Critical psychiatry suggests that the currently dominant medical model in psychiatry overstates internal disturbance and understates environmental stressors as important causal factors in psychological distress. Critical psychology suggests that when individuals experience problems in a culture, psychology emphasizes individual, rather than cultural, change. This article provides a brief overview of critical psychiatry and critical psychology and outlines how both movements share important epistemological similarities with the writings of B. F. Skinner, the founder of radical behaviorism.
AchamallahN. (2011). Psychotropic medications and direct-to-consumer advertising: Informative or irresponsible?Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, 6, 1–5.
2.
AdameA. L., & HornsteinG. A. (2006). Representing madness: How are subjective experiences of emotional distress presented in first-person accounts?The Humanistic Psychologist, 34, 135–158. doi:10.1207/s15473333thp3402_3
3.
AdamsN. (2012). Skinner's Walden Two: An anticipation of positive psychology?Review of General Psychology, 16, 1–9. doi:10.1037/a0026439
4.
AhnW.-K., ProctorC. C., & FlanaganE. H. (2009). Mental health clinicians’ beliefs about the biological, social, and environmental bases of mental disorders. Cognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journals, 33, 147–182. doi:10.1111/j.1551-6709.2009.01008.x
5.
AlbeeG. W. (2005). Call to revolution in the prevention of emotional disorders. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry: An International Journal of Critical Inquiry, 7, 37–44.
6.
AltusD. E., & MorrisE. K. (2009). B. F. Skinner's utopian vision: Behind and beyond Walden Two. The Behavior Analyst, 32, 319–335.
7.
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
8.
AndersenS. L. (2003). Trajectories of brain development: Point of vulnerability or window of opportunity?Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 27, 3–18. doi:10.1016/S0149-7634(03)00005-8
9.
AndreL. (2009). Doctors of deception: What they don't want you to know about shock treatment. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
10.
AngellM. (2005). The truth about the drug companies: How they deceive us and what to do about it. New York, NY: Random House.
11.
AnielskiM. (2007). The economics of happiness: Building genuine wealth. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society.
12.
ArielyD. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
13.
AustinS., & PrilleltenskyI. (2001). Contemporary debates in critical psychology: Dialectics and syntheses. Australian Psychologist, 36, 75–80. doi:10.1080/00050060108259634
14.
BarrettR. J. (1996). The psychiatric team and the social definition of schizophrenia: An anthropological study of person and illness. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
15.
BaumW. M., & HeathJ. L. (1992). Behavioral explanations and intentional explanations in psychology. American Psychologist, 47, 1312–1317. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.11.1312
16.
BjorkD. W. (1993). B. F. Skinner: A life. New York, NY: Basic Books.
17.
BoyleM. B. (2002). Schizophrenia: A scientific delusion? (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
18.
BoyleM. B. (2006). Developing real alternatives to medical models. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry: An International Journal of Critical Inquiry, 8, 191–200. doi:10.1891/ehppij-v8i3a002
19.
BoyleM. B. (2011). Making the world go away, and how psychology and psychiatry benefit. In RapleyM., MoncrieffJ., & DillonJ. (), De-medicalizing misery: Psychiatry, psychology and the human condition (pp. 27–43). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9780230342507.0007
20.
BrackenP., & ThomasP. (2009). Beyond consultation: The challenge of working with user/survivor and carer groups. Psychiatric Bulletin, 33, 241–243. doi:10.1192/pb.bp.108.021428
21.
BregginP. R. (2006). How GlaxoSmithKlein suppressed data on Paxil-induced akathisia: Implications for suicidality and violence. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry: An International Journal of Critical Inquiry, 8, 91–100. doi:10.1891/ehpp.8.2.91
22.
BrownP. J., & KonnerM. (1987). An anthropological perspective on obesity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 499, 29–46. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb36195.x
23.
BrownellK. D., & HorgenK. B. (2004). Food fight: The inside story of the food industry, America's obesity crisis, and what we can do about it. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
24.
CarlatD. J. (2010). Unhinged: The trouble with psychiatry—A doctor's revelations about a profession in crisis. New York, NY: Free Press.
