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Dive into the research topics where Geir Overskeid is active.

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Featured researches published by Geir Overskeid.


Psychological Record | 2008

They Should Have Thought about the Consequences: The Crisis of Cognitivism and a Second Chance for Behavior Analysis

Geir Overskeid

Cognitivism has dominated mainstream psychology for decades, but lately its position has been weakened. It has been criticized not only by behavior analysts but also by social and evolutionary psychologists, neuroscientists, and authors who are or used to be cognitivists themselves. At the same time, psychologists and neuroscientists in several fields are now rediscovering the necessity of understanding behavior in light of its functional relations. Hence a need for relevant knowledge is felt. Cognitive psychology has little to offer in this regard. Behavior analysis, on the other hand, possesses a wealth of relevant facts and theory. Though chances seem slight that mainstream psychology will return to behaviorism, a window of opportunity now exists for the reintegration of behavior-analytic research into the mainstream.


American Psychologist | 2007

Looking for Skinner and Finding Freud.

Geir Overskeid

Sigmund Freud and B. F. Skinner are often seen as psychologys polar opposites. It seems this view is fallacious. Indeed, Freud and Skinner had many things in common, including basic assumptions shaped by positivism and determinism. More important, Skinner took a clear interest in psychoanalysis and wanted to be analyzed but was turned down. His views were influenced by Freud in many areas, such as dream symbolism, metaphor use, and defense mechanisms. Skinner drew direct parallels to Freud in his analyses of conscious versus unconscious control of behavior and of selection by consequences. He agreed with Freud regarding aspects of methodology and analyses of civilization. In his writings on human behavior, Skinner cited Freud more than any other author, and there is much clear evidence of Freuds impact on Skinners thinking.


Psychological Record | 2006

Why behave? The problem of initiating causes and the goals of prediction and control.

Geir Overskeid

Behavior analysts assume that private events like thinking and feeling have the same kinds of physical dimensions as other events in the world. They still claim, however, that private events can never be initiating causes of behavior. I point out that this position seems theoretically inconsistent, though exactly what qualifies as an initiating cause is unclear. I go on to show that focusing almost exclusively on external causes may impede realization of the behavior analytic goals of prediction and control. I argue that assuming private events to sometimes be full and real causes of behavior is fully compatible with the pragmatic stance of behavior analysis, which assumes propositions to be true when they work, and not because people agree. I end by recommending that the division between initiating and noninitiating causes be discarded.


Psychological Record | 1992

Is Any Human Behavior Schedule-Induced?

Geir Overskeid

Theoretical and empirical studies of schedule-induced behavior in humans are examined. As there is no terminological consensus in the field, a set of terms is defined, based on suggestions from several authors.Methodological problems in existing research are highlighted, with special regard to the choice of baseline schedules of reinforcement in experiments. In a majority of studies where researchers claim to have found schedule-induced behavior in humans it is highly doubtful whether this is the case, because inadequate baseline schedules have been used.


Perspectives on Psychological Science | 2012

The Personality of a Nonperson: Gauging the Inner Skinner.

Geir Overskeid; Cato Grønnerød; Dean Keith Simonton

B. F. Skinner is consistently rated as one of the most important figures in the history of psychology. Much has been said about his character, some of it strongly negative. Yet little is known about what kind of man he really was. Drawing on information from published sources, archival material, and people who knew him, we used “blind” raters to assess Skinner’s score on the Big Five personality factors. We found that Skinner was a highly conscientious man and highly open to experience. He was also somewhat neurotic and somewhat extraverted but neither agreeable nor disagreeable. The resulting personality profile was compared with meta-analytic results concerning scientists versus nonscientists, creative scientists versus noncreative scientists, and artists versus nonartists. In general, Skinner’s personality profile was consistent with findings regarding those of other notable scientists.


