Origins of Behaviorism Essay - 1714 Words

Origins of Behaviorism Behaviourism originated with the work of John B. Watson from 1913. Behaviourism is based on the following sets of claims: (1) Psychology is the study of behaviour. Psychology is not the science of mind. This statement also forms a type of behaviourism: â€Å"Methodological† behaviourism claims that psychology†¦show more content†¦Later, he turned to the study of human behaviors and emotions. Until World War I, he collaborated his studies with Adolph Meyer. After the war he resumed his work at Johns Hopkins University. He wanted to develop techniques to allow him to condition and control the emotions of human subjects. Watson made the notorious claim that, given a dozen healthy infants; he could determine the adult personalities of each one, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and the race of his ancestors. While making such a claim seems ridiculous today, at the time, many people found it threatening. (2) Behaviour can be described and explained without making reference to mental events or too internal psychological processes. The sources of behaviour are external (in the environment), not internal (the mind). This is a research program within psychology, called â€Å"Psychological† behaviourism. It purports to explain human and animal behaviour in terms of external physical stimuli, responses, learning histories and reinforcements. Psychological behaviourism’s historical roots consist, in part, in the classical associations of the British Empiricists (John Locke and David Hume) according to classical associationism, intelligent behaviour is the product of associative learning. As a result of associations or pairings between perceptual experiences or stimulations on theShow MoreRelatedBehaviorism And The First American Psychological Revolution963 Words   |  4 PagesBehaviorism Behaviorism has been a topic of many controversies in the early stages of developing. This paper will present a synthesis of several articles discussing behaviorisms and its development through various schools of theories, in addition known researchers and conclusions. The first article that illustrates behaviorism is, â€Å"Behaviorism at 100† by Ledoux (2012), which details the last 50 years of the study of behaviorism. The next article is â€Å"Behaviorism† by Moore (2011), maps the beginningRead MoreAnalysis Of Body And Mind Essay835 Words   |  4 PagesProblem†, which is an effort to understand what human mental states are and how they relate to our physical bodies: 1) Mind-Body Dualism asserts that the mind is nonphysical with private states while the body is physical with public states; 2) Behaviorism tries to resolve the problem by observing human behavior and relating that to mental thoughts and states; 3) Mind-Brain Identity asserts that the mi nd is the brain and that mental states are neurological; 4) Functionalism describes mental statesRead MoreThe Philosophers Who Contrubuted to the Development of Behaviorism891 Words   |  4 PagesBehaviorism has its roots as far back as the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates (460-377 BCE), known as the father of medicine, developed humorism consisting of four humors that corresponded with four temperaments. Physicians and philosophers used this model with its four temperaments for many long years. Socrates (469-339 BCE), Plato (427-347 BCE), and Aristotle (385-322 BCE) are often spoken of together due to the unique relationship they shared. Aristotle was the student of Plato, who was intern theRead MoreA Research Study On Learning Theory Essay979 Words   |  4 PagesHowever, the exact origins of the instructional design process can be introduced as an application attempt to general systems theory for an approach to accomplish learning tasks and solving instructional problems (Reiser Dempsey, 2012, p. 8). Some other models are basically based in behaviorism, although behaviorism is frequently referred to as a B. F. Skinner and stimulus-response theoretical model. The Burton, Moore, and Magliaro (1996) model was widely defined as behaviorism with philosophicalRead MoreThe Theory of Behaviorism900 Words   |  4 Pagesmental and emotional processes† (Press, 2013). In retort to this theory behaviorism came about. Behaviorism is predominantly concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior. In other words behaviorism does not look at the biological aspects but it suggests that all behaviors are learned habits and changes in response to the environment. It endeavors to explain how these particular habits are formed. Behaviorism claimed that the causes of behavior was not necessarily found in the complexitiesRead MoreCompetency Based Education Has Changed Throughout The Last Decade1579 Words   |  7 Pagesexploration of its origins, theoretical basis, and empiric al evidence by Anne Mette Morcke, Tim Dornan, and Berit Eika. This article helped me understand the effects, and history of competency-based learning. In this paper I will summarize the thoughts of Morcke et al, explain my point of view, and provide evidence on how this method can be useful in a high school setting. Outcome (competency) based education article summary Morcke, Dornan and Eika, composed an article about the origins, theoreticalRead MoreBiological Psychology1169 Words   |  5 Pagesis also known as behavioral neuroscience, got its start in the later part of the 19th century, (Kowalski, R. amp; Western, D. 2009). A psychology enthusiast by the name of William James became interested in biology after reading Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. James questioned Darwin’s theories and tested each presumption. The performance of doing so resulted in the formal school of biological psychology. James studied the possibility of a psyche that dealt with our perception of life as wellRead MoreHumanistic Psychology Essay1631 Words   |  7 Pagestherapy, education of student-centered learning, organizations, and other group settings. Even though psychoanalysis and behaviorism have made major contributions to psychology, it has influenced the understanding and practices of the humanistic movement, specifically with the therapies for the different mental disorders. Psychoanalysis understands the unconscious behavior, behaviorism focuses on the conditioning process that produces behavior. Humanistic psychology focuses on the persons potential toRead MoreThe Four Paradigms Of The Four Major Paradigms Of Psychology968 Words   |  4 Pagespersonality and the evolution of humanity. Four Paradigms of Psychology NATURE-Psycho-analytic/dynamic-Social-Cognitive-Behavioral-Humanism-NURTURE Psycho-analytic/dynamic Theory1 There are several theories of personality, each of which owes its origin to Sigmund Freud (Rathus, 2015). Every theory teaches that personality is primarily characterized by internal or external conflicts. Certain drives like sex, aggression, and the need for superiority come into conflict with laws, social rules, andRead MoreThe Diverse Nature Of Psychology1200 Words   |  5 PagesExamples of two psychology sub-disciplines are cognitive and behaviorism psychology. Notably, behaviorism has its origin from the learning theory whereby it utilizes certain concepts such as classical and operant conditioning. On the other hand, cognitive psychology encompasses the scientific investigation of various mental processes namely decision making, judgment, problem solving, attention, perception, and memory (Plante, 2011). Behaviorism Psychology In principle, the behaviorist perspective’s foundation