Behavioralism

Behavioralism (not to be confused with the learning theory, behaviorism) is an approach in political science which seeks to provide an objective, quantified approach to explaining and predicting political behavior. ["Behaviouralism emphasized the systematic understanding of all identifiable manifestations of political behaviour. But it also meant the application of rigorous scientific and statistical methods to standardize testing and to attempt value free inquiry of the world of politics... For the behaviouralist, the role of political science is primarily to gather and analyze facts as rigorously and objectively as possible." Guy, p. 58.] It is associated with the rise of the behavioral sciences, modeled after the natural sciences. ["The term behaviouralism was recognized as part of a larger scientific movement occuring simultaneously in "all" of the social sciences, now referred to as the behavioural sciences." Guy, p. 58.]

Prior to the "Behavioralist revolution", political science being a science at all was being disputed.Fact|date=January 2008 Critics saw the study of politics as being primarily qualitative and normative, and claimed that it lacked a scientific method necessary to be deemed a science. ["On the basis of the philosophical approach, traditionalists prescribe normative solutions to political problems. In their view, no political inquiry into social problems can remain neutral or completely free of normative judgements or prescriptions." Guy, p. 57.] Behavioralists would use strict methodology and empirical research to validate their study as a social science. [Guy, p. 58.]

Behavioralism is perhaps best defined by the man who is prominent for his role in first distinguishing it from behaviorism - David Easton:

A journal in this field is "Political Behavior", described this way by its publisher, Springer:

quotation|Political Behavior publishes original research in the general fields of political behavior, institutions, processes, and policies. Approaches include economic (preference structuring, bargaining), psychological (attitude formation and change, motivations, perceptions), sociological (roles, group, class), or political (decision making, coalitions, influence). Articles focus on the political behavior (conventional or unconventional) of the individual person or small group (microanalysis), or of large organizations that participate in the political process such as parties, interest groups, political action committees, governmental agencies, and mass media (macroanalysis). As an interdisciplinary journal, Political Behavior integrates various approaches across different levels of theoretical abstraction and empirical domain (contextual analysis). [

Subsequently, much of the behavioralist approach has been challenged by the emergence of postpositivism in political (particularly International Relations) theory.

Notes

References

* cite book | last = Baer| first= Michael A. | editor = Jewell, Malcom E. and Lee Sigelman (eds) | title = Political Science in America: Oral Histories of a Discipline | year = 1991 | publisher = The University Press of Kentucky | location = Lexington | id = ISBN 0-8131-0805-5
* cite journal | first = Thomas S. | last = Engeman | year = 1995 | title = Behavioralism, Postbehavioralism, and the Reemergence of Political Philosophy | journal = Perspectives on Political Science | volume = 24 | issue = 4 | pages = 214 | url = http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=76959176
*
* cite journal
first = Jon D. | last = Hanson | coauthors = Douglas A. Kysar | year = 1999 | month = June | title = Taking Behavioralism Seriously: The Problem of Market Manipulation | journal = New York University Law Review | volume = 74 | issue = 630 | pages = 75–83 | id = ISSN 0028-7881 | url = http://web.archive.org/web/20030324150808/http://teaching.law.cornell.edu/faculty/kysar/tbs1.pdf| format=pdf