Logical learning theory: A teleological alternative in the field of personality

Abstract

Logical leanung theory (LLT) is presented as a teleological alternative to most current explanations of human behavior An organism construed as intentional IS more suitable to many personality/personological accounts than is an organism construed as mechanical It is first established that LLT is a predicational rather than a mediational explanation of behavior Tlie concept oStelosponstvity is then presented as an altemabve to the predominant view of hehavior as a supposed response to antecedent sbmulation Telosponsivity rests on the assumption of dialectical human cognition A review ofthe early work on a£Fective assessments in human cognibon follows Affection is a special case of telosponsivity, and not a physical feelmg or emotion per se Evidence drawn from empincal research outside ofthe stnct LLT hterature is also adduced m support of its tenets TTie presentation closes with a survey of current research being conducted on LLT It IS concluded that human agency is a viable theoretical outlook, and that a view resbng on such assumptions can he shovm to have empincal validity A teleological theory holds that the item under descnpbon-m the present case, a human being-is purposive, working toward ends, fulfilhng reasons, or bemg intentional m behavior Tradibonal explanabon in psychology has explicitly avoided teleological descnpbon as presumably nonscienbfic, anthropomorphic, and even spmtual in content However, recent developments m the nse of cognitive psjxihology and the consequent reliance on the models of arbficial intelhgence (AI) seem to be changing the ground rules TTius, Miller, Galanter, and Pnbram (1960) early referred to the new freedom m scientific theonzing which enabled the founders of cybranebcs and informabon-processing theory to construe machines with negabve feedback as "teleological nrechanisms" (p 42) Mmsky (1968) has openly avowed the use of "mentahst terms" such as meamng, arguing that they are fundamental to a descnptMm of the "behavior of machines" (p 2) Following her extensive review ofthe Requests for repnnts should be sent to

Fragmentation in focus: History, integration, and the project of evaluation.

“…The contradictory nature of many psychological perspectives has been well documented (e.g., Danziger, 1990; Furedy & Furedy, 1982; Kimble, 1984; Koch, 1976; Rychlak, 1981, pp. 519–538; 1984; Slife & Williams, 1995, pp. 46–48; Wertheimer, 1988; Yanchar, in press).…”

“…An examination of Dollard and Miller's work reveals that rather than integrate these two competing theories, these researchers altered the theoretical nature of psychoanalysis so that it fit the behavioristic framework they advocated. Rychlak (1981Rychlak ( , 1984, for one, has argued that Dollard and Miller's work removed essential aspects of Freudian theory, such as self-direction, and in so doing dealt with a theory that was not recognizably Freudian. In this sense, Dollard and Miller did not integrate behaviorism and psychoanalysis because they never treated psychoanalysis as psychoanalysis.…”

The Personal Script as a Unit of Analysis for the Study of Personality

“…The theory of reality, consisting of a world theory, a self-theory, and connecting propositions, is built from implicit beliefs and is developed to make life as emotionally satisfying as possible. Hogan (1987) has suggested that personality can be defined in two distinct ways deriving from two different spheres of experience: that of the observer and that of the actor (see also Rychlak, 1986). According to Hogan, the trait approach to personality provides psychologists with a sophisticated set of criteria for describing personality from the perspective of the observer, that is, for describing a person's distinctive social stimulus value.…”

The modern, the post-modern, and the question of truth: Perspectives on the problem of agency.

“…Much work has been done already. Joseph Rychlak’s (1979, 1988, and in press) work on agency is among the most thorough and careful in the history of the discipline. The strength of his position is that it refuses to compromise with traditional determinism.…”