Behaviorism : A Psychological Approach

Behaviorism is an approach concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviors, which also states that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment around the individual.

Behaviourism is a psychological approach that emphasis on environmental factors influencing observable human behaviour. This approach consists of two main processes: Classical conditioning which means learning things by associating them with something e.g. if you ate Chinese food before and it made you feel queasy and unwell then the next time you see Chinese food you will associate it to that experience you had before. Operant conditioning which means learning things by positive and negative reinforcement and association e.g. when you do well in school and your parents buy you the game you’ve always wanted (positive reinforcement).

Behaviorism is a theory that is driven off conditioning or repetition of something. The behaviorism theory might be a good theory for the younger grades because they are still trainable per se. Even though this theory might be great for children in the younger grades that react well to color charts and behavior chart it might have the opposite effect on children that have disorders or mental disabilities as these children do not react well to with just repetition and conditioning. In reading the article “My way or the Highway: Beyond Behaviorism” I found some very eye opening things that show how applying this theory alone is unsuccessful, but when applied with other theories it can be beneficial. Let us take a closer look.

According to McLeod (2017), behaviourism is an approach in psychology that focuses on scientific testing and investigating how environmental interactions cause all human behaviour to be learnt. Behaviourists do not focus on covert behaviour, such as feelings or thoughts, as they cannot be scientifically

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, “Behaviorism at 100” by Ledoux (2012), which details the last 50 years of the study of behaviorism. The next article is “Behaviorism” by Moore (2011), maps the beginning of behaviorism with B.F.Skinner and addressing functionalism and structuralism. The article named “Psychology as the behaviorist views it”, written by Watson (1913) put his emphasis the aspects of psychology and how behaviorist view introspection. Green (2009) article “Darwinian Theory functionalism and the First American psychological revolution”, is very adamant to have is readers to know that functionalism was the foundation that behaviorism was built. Clark (2004) article “The classical origins of Pavlov’s conditioning”, give insight into classical conditioning abroad and in the United States. The last article named “Little Albert’s alleged neurological impairment” written by Digdon , Powell and Harris (2014), focus on ethical concerns and that may have been overlooked. The synthesis paper will provide behaviorism and conclusions that can draw overall messages from the articles mentioned above.

Behaviorism is the scientific approach to psychology that is distinguished by logical-theoretical emphasis as is seeks to develop reasons for behavior (Moore, 2013). The theory of Behaviorism was developed by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. Uniquely, this theory states that personality is plastic and can be shaped by the environment or situational influences. Another difference from previous thoughts is

* Behaviorism: The school of psychology that views observable, measureable behavior and emphasizes the key role of the environment as a determinant of a behavior.

Behaviorism is “the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes” (Myers, 2011, p. 6). John Watson believed that science is based upon observation. Therefore, Watson developed behaviorism based upon the idea that while you cannot observe a feeling or thought of a person, you can observe their reactions

Behaviourism is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviours are attained through conditioning. Behaviourists believe conditioning occurs when we interact with the environment and that the environment we are in determines the way we respond to a stimulus. The behaviourist approach believes we learn behaviours through association between response and consequence. For instance, by touching a hot iron you will feel pain. Therefore, we learn from this, and know not to touch a hot iron as we associate feeling pain as a consequence of this action. There are two forms of conditioning within the behaviourist approach; classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Behaviourists believe that individuals are born without built-in mental content, known as a ‘blank slate’ and that all behaviours arise from experience or perception.

According to Eggen and Kauchak (2012) behaviorism is a theory that explains learning in terms of observable behaviors and how they’re influenced by stimuli from the environment. It defines learning as a relatively enduring change in observable behavior that occurs as a result of experience (Schunk,

Behaviorism has been credited with providing clear predictions that can be scientifically tested and yield explanations that can be supported by evidence. For instance, in the application of Applied Behavioral Analysis in improving clients’ behaviors, the functions of individuals problematic behaviors can be evaluated and modified using behavior change principles including reinforcement. Similarly, behaviorism emphasizes the objective measurement of behaviors through providing clear and conceptual definitions, and its therapy is applicable to real life situations as in the case of anxiety. Conversely, studies incorporated into behaviorism allow for appropriate comparisons between animals and humans as in the Case of Watson’s, Thorndike’s and Pavlov’s studies respectively.

Behaviorism is the point of view where learning and behavior are described and explained in terms

The term behaviorism referred to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the proposition that all things which organisms do — including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors (Staddon, 2001) . And this behavior could be researched scientifically . According to Pavlov, "Respondent Conditioning” resulted from the association of two stimuli, such as causing dogs to salivate at the sound a tuning fork. Consequently, Skinner developed “Operant Conditioning” where the “Stimulus-Response” association was elicited through selective reinforcement (rewards or punishments) to shape behavior. In this regard, behaviorism assumed that a learner was a passive recipient and responding to environmental stimuli. When applying the tenets of Behaviorism to teaching, Skinner asserted that the learner started off as a blank slate, and then his behavior was shaped via positive or negative reinforcement. Behaviorist

A significant piece of several psychological theories in the late nineteenth century was introspection, which is “the examination or observation of one's own mental 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 complexities of the mind but could be observed in one’s immediate environment, from stimuli that produced, reinforced, and punished certain responses also known later on as conditioning. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that the scientist began to discover the actual systems to learning, thereby laying a foundation for behaviorism. A theorist by the name of Ivan Pavlov was a major contribution to the discovering of significant behavioral theories.

My psychologist has produced a very accurate analysis of myself. It captured the thing that drives a great deal of my behavior. It influences my actions subconsciously and helps get me be the terrific person that I am today. My assessment shows how generous I am. I give freely of my time and my possessions, and no jobs are too big for me to help with sharing comes naturally for me. My assessment also shows my behavior reveals that I’m a loving individual. I always want the best for people and depart out of my way to do little special things for them by nature I am a giver. I choose behaviorism theory because I’m more intimate with this theory, it’s the most theory that I will have to deal with more when I began the job that I am