Theory And Contributions Of John Watson's Behaviorism Theory

John Watson is most noted for founding behaviorism and for his famous “Little Albert” experiment. In Watson’s (1920) experiment he sought to find out if he could condition a small infant. He selected an infant (Albert) for the experiment. As children we are not born with fears or phobias therefore using the child was necessary to prove that fears or phobias could be instilled through conditioning parameters. He first introduced Little Albert to a white rat. Since the baby had not developed a fear for rats he loved it. It made him happy and he wanted to play with it. Unfortunately playing with the rat was not part of the experiment. Soon after introduction, Watson would then use a metal rod to make a loud noise once reintroducing the rat to Albert in subsequent attempts. After several trials of hearing the loud clang from the metal rod the baby would cry once the rat was introduced. This is because the loud clang became associated with the presence of the rat. This is the essence of classical conditioning. The rat

The statement also suggests that it was not only John Watson the founder of behaviorism who proposed the idea rather it was thought about before him. His rise and influence was probably because of introducing the idea at a time when it could be accepted by the time and tide of that period.

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.

William James (1842-1910), James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944), Lightner Witmer (1867-1956), and John B. Watson (1878-1958) were major contributors to the study psychology at this time. James was a pioneer to the development of functional psychology, following the work of Wilhem Wundt (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 131). Cattell was known for his mental tests that were used to measure mental capabilities and intelligence (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 166). These mental test developed into IQ tests determining the intelligence of a person going into the army or being qualified for a job. Witmer began clinical psychology. He developed diagnostic and treatment approaches as they were needed for treating children with hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and poor speech and motor development because he was the first one to do it (Schultz &Schultz, 2012, p. 175). There were no examples for him to follow to see what is wrong or right way to address the needs. Also, Watson became a powerhouse in field of psychology. He had major influences in behaviorism. He provided stern guidelines for child rearing stating that parents should never “hug and kiss them, never let them sit on your lap” (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p.

Psychologists today like John B. Watson who wrote Behaviorism, believe that all human behavior is a result of conditioning. Therefore humans can be taught to act any way the manipulator wants them too. Behaviorism, a school of psychology, founded by John B. Watson, is the concept that all behavior stems from a form of conditioning. This conditioning could be being betrayed and thrown in jail, or having you father murdered. In Watsons’s book Behaviorism, Watson states:

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 goal of this experiment was to show that emotional reactions could be conditioned in people. John exposed the child to a variety of stimuli, such as a monkey, a dog, a white rat, fire, and a mask. The baby showed no fear until John paired the white rat with a loud bagging noise. After this the baby would cry at the site of the rat and other object that looked similar. II.Body Paragraph 3: Contemporaries A.Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalysis in the year 1856 to1939.

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).

It emphasizes on observable behaviors rather than on unconscious inner states. Behaviorist believe that human behaviors are molded by experience and that we are the result of what we have learned from our environment. The behaviorist approach gives two ways as to how people learn from their environment: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is when two stimuli (environmental factors) are linked together to produce a new learned response. Operant conditioning is learning from the consequences of behavior. A lot of the studies in behaviorism consist of controlled experiments as it is believed that behavior can be reduced to learned stimulus-response units. Behaviorism assumes that humans are born with a blank slate and are therefore born equal. They believe that it is environmental factors that make us different as opposed to biological factors. Behaviorist believe that cognitions, emotions, and moods are too subjective and that only observable behaviors should be studied. They believe that any person could be trained to perform any task with the right

The behaviourist perspective is a scientific approach within psychology which claims that we are blank slates at birth and all human behaviour is learnt.Behaviourism was developed by John Watson in America in the early 1900s, (Cullis, T1999). Behaviourists focus on external conditions, learning and experience

Behaviorism is a theoretical perspective of learning that focuses on the observable changes in behavior (Tracey and Morrow, 2012 p.55). Behaviorists believe that learning takes place when knowledge is separated into smaller steps from easier to more complex tasks. Instruction in a behaviorist classroom focuses on conditioning student behaviors and rewarding students when they are successful with feedback and positive reinforcement. Often instruction is direct and repeated until the desired behavior or skill is learned, becomes automatic and is error free. There

“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

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).

“Why don’t we make what can be observed the real field of psychology” (Watson, 1929). Watson (1878-1958) was born into a poor family in South Carolina. His mother was a religious woman, and his father drank a lot and had multiple affairs (Watson, 1999). Watson himself married twice, having two children in each marriage. He didn’t seem to have good relationships with his children – it is said that one of the main reasons for this may be because he used his children throughout his research. He studied in the University of Chicago where he later became known as the founder of Behaviourism. He wrote an essay in 1914 titled “Psychology as the Behaviourist views it” where he stated that behaviourism is an objective experimental branch of natural science (Watson, 1914). Behaviourism is a theory of learning that argues that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning (Carver & Scheier, 2012). Behaviourists believe

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