25.
CataniaA. C., & HarnadS. (). (1988). The selection of behavior. The operant behaviorism of B. F. Skinner: Comments and consequences. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
26.
ChamberlainK., & MurrayM. (2009). Critical health psychology. In FoxD., PrilliltenskyI., & AustinS. (), Critical psychology: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 144–158). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
27.
ChanceP. (2007). The ultimate challenge: Prove B. F. Skinner wrong. The Behavior Analyst, 30, 153–160.
28.
ChomskyN. (2003). Hegemony or survival: America's quest for global dominance. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.
29.
ConradP., & BarkerK. K. (2010). The social construction of illness: Key insights and policy implications. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51, S67–S79. doi:10.1177/0022146510383495
30.
DixonM. J., HarriganK. A., SandhuR., CollinsK., & FugelsangJ. A. (2010). Losses disguised as wins in modern multi-line video slot machines. Addiction, 105, 1819–1824. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03050.x
31.
DoubleD. (2002). The limits of psychiatry. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 324, 900–904. doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7342.900
32.
EpsteinR. (1980). Notebooks: B. F. Skinner. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
33.
EpsteinR. (1997). Skinner as self-manager. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30, 545–568. doi:10.1901/jaba.1997.30-545
34.
FantinoE. (2008). Behavior analysis: Thriving, but how about its future?Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 89, 125–127. doi:10.1901/jeab.2008.89-125
35.
FieldD. P., & HinelineP. N. (2008). Dispositioning and the obscured roles of time in psychological explanations. Behavior and Philosophy, 36, 5–69.
36.
FloraS. R. (2004). The power of reinforcement. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
37.
FloraS. R. (2007). Taking America off drugs: Why behavioral therapy is more effective for treating ADHD, OCD, depression, and other psychological problems. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
38.
FoucaultM. (1980). Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972–1977. London, England: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
39.
FoxD. R. (1993). Psychological jurisprudence and radical social change. American Psychologist, 48, 234–241. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.48.3.234
40.
FoxD. R. (2003). Awareness is good, but action is better. The Counseling Psychologist, 31, 299–304. doi:10.1177/0011000003031003005
41.
FoxD., PrilleltenskyI., & AustinS. (2009). Critical psychology for social justice: Concerns and dilemmas. In FoxD., PrilliltenskyI., & AustinS. (), Critical psychology: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 3–19). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
42.
FrancesA. J., & WidigerT. (2012). Psychiatric diagnosis: Lessons from the DSM–IV past and cautions for the DSM-5 future. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 8, 109–130. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143102
43.
FrommE. (1965). Escape from freedom. New York, NY: Avon.
44.
GelmanS. A. (2004). Psychological essentialism in children. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8, 404–409. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.07.001
45.
GoddardM. J. (2009). The impact of human intuition in psychology. Review of General Psychology, 13, 167–174. doi:10.1037/a0015104
46.
GoddardM. J. (2011). On being possibly sane in possibly insane places. Psychiatric Services, 62, 831–832. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.62.8.831
47.
GoddardM. J. (2012). On certain similarities between mainstream psychology and the writings of B. F. Skinner. The Psychological Record, 62, 563–576.
48.
GrantL. K. (2012). Does abstracting threaten a sustainable future?The Psychological Record, 62, 337–350.
49.
GriffithsM., ParkeA., WoodR., & ParkeJ. (2006). Internet gambling: An overview of psychosocial impacts. UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal, 10, 27–39.
50.
GuerinB. (1992). Behavior analysis and the social construction of knowledge. American Psychologist, 47, 1423–1432. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.11.1423
51.
GuerinB., & MiyazakiY. (2006). Analyzing rumors, gossip, and urban legends through their conversational properties. The Psychological Record, 56, 23–34.
52.
HagenB., & NixonG. (2011). Spider in a jar: Women who have recovered from psychosis and their experience of the mental health care system. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry: An International Journal of Critical Inquiry, 13, 47–63. doi:10.1891/1559-4343.13.1.47
53.
