Mentalism explains behavior through assumptions about the existence of inner and mental faculties as the root cause of a behavior.  The key component to mentalism is that it attempts to explain the cause of behavior through assumption-based concepts, as opposed to the concepts of private events which are outlined in radical behaviorism.

Forms of mentalism

Hypothetical construct:  This is a theory based on an unobserved process of thought containing various conceptual elements, typically they are subjective and not based on empirical evidence. Examples of this are free-will , self-esteem, pride, dedication, and intelligence. Each of these concepts could be used as causes of behavior, but we would be relying on hypothetical constructs to explain the behavior.

Example: Intuition

Explanatory fiction: This  is a fictitious or hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain.  It contributes nothing to functional relationships.  Terms such as “intelligence” or “cognitive awareness” are explanations for behavior that are not observable and measurable.  For example, an explanation of “the use of intelligence led to…” does not assist in the “why” an organism pushes the lever when the light is on and food is available but does not push the lever when the light is off and no food is available.

Example:    Zoe gets great grades on her assignments at school because she’s so intelligent.

Circular reasoning: This concept  uses the effect of behavior to explain the cause, but also uses the cause of the behavior to explain the effect. For example: he is smart because he did the behavior. He did the behavior because he is smart.

Example: John is a good man because he follows his intuition.  I can tell John follows his intuition because he is a good man