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Methodological pluralism in consumer research is usually confined to post‐positivist interpretive approaches. Argues, however, that a positivistic stance, radical behaviourism, can enrich epistemological debate among researchers with the recognition of radical behaviourism′s ultimate reliance on interpretation as well as science. Although radical behaviourist explanation was initially founded on Machian positivism, its account of complex social behaviours such as purchase and consumption is necessarily interpretive, inviting comparison with the hermeneutical approaches currently emerging in consumer research. Radical behaviourist interpretation attributes meaning to behaviour by identifying its environmental determinants, especially the learning history of the individual in relation to the consequences similar prior behaviour has effected. The nature of such interpretation is demonstrated for purchase and consumption responses by means of a critique of radical behaviourism as applied to complex human activity. In the process, develops and applies a framework for radical behaviourist interpretation of purchase and consumption to four operant equifinality classes of consumer behaviour: accomplishment, pleasure, accumulation and maintenance. Some epistemological implications of this framework, the behavioural perspective model (BPM) of purchase and consumption, are discussed in the context of the relativity and incommensurability of research paradigms. Finally, evaluates the interpretive approach, particularly in terms of its relevance to the nature and understanding of managerial marketing.

Consumer theory and research are generally founded on the assumption that observed behaviour is mediated by intrapersonal events. This pervasive view now threatens to impede theoretical development by precluding the establishment of models based on alternative assumptions. Following Feyerabend's advocacy of the active interplay of tenaciously held, incommensurable theories as an essential component of scientific progress, this article examines the relevance to consumer theory of radical behaviourism, which accords explanatory power exclusively to the environmental consequences of behaviour, denying causative significance to intrapersonal processes and events.

Introduces the theory of signs and sees it as being rooted in behaviourism. Outlines classical conditioning as developed by Pavlov. Considers the theory of signs in a Peircean manner where it has great generality, and provides illustrations of this approach. Then discusses the Quine approach and his thinking in relation to behaviourism. Introduces the mind‐body problem as one of the traditional problems of philosophy. Reviews the question as to the nature of the mind as a system with consciousness. Presents a series of questions set by Levinson, based on Feigl’s definition, and considers their relevance and contribution to the theory.

Despite the acknowledged importance of an understanding of the determinants of and processes affecting the salesperson‐customer interaction, this issue still remains an enigma. Posits that, of the two main philosophical stances available in the study of human behaviour (i.e. mediationism and behaviourism), the prevailing approaches adopted in the study of the salesperson‐customer interaction are mediationistic in nature and are, for the most part, uncritically accepted. States that in order to improve current understanding of the salesperson‐customer interaction, alternative sources for explaining this dyad should be introduced into the field of study. Argues that the competing philosophical stance offered by radical behaviourism may be suitable for this purpose, providing an examination of how this approach can be utilized to explain buying behaviour within the sales interaction context.

Research of artificial intelligence (AI), has aimed at making machines intelligent via the simulation of natural intelligence, particularly human intelligence. During the past decades, there have been three major approaches aimed at achieving this goal, namely structuralism, functionalism and behaviorism. Unfortunately, they work separately and contradictorily to a large extent. The purpose of this paper is to present a better and more unified approach.

The paper analyses each of the three major approaches to AI, describing their advantages and disadvantages. There then follows an attempt to explore a new and more reasonable approach to AI. The new approach should be able to solve all the problems that the existing approaches can solve on one hand and can solve the problems that the existing approaches cannot solve on the other hand.

It was found that the more reasonable and more powerful approach is the one that directly touches the common and core mechanism of intelligence formation. This is due to the fact that the mechanism of intelligence formation is much more essential than other windows of an intelligent system, such as structure, function, or behavior. It was also found that the common and core mechanism of intelligence formation can be implemented through the information‐knowledge‐intelligence transformation. The third finding is that the three existing approaches are special cases of the mechanism approach under different conditions and can thus be harmoniously unified within the frame of the mechanism approach.

The three findings in the paper: the mechanism approach, the implementation of the mechanism approach, and the unification of the existed three major approaches, are important laws never found before in the literature. The breakthrough of the mechanism approach to AI will be of great significance to both theoretical and practical research in AI in the years to come.

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the potentially detrimental effects on audit decision-making of certain judgmental heuristics, which can lead to systematic judgmental biases. This paper provides background on the heuristics and biases approaches to decision-making to increase auditors' awareness of the anchoring and adjustment effects affecting audit judgments adversely.

