ABSTRACT
The aim of psychology might be thought to be the prediction of responses as a function of stimuli. The problem with which we are concerned in this chapter is how to conceptualise the relations between stimuli and responses. If a hierarchy of sciences is accepted, then each level may be conceived of as making assumptions about the subject matter of the science at the next level down. Thus sociology makes assumptions about psychology and psychology make assumptions about physiology. In Osgood’s (1956) words, ‘Behavior theory is made up of hunches about how the nervous system operates to generate the lawful relations we observe among stimuli and responses.’
