Jon Arne Løkke

On Misconceptions About Behavior Analysis Among University Students and Teachers

Students frequently show misconceptions regarding scientific psychology in general and basic concepts in behavior analysis in particular. We wanted to replicate the study by Lamal (1995) and to expand the study by including some additional statements. In the current study, the focus was on misconceptions about behavior analysis held by undergraduates, by students in a master program in behavior analysis, by teachers in university colleges, and by a group of students without any formal training in psychology. The results showed that participants in all groups showed misconceptions. Students in the master program held the fewest misconceptions, while traditional psychology students showed most misconceptions about behavior analysis. Factors that might influence number and resistance of misconceptions are discussed.