Behaviorism Overview
Behaviorism is more concerned with behavior than with
thinking, feeling, or knowing. It focuses on the objective
and observable components of behavior. The behaviorist
theories all share some version of stimulus-response mechanisms for
learning. Behaviorism originated with the work of
John B. Watson, an American
psychologist. Watson held the view that psychology
should only concern itself with the study of behavior,
and he was not concerned with the mind or with human
consciousness. He considered it paramount that men
could be studied objectively, like rats and apes.
Watson's work was based on the experiments of Ivan Pavlov,
and classical conditioning.
Nowadays, behaviorism is associated with the name of
B.F. Skinner, who made his
reputation by testing Watson's theories in the
laboratory. Skinner ultimately rejected Watson's
almost exclusive emphasis on reflexes and
conditioning. Skinner believed that people respond to
their environment, but they also operate on the
environment to produce certain consequences. Thus they
partiipate in a feedback loop as an important part of
a larger system.
Skinner developed the theory of "operant conditioning," the
idea that we behave the way we do because this kind of
behavior has had certain consequences in the past.
Presuppositions of behaviorism:
1. Behaviorism is naturalistic. This means that the
material world is the ultimate reality, and everything can
be explained in terms of natural laws. Man has no soul and
no mind, only a brain that responds to external stimuli.
2. A central tenet of behaviorism is that thoughts,
feelings, intentions, and mental processes, do not
determine what we do. Behaviorism views behavior as the
product of conditioning. Humans are biological machines and
do not consciously act; rather they react to stimuli.
3. Consistently, behaviorism teaches that we are not
responsible for our actions. If we are mere machines,
without minds or souls, reacting to stimuli and operating
on our environment to attain certain ends, then anything we
do is inevitable.
4. Behaviorism is manipulative. It seeks not merely to
understand human behavior, but to predict and control it.
From his theories, Skinner developed the idea of "shaping."
By controlling rewards and punishments, you can shape the
behavior of another person.
Other significant behaviorist researchers were Guthrie and Thorndike.
Early behaviorism in retrospect:
Behaviorist theories ultimately have been relegated to mere
historical significance as early attempts to explain
learning, but are generally regarded as failures not so
much because the stimulus-response ideas are inaccurate,
but more because they are insufficient. They could be used
to explain some behavior, but their generality was
extremely limited. Other kinds of explanations were needed.
Skinnerian behaviorism in retrospect:
Skinner stands out in the history of psychology as a great
system-builder.Probably his greatest contribution was his
description of effects of reinforcement on responses. He
related these findings to individuals as well as social
groups.
Learning Theory
Bibliography
(Lefrancois, 1972)
DeMar, G. (n.d.). Behaviorism.Retrieved September 19, 2003,
from
http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0497_DeMar_-_Behaviorism.html
