Behaviourism

What is behaviourism ?

Psychological behaviourism is a form of behaviourism - a major theory within psychology which holds that behaviours are learned through positive and negative reinforcements.

Behaviourism was first developed by John B. Watson (1912), who coined the term "behaviourism," and then B.F. Skinner who developed what is known as "radical behaviourism."

The History of Behaviorism

▪ Pavlov (1897) published the results of an experiment on conditioning after originally studying digestion in dogs.

▪ Watson (1913) launches the behavioural school of psychology (classical conditioning), publishing an article, "Psychology as the Behaviourist Views It".

▪ Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned an orphan called Albert B (aka Little Albert) to fear a white rat.

▪ Thorndike (1905) formalized the "Law of Effect".

▪ Skinner (1936) wrote "The Behavior of Organisms" and introduced the concepts of operant conditioning and shaping.

▪ Clark Hull’s (1943) Principles of Behavior was published.

▪ B.F. Skinner (1948) published Walden Two, in which he described a utopian society founded upon behaviorist principles.

▪ Bandura (1963) publishes a book called the "Social Leaning Theory and Personality development" which combines both cognitive and behavioral frameworks.

▪ Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (begun in 1958).

▪ B.F. Skinner (1971) published his book, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, where he argues that free will is an illusion.

Behaviourist Approach

Behaviorism (also called the behaviorist approach) was the primary paradigm in psychology between 1920 to 1950, and is based on a number of underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioral analysis:


1. All behavior is learnt from the environment:
Thus, people have no free will – a person’s environment determines their behavior. We learn new behavior through classical or operant conditioning.Therefore, when born our mind is 'tabula rasa' (a blank slate).


2. Psychology should be seen as a science:
Theories need to be supported by empirical data obtained through careful and controlled observation and measurement of behavior. Watson (1913) stated that: 'Psychology as a behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is … prediction and control.'


3. Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion:
Observable (i.e. external) behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured. Internal events, such as thinking should be explained through behavioral terms (or eliminated altogether).


4. There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals: Therefore, research can be carried out on animals as well as humans (i.e.comparative psychology).


5. Behavior is the result of stimulus – response:
All behavior, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus – response association). Watson described the purpose of psychology as: 'To predict, given the stimulus, what reaction will take place; or, given the reaction, state what the situation or stimulus is that has caused the reaction.'

Behaviourism Summary

Reference - Help taken from Wikipedia