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John B Watson Behaviourism

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Behaviourism (also called the behaviourist approach) is an approach to psychology and is based on a number on behavioural analysis’ and scientific methodology.
Behaviourism was developed by researchers such as John B Watson. Watson argued that the human brain and the way it works could not be studied because it could not be seen. This meant that the mind could not be documented or analysed and the only part of the mind that could be studied is a person’s actual physical behaviour. This is why behaviourism is only focused on observable behaviour and not on internal things like thinking and emotion. ‘Observable’ in behaviourist terms means something that we can visibly see and judge on our own accord. Watson believed Internal events such as thinking, or emotion, should be explained through behavioural terms, (what you can see), or eliminated altogether.
Behaviourism showed two main ways that somebody was able to learn. One of them being classical conditioning and the other operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a response that wouldn’t naturally come from a person and being paired with …show more content…

Thorndike would put a cat into the box and time how long it took to escape. The cats tried different ways to escape the puzzle box and reach the fish. After a while, the cat would eventually escape. When it had escaped it was put in again, and once more the time it took to escape was noted. After a few goes, the cats would realise that escaping from the cage would mean that they get a treat and therefore, their behaviour and the time it would take them to get out of the box would be quicker. Thorndike then put forward the “Law of effect” which basically meant that any behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated more regularly compared to behaviour that is followed by negatives. This was known as operant

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