Читать книгу The Behavior of Animals - Группа авторов - Страница 73

A fourth pervasive issue in motivation concerns the locus of action of causal factors. Do causal factors operate within the central nervous system (CNS) or at a more peripheral level? Once again, common sense suggests that they must act in both places; nonetheless, this has also been a controversial issue. Historically, the controversy arose as a reaction by the early behaviorist school in psychology to the views of the introspectionists, who thought one could understand behavior by reflecting on one’s own experiences (see Chapter 1). The behaviorists were skeptical of internal causes that could not be investigated directly, and they attempted to explain as much behavior as possible in terms of stimuli and responses that could be measured physically. However, as it has become more and more possible to measure and manipulate events that occur within the CNS, one major objection to the postulation of central factors has been removed. Nonetheless, some researchers continue to emphasize central or peripheral factors.