This study reports the results of an experimental research design analyzing the audit judgment of 85 auditors in Switzerland.

Based on the results of the experiment, the results indicate evidence on the existence of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic in Swiss audit judgments. The authors could identify an influence of the audit company size, the auditors' experience and the auditors' knowledge about behaviorism and anchor heuristic with regard to the anchoring and adjustment effect on audit judgment.

The experimental tasks were relatively simple abstractions from the more complex analytical review situations faced by practicing auditors. Due to the small sample size, the authors cannot ensure representativeness of the results.

Professional judgment is a skill that auditor acquires overtime, combined with experience and knowledge, that allows him to achieve reasonable judgments, being independent of other opinions and free from material biases in a given circumstance. Our results show that auditors who are aware of biases and heuristics are less prone to judgment biases.

This paper is the first to analyze the impact of auditors' explicit experience and knowledge about behaviorism and anchor heuristic on the anchoring and adjustment effect on audit judgment. Through a stronger awareness of cognitive biases, a professional skepticism can be enhanced.

Critically examines the status and plausibility of an interpretative account of consumer behaviour derived from operant psychology (behaviour analysis). It is argued that a model of purchase and consumption cannot be founded on an unreconstructed operant behaviourism. However, if modifications are incorporated based on both a logical critique of radical behaviourism as a philosophy of psychology and the empirical investigation of human operant performance, a tenable Behavioural Perspective Model can be built which elucidates the nature of the influence of the environment on consumer choice.

Various technology-enhanced learning software and tools exist where technology becomes the main driver for these developments at the expense of pedagogy. The literature reveals the missing balance between technology and pedagogy in the continuously evolving technology-enhanced learning domain. Consequently, e-learners struggle to realise the pedagogical value of such e-learning artefacts. This paper aims to understand the different pedagogical theories, models and frameworks underpinning current technology-enhanced learning artefacts to pave the way for designing more effective e-learning artefacts.

To achieve this goal, a review is conducted to survey the most influential pedagogical theories, models and frameworks. To carry out this review, five major bibliographic databases have been searched, which has led to identifying a large number of articles. The authors selected 34 of them for further analysis based on their relevance to our research scope. The authors critically analysed the selected sources qualitatively to identify the most dominant learning theories, classify them and map them onto the key characteristics, criticism, approaches, models and e-learning artefacts.

The authors highlighted the significance of pedagogies underpinning e-learning artefacts. Furthermore, the authors presented the common and special aspects of each theory to support our claim, which is developing a hybrid pedagogical approach. Such a hybrid approach remains a necessity to effectively guide learners and allow them to achieve their learning outcomes using e-learning artefacts.

The authors found that different pedagogical approaches complement rather than compete with each other. This affirms our recommended approach to adopt a hybrid approach for learning to meet learners' requirements. The authors also found that a substantive consideration for context is inevitable to test our evolving understanding of pedagogy.

The purpose of this paper is to facilitate a better understanding of the insights provided by adopting a behaviourism perspective of the socio-demographics, consumption dynamics and retail channel patronage of wine consumers and the potential marketing implications these have.

Systematic random sampling yielded 811 surveys of wine consumers collected at households across Australia’s three main consumption metropoles. A hierarchical multiple regression model is used to test the predictive ability of the socio-demographical variables, gender and age, on personal wine consumption.

Specific differences exist in the consumption behaviour and wine type preferences of males and females, and between generational cohorts, specifically Millennial and older consumers. There are gender significant differences in wine type consumption, which in turn is moderated by not only the “classical” socio-demographic variables, but also the retail outlet types preferred for product purchase. Younger Millennial females place more importance on external choice cues in making their buying decision than males. The gender and age generation socio-demographic variables are not strong predictors of personal wine consumption.

Opportunities exist for niche-marketed brands targeted at specific segments such as young females and this study highlighted their specific needs and consumer behaviour dynamics.

This study illustrates through carefully executed wine consumer behaviour research, directed by questioning from the extant literature, how information derived from a behaviourism perspective can intelligently inform marketing strategies. In the process, it also provides “baselines” for future research.

I am besotted with behaviour! Virtually anything to do with the way people behave, its externalcauses and its externaleffects, has me hooked. I can think of few things more fascinating than unravelling the connections between external events and observable behaviour. Yet I find my enthusiasm is rarely shared by my colleagues in training or personnel. Too often they accuse me of being superficial, manipulative and inhuman. If all else fails they tell me behaviourism is just common sense!