Two Minds Blog

My most recent post described the history of the periodic table in chemistry. Behavioral research today has problems similar to those faced by chemistry in the 1800s, with a need for (a) consistent classification of elements, (b) periodicity  or the grouping together of related items, (c) underlying mechanisms that can explain the similarities among elements as well as their differences from one another, and (d) inter-relationships of the elements to one another. The periodic table accomplishes all of these things, and it doesn't have to be arranged into rows and columns to do it. Above is another alternate version of the periodic table that shows elements arranged in a circle, progressing clockwise outward from the center and showing groupings of related elements as colored rays. Behavioral science, though, is struggling with even the first of the periodic table's beneficial properties. Classification. It can be hard to get behavioral scientists even to agree on what we study....

A number of eminent psychologists have expressed the wish to develop a “ periodic table of behavior change methods ” or a " periodic table of personality ." I want to explore this idea in the next two blog posts. If we could create a sort of "periodic table of behavior," it might allow for more rapid progress in what has historically been regarded as a "soft" science. (My kids used to tell me "you're not a real  scientist," by which they mean a physicist or chemist). As you will see below, a classification scheme for behavior would also serve as a marker of progress, an agreement on fundamental properties or underlying mechanisms that are suitable as subjects of psychological study. Having such agreement on our terms would prevent a great deal of re-work and confusion as people study similar concepts under different names. Chemistry used to have these same problems, however. Before we can explore what a "periodic table of behavior" ...