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Laurie Taylor's falling in and out of love with behaviourism makes a good story. But his recollection of Birkbeck is rather different to mine. I graduated there in 1961 and stayed for a PhD, getting to know the small department of psychology, with fewer than 10 members of staff, very well. One, Harry Hurwitz, ran the operant conditioning laboratory to which Laurie was taken. I don't think any of the others could possibly be described as a behaviourist. I never heard anyone call themselves a "behavioural scientist".

For my part, I remain very grateful for the humane, eclectic and undogmatic psychology I got at Birkbeck.

John Radford, Emeritus professor of psychology, University of East London.