CBS

Scientific progressivity: Choosing a path

Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS) is the research paradigm underlying the development of ACT and RFT. It is a coherent, multi-leveled system of philosophical assumptions, scientific values, and methodological commitments which drive theory and technology development. It reflects an appreciation for our place in the history of science, and sets standards against which progressivity is assessed. What becomes clear from the history of science is that there is no such thing as The Scientific Method, and no one measure of scientific progress. In such a context, it is essential to take ownership of the foundations of your work, as we aim to do in CBS.

Science is a relatively recent development in our evolutionary history, and for much of it, methodology was guided by sets of assumptions which would now seem absurd to us. Up until the mid to late 17th century, for example, scientists in the Western world were committed to maintaining theories which placed the Earth at the center of the universe (Kuhn, 1957). Amazingly, such systems enjoyed a great deal of success. Perhaps scientists of the future will look back upon 21st century science, and see our work as similarly absurd and inexplicably successful. Studying the history of science can indeed be rather humbling. Weren’t those early 17th century scientists just as certain about their methods as we are about ours?

A healthy skepticism about science does not entail that no measure of progress is possible. Instead, it leads us to recognize that we must choose a measure of progress. We must choose a scientific tradition to work within. And, we must take ownership of these choices. For, the world will not tell us which path to follow. CBS is one such path, complete with its own values, and measures of progress. A few papers have been written which begin to explicate this system, and more are on the way. For a basic introduction, it is useful to understand the following points (click each one for more information). 

CBS:

- Is based on a pragmatic worldview known as functional contextualism.

- Grows from behavior analysis in its methodology and assumptions.

- Is committed to developing basic behavioral accounts of complex behaviors.

- Aims to apply these advances in the alleviation human suffering and the advancement of human well-being.