Behaviour : Psychology Press : 9781848723351 : 1848723350 : 07 Nov 2013 : Original blurb from 1961: For most laymen the science of behaviour hardly exists. Few people have any clear idea of its methods, its history or, above all, its significance. Beside the popular interest aroused, for example, by the achievements of Freud, the work of the behaviourists is almost unknown. Yet this is a science which is of the highest importance, has practical applications of immediate use, and offers the hope of profound insights into the human mind. What distinguishes the behaviourists is their insistence on exact scientific verification. Introspection may suggest a theory but only objective experiments will be admitted as evidence in its favour. The observation of how a rat behaves in a maze may seem a far cry from the study of mankind but it has the supreme advantage that what is observed can be exactly recorded and analysed. Progress by such methods is slow but what is discovered is much less li