Abstract: While many behavior analysts consider mentalism a taboo way of explaining behavior, many other behavioral professionals and students may stop the progress of their concern on the subject there. But mentalism is more than just a nonbehavior-analytic way of speaking it can also act as an obstacle to applying basic behavioral principles to areas of human behavior that are significant; not only for the individual, but also for society. Behavior-environment interactions work both ways, though. Mentalism may slow the progress of expanding the application of behavioral concepts and principles into new areas of study, but successful research and applications based on the principles of behavior analysis might, in turn, change the way people speak and think about the causes of behavior. Panelists will discuss their experiences within less mainstream, still developing areas of behavior analysis and how mentalism has affected, and been affected by, behavior-analytic practice and research in these areas. |