Behaviorism

Final Paper

PSY331

The study of psychology experienced dramatic changes at the beginning of the twentieth century, when the theory of behaviorism, was made known, and then became widely accepted. Behaviorists rejected the idea of the unconscious,and conscious mind, and became determined that psychology, be based off finding obtained through scientific observations.(Kirsch, I. 2004)

Behaviorism was founded by John B. Watson. He formulated these theories based on the belief that people's actions can be measured, trained, and even changed. In 1913, Watson published a paper entitled, “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It”.( Blanchette, I. 2006) Watson introduced the world to this way of thinking, but it’s wide acceptance can also be credited to Ivan Pavlov, from Russia and Edward L. Thorndike from the United States.

Watson believed that the behaviors we exhibit, are the direct result of conditioning. He theorized that a person’s conditioning is built through the interactions they experience in their environment, their reaction to an experience, and how the experience shapes their future behaviors. (Blanchette, I. 2006)

He taught that a person’s behavior, can be studied through the observation of an individual. He believed this should be done without consideration of the person’s mental state. He felt that internal states, were too subjective to include, due to their subjectivity. (Kirsch, I. 2004)

There are two major types of conditioning. They are called Classical Conditioning, and

Operant Conditioning, and a third slightly altered theory called Neobehaviorism. (Brian, D. T., & Randi, P. G. 1999)

Classic Conditioning

Classic Conditioning is the behaviorist theory discovered by Ivan Pavlov. Classical Conditioning refers to a learned process that can occurs between an environmental stimulus, and a naturally occurring stimulus. The subject is conditioned, when a neutral signal, is placed,...