Fixing Psychology

The once and future behaviorism.

Eric Charles Ph.D

Deep Thoughts: The Stomach in a Jar Problem

How do we know we are not just stomachs in a vat? A problem philosophers have wrestled with for decades.

Why Academic Writing Sucks, Part 2

Pinker says that we can drop all the meta-discussion. I'm suspicious.

Why Inferential Statistics?

Page one of a handout for undergrad research methods students (in several departments), who are about to get one-class-session tutorials in SPSS. I have three pages to give them enough information to understand what we are doing.

Academic NaNoWriMo Challenge!

Accept my challenge and get a lot of writing done this November!

Why Academic Writing Sucks

Reflections on Stephen Pinker's insights into the reasons academic writing is terrible.

The Once and Future Behaviorism - Ralph Barton Perry

Excerpts from Perry's "A Behaviorist View of Purpose" (1921)

Adjuncts instructors are facing the decisions people face.

Adjuncts are people facing the decisions people face. Some thoughts on what will help adjuncts.

Digital Humanities and Darwin on Psychology... Cheiron Day 3

Digital Humanities and Evolutionary Psychology talks at Cheiron: The International Society for the History of the Behavioral and Social Scienecs

Phrenology, Criminal Insanity, Marshmallows: Cheiron, Day 1

Some highlights of the 2014 Cheiron Conference on the History of the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Day 1

What Is Going on in Philosophy: Searle's Goals

Why I like Searle's big picture, even if I don't like his theories.

We Are Reflections of Our World: Explaining Behaviorism

One of the great insights of behaviorism: People are reflection of their world.

Parents Can't Understand Kindergarten Math

With all the complaint about Common Core, is it really that hard?

Why Frozen Is Obviously About Lesbians

Is Disney’s Frozen about a "pro-Lesbian agenda"?

Explaining Behaviorism: Operant & Classical Conditioning

Operant and classical conditioning are two different ways in which organisms come to reflect the order of the environment around them. Here's an explanation of these processes.

Atheism Is Irrational

Atheism is irrational. There I said it.

Animal Drives: Some Notes on Word Magic

An 80-year-old indictment of psychology has me wondering: Has our field moved beyond "word magic"?

Adjunct Professors and Unions

Representatives from Adjunct Justice and the Adjunct Faculty Association dug into my last post... and were right on a lot of points.

Why Pot Should Be Legal

Why pot should be legal? Because it is much worse for society for it to be illegal.

What's Wrong With (the Rhetoric Surrounding) Adjuncts?

Adjunct faculty are treated like part-time professional experts... because that is what they are.

Why Research Professors? Part 1

If your best options for courses at a research university are courses taught by non-research faculty, something has gone seriously wrong.

Syria, Chemical Weapons, and Confirmation Bias

Critics are right to suspicious of the evidence Kerry presented regarding Syria, psychologists should be supporting them.

Unifying Psychology; The Review of General Psychology & APA

Get the latest ideas about how to unify psychology in this month's special issue of the Review of General Psychology, and get in on the discussion at the APA convention!

Poker and Psychological Realism

A poker table is a great place to work through theories of psychology.

What Do We Know For Sure About the Brain

We know a lot about the complexity of the brain. Why pretend we don't?

Why Brain Mapping Is a Stupid Idea

Especially with a $100,000,000 price tag!

The "Puzzle of Motivation"... and Behaviorism

Dan Pink's TED talk on motivation is great! ... and misleading... Learn more about the importance of autonomy, mastery, and purpose... and contingencies

Making Sense of the Sense-Making

How do you defend a way of life that allows such horrors to happen?

The Templeton Foundation: "Philosophy's Bite"

The Templeton foundation is setting the agenda for philosophical studies, including philosophy of psychology. Are they sinking philosophy, or saving it?

Cheating: It Just Got Much Easier, and Much Harder

Why 150 cheating Harvard students should give us a reason to deeply rethink how we conceptualize ethical student conduct in a digital age.

The Secret to College Success: What Smart Kids Do

The secret to college success is simple: You do your part of the job, and I'll do mine. The problem is, most students have no idea what their part is.

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