Behaviorism And Behaviorism Theories Of Psychology Essay

Cognitive psychology began around 19th century. Different approaches have been used to trace the roots of psychology. It is also known that cognitive psychology was out numbered by behaviorism but later revived, bringing into being cognitive revolution. The paper discusses cognitive revolution in the history of cognitive psychology as the most influential part in the practice of modern psychology.

In this essay I am going to explore two of the major approaches to Psychology, Cognitive theories and Behaviourist theories. I will discuss in some detail the two approaches, state how they compare and illustrate the similarities and the differences between them. John Watson, one of the founders of Behaviourism, based his theories on the principles of learning outlined by Pavlov who suggested the theory known as Classical Conditioning; he trained dogs to salivate whenever he rang a bell. Dogs have a natural reflex response to salivate when they see food, Pavlov rang a bell when the dogs were given food and after several repetitions of this action, the dogs began to salivate whenever they heard the bell, even when there was not

Cognitive Psychology draws the comparison between the human mind and a computer, suggesting that we like the computer process the information we acquire from around us and then react accordingly. Hearnshaw, (1987), claims that Cognitive Psychology is both one of the oldest and also one of the newest parts of Psychology, cited in ?T. Malim?, (1994). Information is collected through our senses i.e. vision, touch, smell etc and then processed through our

The changes in how different psychological processes were identified and understood in the 1950s and 1960s is what many refer to as the “cognitive revolution.” The introduction of research in problems that have already been met - for instance, studying problems of memory and decision making - led to the new approach of theorizing. The cognitive revolution focused on just a couple of key concepts. One idea that stemmed during the cognitive revolution is that the science of psychology cannot direct study the mental world. Another idea that grew during the cognitive revolution was that in order to understand behavior, the science of psychology has to study the mental world (Cognition, pg. 8).

Cognitive psychology is a pure science based mainly on laboratory experiments and began to revolutionize psychology in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s and became the dominant approach in psychology by the late 1970’s [ (McLeod, 2007) ] according to Saul McLeod. An example of the cognitive perspective would be when one learns to take blood pressure. First you must learn how to manipulate the blood pressure manometer, learn how to hear blood pressure sounds and understand the meaning of the sounds. As each time you practice these activity, you will gain more confidence and competence in performing the task. The strong point of this perspective is that it mostly uses rigorous scientific methods and the approach has had many practical applications. The weakness of this perspective is that it is to simplistic. It ignores the complexity of the human function, biological influences of the human function and it ignores the emotions, conscious experience and free will.

The Behaviorist and Cognitive Approaches to Psychology In this essay I am going to explore two of the major approaches to Psychology, Cognitive theories and Behaviorist theories. I will discuss in some detail the two approaches, state how they compare and illustrate the similarities and the differences between them. John Watson, one of the founders of Behaviorism, based his theories on the principles of learning outlined by Pavlov who suggested the theory known as Classical Conditioning; he trained dogs to salivate whenever he rang a bell. Dogs have a natural reflex response to salivate when they see food, Pavlov rang a bell when the dogs were given food and after several repetitions of this

Many ideas were shared between Watson, Tolman, and Skinner who all played a role in the forming of behaviorism. They did, however, differ on some of their beliefs as well as their methods of study. At this time, methods of studying psychology as well as psychology in general were in the developing stages. Watson was largely credited with the foundation of behaviorism, however, he was by no means the only one to make contributions. There has been some debate as to whether Watson’s contributions were enough to make him the “founder of behaviorism.” It is important to examine contributions from several of the early

History and Systems of Psychology is a course requirement offered to Psychology majors and minors. This course is used to provide majors and minors with the foundation and the evolution of the field of psychology. Within this class, many scholars of discussed. Two scholars that stood out to me in this course would be John Watson and Max Wertheimer. These two particular scholars are responsible for two of the most influential and famous schools of thought, behaviorism and Gestalt psychology. These two schools of thought are responsible for changing the field of psychology and introducing the field to new theories and ways of thinking. Although the two schools of thought are similar in being influential but they are different in many ways. The two schools of thought are even said to be contradictory of one another and one is even said to be the cause of the fading out of the other.

The cognitive theory also believes in learning from prior experiences. They believe prior experiences, knowledge, and expectations are key to learning (Learnativity, 2002). The cognitive theory has a great way of thinking. Many self-help books have been written on the cognitive point-of-view. They believe that by changing our thoughts we can change our mood, decrease our anxiety, or improve our relationships. By thinking more positively we can easily quit smoking, make more friends, enjoy our job, pretty much do anything we set our mind to. Their basic premise is, if we perceive the glass as half full rather than half empty, the world will look much brighter. And in a

Cognitive psychology is the scientific investigation of human cognition, that is, all our mental abilities – perceiving, learning, remembering, thinking, reasoning, and understanding. The term “cognition” stems from the Latin word “

Psychologists have been focused on observing and understanding human behavior for centuries, dating back to the Greek philosophers when psychology and philosophy were considered one.Today, Psychology is the study of human behavior, beginning before birth and lasting until death. It is clear that the observance human behavior is a vast and profound source of data for psychologists. Early philosophers relied on methods of observation and logic. A physiologist named Wilhelm Wundt in the 1800’s began using scientific research methods in his study of mental processes. However, the situation was totally different in the beginning of 20th century when psychology still struggled to be regarded as a separate discipline with practical value(Mastering,2011). Psychologists had only begun to be accepted as a science. It was John B. Watson who established the school of Behaviorism and inspired many other psychologists to study patterns of human behavior and their mechanisms. Watson 's contribution to psychology is important not to underestimate; he studied animal and human behavior to come up with a methodology that would give Psychology a respected status among other scientific disciplines. This essay will focus on the biography and works of John B. Watson with a purpose to show why his works are important for Psychology today(Hergenhahn & Henley, 2013).

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.

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.

“Cognitive psychology is a modern approach to the study of [processes by which people come to understand the world- such processes as memory, learning, comprehending language, problem solving, and creativity. Cognitive psychology has been influenced by developments in language, computer science, and of course, earlier work in philosophy and psychology” – Hayes (cited by Lundin)

Behaviorists observe behavior on the outside, however a cognitive psychologist researches behavior as a whole. Cognitive psychologists go into a person’s head and try to understand why a certain behavior takes place. There are a couple of different ways to research to test out theories. Descriptive, relational and experimental researches are the main ones that are used for testing. Descriptive research focuses on the description of the behavior through a person and is usually done by case studies or self reports. Relational research is about the associations in behavior. Cognitive psychologies use this more than descriptive research as it provides more information. In this research about two or more than two worlds are examined in depth and from there a relationship is determined. From there a psychologist will determine if this relationship is valid and if it’s reliable. The last one is experimental and for me this is the more exciting one. This is the research where psychologists can put their theories to a test. This research helps psychologists understand and see that what they are thinking is true or not, can it be used or