Word: herrnsteins
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...Herrnstein's research delves into comparative cognition. His work is "comparative" because he applies findings from his animal research to human behavior. As a cognitist, he is interested in internal thought processes. But Herrnstein does not reject behavioral psychology and investigates as well the relationship between the environment of a person or animal and its observable behavior. Herrnstein calls himself eclectic: "I am a little bit of behaviorist and cognitist, but my experiments are more inclined towards those of a behaviorist...
...Herrnstein puts some of his theories and experiments into practice in Social Analysis 12. "Crime and Human Nature," with James Q. Wilson, Shattuck Professor of Government. Herrnstein's goal in the course is to look at crime at every level from the microscopic thoughts of an individual to view-points as globally social as possible. "At the end of the course we conclude that a person's individual behavior does say something about their actions. Sooner or later a decision to commit a crime boils down to an individual's choice and their behavior on that choice...
During his more than 13 years at Harvard. Herrnstein has researched not only pigeon's cognitive abilities but has stirred up heated controversy with some of his behavioral research. He has been picketed and protested because of the fine line people draw between behavioral research, genetics and racism...
...take too much of an individual approach to crime," says Trevor W. Nagel a section leader in Social Analysis 12. More important than individual behavior that would induce a person to commit a crime, the students feel that more of an emphasis should be placed on a macrosociological perspective." Herrnstein says students who say he emphasized individual behavior obviously have not yet finished all the required reading...
Nagel continues however that "Herrnstein is an admirable professor because he hasn't strayed from taking on controversial topics. Overall, fewer people than I expected complained about the issue of crime's relation to race...