HarriganK., DixonM., MacLarenV., CollinsK., & FugelsangJ. (2011). The maximum rewards at the minimum price: Reinforcement rates and payback percentages in multi-line slot machines. Journal of Gambling Issues, 26, 11–29. doi:10.4309/jgi.2011.26.3
54.
HarrisJ. L., BarghJ. A., & BrownellK. D. (2009). Priming effects of television food advertising on eating behavior. Health Psychology, 28, 404–413. doi:10.1037/a0014399
55.
HaslamN., & ErnstD. (2002). Essentialist beliefs about mental disorders. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 21, 628–644. doi:10.1521/jscp.21.6.628.22793
56.
HealyD. (2012). Pharmageddon. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
57.
HermanE. S., & ChomskyN. (2002). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. New York, NY: Pantheon.
58.
HornsteinG. A. (2009). Agnes's jacket: A psychologist's search for the meanings of madness. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press.
59.
HorwitzA. V. (2002). Creating mental illness. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
60.
HoutsA. C. (2002). Discovery, invention, and the expansion of the modern Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals of Mental Disorders. In BeutlerL. E. & MalikM. L. (), Rethinking the DSM: A psychological perspective (pp. 17–65). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/10456-002
61.
JacobsD. H., & CohenD. (2010). Does “psychological dysfunction” mean anything? A critical essay on pathology versus agency. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 50, 312–334. doi:10.1177/0022167809352008
62.
JohnstoneL. (2000). Users and abusers of psychiatry: A critical look at psychiatric practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
63.
JohnstoneL., & FrithH. (2005). Discourse analysis and the experience of ECT. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 78, 189–203. doi:10.1348/147608305X26657
64.
JosephJ. (2006). The missing gene: Psychiatry, heredity, and the fruitless search for genes. New York, NY: Algors.
65.
JosephJ. (2011). A human genetics parable. Journal of Mind and Behavior, 32, 209–222.
66.
KaminL. J. (1974). The science and politics of I.Q. Potomac, MD: Erlbaum.
67.
KirkS. A., & KutchinsH. (2008). The selling of DSM: The rhetoric of science in psychiatry. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
68.
KnappT. J. (1997). Behaviorism and public policy: B. F. Skinner's views on gambling. Behavior and Social Issues, 7, 129–139. doi:10.5210/bsi.v7i2.311
69.
KonnerM. (2008). Trauma, adaptation, and resilience: A cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. In KirmayerL. J., LemelsonR., & BaradM. (), Understanding trauma: Integrating biological, clinical, and cultural perspectives (pp. 300–338). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
70.
KrasnerL. (1958). Studies of the conditioning of verbal behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 55, 148–170. doi:10.1037/h0040492
71.
LafranceM. N. (2009). Women and depression: Recovery and resistance. New York, NY: Routledge.
72.
LaingR. D. (1965). The divided self: An existential study in sanity and madness. Oxford, England: Penguin.
73.
LaingR. D., & EstersonA. (1970). Sanity, madness, and the family: Families of schizophrenics. Oxford, England: Pelican.
74.
LeathermanT. L., & GoodmanA. (2005). Coca-colonization of diets in the Yucatan. Social Science & Medicine, 61, 833–846. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.08.047
75.
LeBlanc-DuchinD., & TaukulisH. K. (2007). Chronic oral methylphenidate administration to periadolescent rats yields prolonged impairment of memory for objects. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 88, 312–320. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2007.04.010
76.
MalleB. F. (2004). How the mind explains behavior: Folk explanations, meaning, and social interaction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
77.
MarecekJ., & Hare-MustinR. T. (2009). Clinical psychology: The politics of madness. In FoxD., PrilliltenskyI., & AustinS. (), Critical psychology: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 3–19). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
78.
MayesR., & HorwitzA. (2005). DSM–III and the revolution in the classification of mental illness. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 41, 249–267. doi:10.1002/jhbs.20103
79.
ModrowJ. (2003). How to become a schizophrenic: The case against biological psychiatry (3rd ed.). Lincoln, NE: Writers Club Press.
80.
MoncrieffJ. (2009). The myth of the chemical cure: A critique of psychiatric drug treatment (rev. ed.). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
81.
