics as well,

but mainly because of the lack of

bibliographical material available”.

(Matos, 1998)

Figure 2. Keller & Schoenfeld (1950). Principles of Psychology.

Figure 3. Keller (1937). The Definition of Psychology.

Circulating behaviorism: some impacts

Figure 4. Azzi et al. (1963). Suggested Portuguese Translations of Expressions in the Field of Operant Conditioning .

Figure 5. Azzi et al. (1964). Exteroceptive Control of Response Under Delayed Reinforcement.

Reading, Writing and Circulating

Keller & Schoenfeld (1950). Principles of Psychology.

Keller & Schoenfeld (1968). Principles of Psychology. Trans: Carolina Bori.

Guidi e Bauermeister (1968). Laboratory exercises in Psychology.

What are the differences between the two boxes?

The two box are about the same.

The main difference is in the using of each of them:

Skinner box at University of São Paulo – Box imported from US, circa 1960.

Skinner box at University of São Paulo – Box built in Brazil in the late 1960’.

The use of Skinner box for researching

Cumulative recorder at University of São Paulo – Imported from US, circa 1960.

It depends of another apparatus to mesure the behavior. It was also Skinner who “invented” this apparatus which he called “cumulative recorder”. The main idea of this recorder was to record instances of behavior occurance in real time.

Reading, Writing and Circulating

Figure 6. Keller & Schoenfeld (1950). Principles of Psychology.

Figure 7. Keller & Schoenfeld (1968). Principles of Psychology. Trans: Carolina Bori.

Figure 8. Guidi e Bauermeister (1968). Laboratory exercises in Psychology.