Behaviorism The Developmental Grand Theory

Behaviorism was the staple of psychology from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. It started as a concept from Pavlov’s famous experiment where he came across the phenomenon of classical conditioning. Unfortunately it wasn’t until much later that the concept of conditioning became a paradigm for psychologists worldwide. Not long after Pavlov’s experiment was published a man named John Watson would soon pioneer a new scientific front in the field of psychology.

Behaviorism is one of the most used theories in education. Due to it can fit in both a classroom setting and at home. Educators had sought out the reason why for many years. But due to each child learns a different way so should the educator. Behaviorism was study by many great Psychologists over the years. Just to name some that had done work and publish books on the subject are, John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, Clark Hull, and B.F. Skinner.

Behaviorism and social learning theory are examples of two mechanistic theories that focus on explaining children’s behavior. Social learning theory emphasizes observational learning and imitation. On the other hand, behaviorism is rooted in focusing on how the environment impacts development. The environment shapes the child’s development as the child strives to adapt to the environment. Both theories deal with explaining behavior and consist of similarities, but are composed of different elements of explaining behavior.

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.

“The consequences of behavior determine the probability that the behavior will occur again,” said B. F. Skinner (Cherry, 2014). This is a quote that greatly affected Skinners experiments and influences in the psychology world. Burrhus Fredrick Skinner or also known as B.F. Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 in Pennsylvania. As a boy, he enjoyed creating and conceiving ideas that later lead to his interests in the psychological realm. He graduated from Hamilton College although not knowing what he wanted to do. Skinner began a career as a writer and author; he then decided to pursue psychology at Harvard University. After graduating from Harvard, he continued to work there for the rest of his career. The experiments he performed

Behaviorists seek to understand how environmental responses and simple actions shape our development and decisions. Behaviorists believe that human behavior is learned. This belief gives behaviorists the second title of learning theorists (Berger, 2008).

The behaviourist perspective believes in nurture and that all behaviour is learnt from environmental influences and experiences, due to this they reject the idea of free-will. They have a strong belief in scientific methodology and that only observable behaviours should be studied as behaviour can be objectively measured using scientific experiments. There are three keys strands of the behaviourist perspective, Classical conditioning, Operant conditioning, and social learning theory.

One of the most influential psychologists of all times is Burrhus Frederic Skinner, also known as B. F. Skinner, who was born on March 20, 1904 in a small town called Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. B. F. Skinner was raised in a warm and wealthy home. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a stay at home mom. In Skinner’s early childhood, it was noted that he and his younger brother, Edward James, liked to build things such as arrows and shack in the woods, to name a few ( ). These construction skills would enable an older Skinner to build the equipment invented for his psychology research. As he grew up, he went through all twelve grades at the same school, graduating with less than eight students. Within these years, he developed an interest in art and literature through drawing and later reading Shakespeare (Dews, 1970).

Behaviourism, also known as the behaviouristic approach is based on several underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioural analysis. Behaviourists believe that psychology should be seen as a science and therefore theories must be proved using controlled experiments whilst observing behaviour. Behaviourism is mainly concerned with observable behaviour rather than internal processes such as emotions. The psychodynamic approach to psychology is in complete contrast to that of the behavioural approach. Psychodynamic theorists look for the causes of behaviour in a dynamic interplay of inner motivational forces that often conflict with one another.

Learning Theory: Behaviorism is constructed upon stimulus-response actions and the way in which things learn from what is around them. It shows how the environment is something that can affect future actions of a being and how people develop habits of thinking and doing. Word Count:

In developmental psychology, researchers describe the physical, emotional, and psychological stages of development while relating the specific issues involved in the stages, which can hinder proper development. Developmental psychology, also described as human development, is the scientific investigation of methodical psychological modifications that take place in humans in excess of the path of the average life span. Originally concerned with infants and young children, the field has extended to include adolescence, adult development, the aging, and the entire life span. This field of study scrutinizes adjustments across an

“Behaviorism is predominantly concerned with evident and measurable aspects of human behavior. In defining behaviour, behaviourist-learning theories emphasise changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response links made by the learner. Behaviour is directed by stimuli. An individual selects one response instead

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

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.