Is it true that behavior analysts claim that behavior is explained solely by the environment, that biology doesn’t matter?
Not so. It’s true that most behavior analysts focus their attention on environmental variables, but no behavior analyst has ever denied that biology plays an important role in behavior. Skinner (whose first interest in graduate school was in physiology) repeatedly noted that biological variables are important, but he thought they should be left to anatomists and physiologists, and that behavior analysts should focus on the influence of the environment. He argued for an analysis of behavior as an end in itself and not as a mere indicator of underlying mental or neurophysiologic processes.
Not all behavior analysts agree with Skinner on that point. Some study the effects of drugs, disease, or nutrition on behavior.
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