O'ConnorB. P. (2002). The search for dimensional structure differences between normality and abnormality: A statistical review of published data on personality and psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 962–982. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.4.962
82.
O'DonohueW. T., CallaghanG. M., & RuckstuhlL. E. (1998). Epistemological barriers to radical behaviorism. The Behavior Analyst, 21, 307–320.
83.
OverskeidG. (2008). They should have thought about the consequences: The crisis of cognitivism and a second chance for behavior analysis. The Psychological Record, 58, 131–151.
84.
OyamaS., GriffithsP. E., & GrayR. D. (2001). Cycles of contingency: Developmental systems and evolution. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
85.
PalmerD. C., & DonahoeJ. W. (1992). Essentialism and selectionism in cognitive science and behavior analysis. American Psychologist, 47, 1344–1358. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.11.1344
86.
PandeS. K. (1968). The mystique of “Western” psychotherapy: An Eastern interpretation. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 146, 425–432. doi:10.1097/00005053-196806000-00001
87.
Pérez-ÁlvarezM., & García-MontesJ. (2007). The Charcot effect: The invention of mental illnesses. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 20, 309–336. doi:10.1080/10720530701503843
88.
PilgrimD. (2007). The survival of psychiatric diagnosis. Social Science & Medicine, 65, 536–547. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.03.054
89.
PollayR. W. (1986). The distorted mirror: Reflections on the unintended consequences of advertising. Journal of Marketing, 50, 18–36. doi:10.2307/1251597
90.
PrattI. S., CroagerE. J., & RosenbergM. (2012). The mathematical relationship between dishware size and portion size. Appetite, 58, 299–302. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2011.10.010
91.
PrilleltenskyI. (2012). The what, why, who, and how of globalization: What is psychology to do?Journal of Social Issues, 68, 612–629. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2012.01766.x
92.
ProninE. (2008). How we see ourselves and how we see others. Science, 320, 1177–1180. doi:10.1126/science.1154199
93.
ReithG. (2007). Gambling and the contradictions of consumption; A genealogy of the “pathological” subject. American Behavioral Scientist, 51, 33–55. doi:10.1177/0002764207304856
94.
RichelleM. N. (1993). B. F. Skinner: A reappraisal. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
95.
RogersC. R., & SkinnerB. F. (1956). Some issues concerning the control of human behavior: A symposium. Science, 124, 1057–1066. doi:10.1126/science.124.3231.1057
96.
RommeM. A., & EscherS. (2000). Making sense of voices. London, England: Mind Publications.
97.
RosenhanD. L. (1973). On being sane in insane places. Science, 179, 250–258. doi:10.1126/science.179.4070.250
98.
SaferD. J., ZitoJ. M., & dosReisS. (2003). Concomitant psychotropic medication for youths. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 438–449. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.3.438
99.
SarbinT. R. (1990). Metaphors of unwanted conduct. In LearyD. E. (), Metaphors in the history of psychology (pp. 300–330). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
100.
SarbinT. R., & MancusoJ. C. (1980). Schizophrenia: Medical disease or moral verdict?New York, NY: Pergamon Press.
101.
ScarboroughE., & FurumotoL. (1987). Untold lives: The first generation of American women psychologists. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
102.
ScheffT. J. (2007). Being mentally ill: A sociological theory (3rd ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Albine Transaction.
103.
SchlingerH. D. (2003). The myth of intelligence. The Psychological Record, 53, 15–32.
104.
SchlingerH. D. (2008). The long good-bye: Why B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior is alive and well on the 50th anniversary of its publication. The Psychological Record, 58, 329–337.
105.
SkinnerB. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
106.
SkinnerB. F. (1950). Are theories of learning necessary?Psychological Review, 57, 193–216. doi:10.1037/h0054367
107.
SkinnerB. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York, NY: Free Press.
108.
SkinnerB. F. (1961a). A critique of psychoanalytic concepts and theories. In SkinnerB. F., Cumulative record (pp. 185–194). East Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century Crofts. doi:10.1037/11324-013
109.
SkinnerB. F. (1961b). Psychology in the understanding of mental disease. In SkinnerB. F., Cumulative record (pp. 194–202). East Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century Crofts. doi:10.1037/11324-014
110.
