Behavioral and Social/Cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits Essay

During the 20th century, the practice of American psychology became an evolutionary process as theories, practices and applications developed, slowly changing the behaviorist approach; behaviorism is considered as one tactic among many approaches to understanding the mind and human behavior (Schultz & Schultz, 2012). The first stage of behaviorism developed through the work of John B. Watson, who believed that human behavior was a result of specific stimuli which then evoked a response (Schultz & Schultz, 2012). The next phase of neobehavior was fostered through the work of B. F. Skinner who believed that the foundation of psychology was a study of learning, and that behavior was explained through conditioning (Schultz & Schultz, 2012). The third period of behaviorism promoted by Alfred Bandura is neo-neobehaviorism which emphasizes cognitive processes and the observation of behavior (Schultz & Schultz, 2012).

Through the use of this model, Skinner was able to develop a more comprehensive view of conditioning which is now known as operate conditioning. Operate conditioning is rewarding a desired behavior. Skinner performed much research on this new form of conditioning and arrived at the conclusion that both animals and humans would repeat actions which led to favorable outcomes as well as suppress those that produced an unfavorable outcome.

1. McMillan demonstrates that the only way to fix the American eating habits is to consider the issue of social classes when discussing about the best eating habits that promotes health and fitness.

The study that John Watson is best known for was that of Little Albert. In this study, Watson and his assistant placed an infant, baby Albert, in a room along with a white rat. At first, Albert attempted to reach out toward the rat as it moved around him however soon after Watson slammed together two steel pipes creating a noise loud enough to scare Albert. After this initial scare, the pipes were hit together each time Albert would reach for the rat eventually resulting in his complete fear of the rat and anything that resembled it (Watson & Rayner, 1920). It was in this study that Watson was using a strategy of conditioning that would pair Albert with an unconditioned stimulus and then conditioning him to become fearful of this stimulus. Do to his research in the field, Watson became known as the founder of behaviorism.

"One of the most famous examples of classical conditioning was John B. Watson 's experiment in which a fear response was conditioned in a young boy known as Little Albert. The child initially showed no fear of a white rat, but after the presentation of the rat was paired repeatedly with loud, scary sounds, the child would cry when the rat was present. The child 's fear also generalized to other fuzzy white objects". Classical conditioning is able to be used to intensify the quantity of someone 's conduct, while it can also lessen how they act. If all the models were to be used depending on the situations then all behaviors can be learned.

What is Watson’s Classical Conditioning? Classical Conditioning was found by Dr. Ivan Pavlov. Watson’s research was influenced by Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory. Watson made a research on children’s emotions using the Classical Conditioning model. According to Watson, love, fear, and anger are the three kinds of emotions inherited by humans (Hall 1988). He believed these emotions could be learned through conditioning. He formed his hypothesis and carried out an experiment. John B. Watson’s classical condition experiment was on a child named Little Albert. This experiment was while a child was playing with a rabbit, smashing two bars to make a loud noise behind the child’s head. After hearing the loud noise the child

In On Habit, Alain de Botton writes about how people become habituated and believe there is nothing left to see or learn about the certain location they are in. In this essay, Botton discovers an attitude to approach places we think we already know, and no longer find interest in. This mindset is intended for the environment you are in, but can also be apply to styles of reading and writing.

Classical Conditioning. Due to Pavlov’s success, Watson was inclined to do his own experimentation. His most famous, yet controversial, being on “Little Albert.” “Albert” was a child conditioned by Watson to be afraid of rats. Essentially, Watson would create a loud, banging noise. This would eventually lead to the fear of not just rats, but all fuzzy animals (John Watson - Little Albert, 2008).

We tend to think of habits as bad (smoking, cussing, biting your fingernails) but they can also be good (walking the dog, oatmeal for breakfast, a weekly date with your spouse). THE POWER OF HABIT shows how easily habits form. They rely on three simple things–a cue, a routine, and a reward–and don’t take long to stick. Our brains love habits. They allow us to be efficient. They help us do things like drive a car without constant self-monitoring. Once we learn where the brake pedal is and how hard to press the

Simply defined, a habit is the routine of behavior that you have repeated regularly for a long time such that nowadays it occurs subconsciously. From a psychology point of view, a habit can be defined as a less or more fixed way of thinking, feeling, willing that you have acquired from previous repetitions of mental experiences.

What is a habit? A habit is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Every person has a habit. From small, non dangerous, habits like biting nails or high pitched laughing, to dangerous ones such as smoking, drinking, and reckless behavior. Habits can go un-noticed by people because they vary in seriousness. Breaking habits varies greatly. It can be as simple as not doing something in the morning, to stopping drugs and alcohol.

We are creatures of habit. Whether they are good or bad, habits shape our actions and help us get through our days. As Charles Duhigg describes in his book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, habits “emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort.” They are routines that automate parts of our behavior. Habits can be so firmly ingrained into our neural networks that we aren’t actually conscious of them, and we don’t need to put much thought to follow through them.

Because behaviorism and social cognitive theory both examine changes in behavior. Social cognitive theory has its historical roots in behaviorism, but, as the name implies, it has evolved over the years into a more cognitive perspective (Kim & Baylor, 2006). Even today, many authors continue to include aspects of social cognitive theory in books focusing on behavioral principles (Baldwin & Baldwin, 2001). In addition, behaviorism and social cognitive theory are similar in three ways: They focus on experience as an important cause of learning (and an important principle of cognitive theory is that learning and development depend on learners’ experience). They include the concepts of reinforcement and punishment in their explanations of learning. They target feedback as an important aspect of the learning process. Three important differences exist between the two, however. First, they define learning differently, and second, social cognitive theory emphasizes the role of cognitive processes beliefs, perceptions, and expectations in learning. Third, social cognitive theory suggests that the environment, personal factors, and behavior are interdependent, a concept called reciprocal causation.

This essay examines how Behaviorism and Social Cognitive theories are applied to everyday learning experiences. Behaviorism suggest that human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior patterns. The basic tenets of Behaviorism are as follows: all behavior is learned from the environment and rejects the idea that people have free will to do what they want. Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion, all behavior, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus – response association). Social cognitive theory is the view that people learn by watching others. The basic tenets of the Social Cognitive theory are as follows: Response consequences (such as rewards or punishments) influence the likelihood that a person will perform a particular behavior again in a given situation, humans can learn by observing others, in addition to learning by participating in an act personally. Learning by observing others is called vicarious learning, and individuals are most likely to model behavior observed by others they identify with. Identification with others is a function of the degree to which a person is perceived to be similar to one 's self, in addition to

11. Habit (n) – a tendency to repeat an act again and again; a behavior pattern that has a degree of automatism.