Zen and behavior analysis.
Roger Bass
The Behavior Analyst 2010 DOI: 10.1007/bf03392205 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Verbal behavior Enlightenment |
| Key points | Argues that Zen's apparent resistance to behavior analysis stems from a unique verbal history produced by its practices, not from scientific or philosophical objections. Proposes the concept of "stimulus singularity" to explain why Zen's methods can be studied while its primary outcomes, such as Samādhi and Satori, cannot be described in any conventional sense. |
Abstract
Zen's challenge for behavior analysis is to explain a repertoire that renders analysis itself meaningless-a result following not from scientific or philosophical arguments but rather from a unique verbal history generated by Zen's methods. Untying Zen's verbal knots suggests how meditation's and koans' effects on verbal behavior contribute to Enlightenment and Samādhi. The concept of stimulus singularity is introduced to account for why, within Zen's frame of reference, its methods can be studied but its primary outcomes (e.g., Samādhi and Satori) cannot be described in any conventional sense.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences December 1, 1966
- Zen meditation and ABC relaxation theory: An exploration of relaxation states, beliefs, dispositions, and motivations Journal of Clinical Psychology May 3, 2001
- The behavioral and the mystical: Reflections on behaviorism and eastern thought. The Behavior Analyst 1986