ABSTRACT
Probably the most unfortunate effect on psychology of the behaviorist revolution was its suppression of mental concepts such as ideas and images. In 1890 William James could give the title The Stream of Thought to a chapter of his influential textbook, The Principles of Psychology. In it he wrote: “The first fact for us, as psychologists, is that thinking of some sort goes on” (p. 224). A few years later, no theoretical psychologist who valued his or her reputation would have dared to mention such topics. For the next 30 or 40 years only stimuli were allowed to influence behavior (Watson, 1919). In 1949, Hebb earned a place in the Psychological Hall of Fame by providing a neural basis for the idea, thereby giving it a new lease on life.