SkinnerB. F. (1961c). What is psychotic behavior? In SkinnerB. F., Cumulative record (pp. 202–219). East Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century Crofts. doi:10.1037/11324-015
111.
SkinnerB. F. (1963). Behaviorism at fifty. Science, 140(3570), 951–958.
112.
SkinnerB. F. (1966). Operant behavior. In HonigW. K. (), Operant behavior: Areas of research and application (pp. 12–32). New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
113.
SkinnerB. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York, NY: Knopf.
114.
SkinnerB. F. (1974). About behaviorism. New York, NY: Knopf.
115.
SkinnerB. F. (1976). Walden two. Oxford, England: Macmillan.
116.
SkinnerB. F. (1978a). Are we free to have a future? In B. F. Skinner's reflections on behaviorism and society (pp. 16–32). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
117.
SkinnerB. F. (1978b). Freedom, at last, from the burden of taxation. In B. F. Skinner's reflections on behaviorism and society (pp. 199–201). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
118.
SkinnerB. F. (1978c). Human behavior and democracy. In B. F. Skinner's reflections on behaviorism and society (pp. 3–15). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
119.
SkinnerB. F. (1978d). The ethics of helping people. In B. F. Skinner's reflections on behaviorism and society (pp. 33–47). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
120.
SkinnerB. F. (1986). What is wrong with daily life in the Western world?American Psychologist, 41, 568–574. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.41.5.568
121.
SkinnerB. F. (1987a). Whatever happened to psychology as the science of behavior?American Psychologist, 42, 780–786. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.42.8.780
122.
SkinnerB. F. (1987b). Why we are not acting to save the world. In B. F. Skinner's upon further reflection (pp. 1–14). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
123.
SkinnerB. F. (1992). Verbal behavior. Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group. doi:10.1037/11256-000 (Original work published 1957)
124.
SkinnerB. F., & VaughanM. E. (1983). Enjoy old age. New York, NY: Warner Books.
125.
SmithL. D. (1992). On prediction and control: B. F. Skinner and the technological ideal of science. American Psychologist, 47, 216–223. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.2.216
126.
StoppardJ. M. (1999). Why new perspectives are needed for understanding depression in women. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 40, 79–90. doi:10.1037/h0086828
127.
StoppardJ. M. (2000). Understanding depression: Feminist social constructionist perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.
128.
SwithersS. E., & DavidsonT. L. (2008). A role for sweet taste: Calorie predictive relations in energy regulation by rats. Behavioral Neuroscience, 122, 161–173. doi:10.1037/0735-7044.122.1.161
129.
SzaszT. S. (1970). The manufacture of madness: A comparative study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. Oxford, England: Harper & Row.
130.
SzaszT. S. (1974). The myth of mental illness: Foundations of a theory of personal conduct. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
131.
TimimiS. (2009). Why diagnosis of ADHD has increased so rapidly in the West: A cultural perspective. In TimimiS. & LeoJ. (), Rethinking ADHD: From brain to culture (pp. 133–159). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
132.
TimimiS. (2010). The McDonaldization of childhood: Children's mental health in neo-liberal market cultures. Transcultural Psychiatry, 47, 686–706. doi:10.1177/1363461510381158
133.
ValensteinE. S. (1998). Blaming the brain: The truth about drugs and mental health. New York, NY: Free Press.
134.
VargasJ. S. (2004). A daughter's retrospective of B. F. Skinner. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 7, 135–140. doi:10.1017/S1138741600004832
135.
WampoldB. E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods, and findings. New York, NY: Routledge.
136.
WansinkB. (2013). Turning mindless eating into healthy eating. In ShafirE. (), The behavioral foundations of public policy (pp. 310–328). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
137.
WattersE. (2010). Crazy like us: The globalization of the American psyche. New York, NY: Simon & Shuster.
138.
WhitakerR. (2010). Anatomy of an epidemic. New York, NY: Crown.
139.
YoungL. R., & NestleM. (2012). Reducing portion sizes to prevent obesity: A call to action. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43, 565–568.