Psychological Record | 2005

Empirically Understanding Understanding Can Make Problems Go Away: The Case of the Chinese Room

Geir Overskeid

The many authors debating whether computers can understand often fail to clarify what understanding is, and no agreement exists on this important issue. In his Chinese room argument, Searle (1980) claims that computers running formal programs can never understand. I discuss Searle’s claim based on a definition of understanding that is empirical, in the sense of being a theoretical statement leading to several testable hypotheses. I argue that an empirical definition with experimental support has a more solid footing than other definitions, and go on to discuss three hypotheses of particular relevance to the question of machine understanding, which turn out to have considerable support in the literature from experimental psychology, linguistics, and other fields. The hypotheses claim that (1) knowledge may not be needed to understand, (2) one may know all there is to know about X, and still not understand X, and (3) understanding tends to reduce the search for relevant information. I also show that understanding probably does not presuppose the causal powers of the human brain, and that computers can have intentionality in Searle’s sense of the word. The article concludes that what Searle discusses is not what speakers of English refer to when they say they understand, and even if it were, his arguments would be unsound.


Cognitive Behaviour Therapy | 1994

Knowledge, Consciousness, Terminology, and Therapy

Geir Overskeid

Abstract A key issue in cognitive and behavioural therapy is when to change maladaptive thinking and behaviour through words, and when to let a patient learn through experience. The first strategy will most effectively change conscious knowledge, while the second will affect unconscious knowledge. Research into the two types of knowledge has been performed within philosophy and experimental psychology for a long time, but without much contact with clinical psychology. One reason behind this fact may be the rich and rather confusing terminology within the field, which is outlined in the present article. It is suggested that cognitive-behavioural therapy could serve as an example of the advantages of an integration which does not yet exist in experimental psychology.


Journal of Personality Assessment | 2013

Under Skinner's Skin: Gauging a Behaviorist From His Rorschach Protocol

Cato Grønnerød; Geir Overskeid; Ellen Hartmann

Behaviorism and psychodynamic psychology have been regarded as polar opposites. Contrary to popular belief, B. F. Skinner took an interest in Freud and many of his concepts, and agreed to be tested with the Rorschach method and the Thematic Apperception Test by Roe in her study of scientists (Roe, 1953). We looked for signs of creativity defined as complex responses, an intriguing emotional tone, novelty, and liveliness. Skinner displayed an enormous number of responses characterized by simplicity, an intellectualized tone, a driven quality rather than creative complexity, and a sense of strained social relationships and lack of liveliness. The findings are in line with Roes study of other scientists. Skinners intellectual productivity and high ambition fits well with the commanding figure history describes.


Psychological Record | 2012

The Role of Emotions in Reinforcement: Response Selection in Humans.

Geir Overskeid

Historically, researchers have never quite been able to agree as to the role of emotions, if any, when behavior is selected by its consequences. A brief review of findings from several fields suggests that in contingency-shaped behavior, motivating events, often unconscious, seem needed for reinforcement to select behavior. In rule-governed behavior, on the other hand, conscious feelings may be necessary for reinforcement to affect behavior. I conclude that the relevant literature broadly supports Skinner’s (1986) claim that reinforcing stimuli have both a “pleasing” and a “strengthening” effect, and that pleasure resulting from a reinforcer does not necessarily reinforce behavior.


Psychological Record | 2004

Solitary Pain: Bertrand Russell as Cognitive Therapist

Geir Overskeid

Bertrand Russell was a prominent philosopher, mathematician, and political activist. It is less well known that Russell suffered from various psychological problems and developed his own method of dealing with them. Continuing a long philosophical tradition, Russell examined how faulty thinking may elicit painful emotions. Though seldom, if ever, mentioned among its harbingers, decades before the pioneers of cognitive therapy, Russell described the basic principles of this form of treatment. He also formulated promising therapy- related hypotheses that are yet untested—as well as making claims that seem plainly wrong. I discuss the relation between Russell’s life, his thoughts on emotional problems, and how he came to attack his problems cognitively.

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