Similarities and Differences Among Alternatives to Skinner’s Analysis of Private Events

While the consideration of private events is central to Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism, Skinner’s perspective on the topic of private events is not universally accepted within the behavioral community. At least 3 alternatives to Skinner’s position have been purported, among them Baum’s molar perspective, Rachlin’s teleological perspective, and Hayes and Fryling’s interbehavioral position. This paper considers the similarities and differences among these alternatives to Skinner’s analysis of private events from the perspective of interbehaviorism and interbehavioral psychology. The implications of this analysis for philosophical and conceptual progress in behavior analysis are considered.