John B Watson

This essay will discuss and refer to the behaviorist perspective as well as the psychoanalytic perspective in psychology. John B. Watson founded the behaviorist perspective. Watson observed the relationship between stimulus and response, and established the idea that particular stimuli control everything, from verbal responses to emotional responses. Another important aspect of Watson’s study is the denying of the existence of the mental consciousness. In contrast to the behavioral perspective, the psychoanalytic perspective theorizes that human behavior is influenced strongly by a person’s unconscious thought, impulses and desires. Sigmund Freud fathered the psychoanalytic approach. Freud believed that people’s problems could be cured by

Watson first founded the behavioral approach. This approach emphasizes the study of “overt, observable behavior” (Coon & Mitter, 2012). Watson (1913) believed that psychology could no longer be defined as a study of the conscious mental state and mind processing; instead it should be referred to in terms of responses to stimulus and the formation of habits. It can be observed that both man and animals have the ability to adapt easily to new environments (Watson, 1913). Behavior according to the behaviorist perspective is seen to be a result of one’s environment and various stimuli surrounding it. This suggests that man in fact has no free will, instead, it’s simply his environment that determines his behavior (McLeod, 2007). The behavioral view of human personality can be explained in terms of habits (Dollard & Miller, 1950). Habits are learnt behavior patterns. There are four elements of learning that govern habits - “drive, cue, response and reward” (Dollard & Miller, 1950). A ‘drive’ is any stimuli that can lead a person to doing an action. ‘Cues’ are signals from the environment. These hints (from the environment) ultimately guide responses, so that they are most likely to bring about a reward (Dollard & Miller, 1950). Some behavior traits can be inherited and these fall into the domain of behavioral genetics (Bouchard, 2004; Kalat, 2009). This suggests that a person’s genetic disposition can influence behavior. Behaviorism has a feasible purpose; this is

This most probably will not be a conscious thought. Unresolved issues during development or repressed trauma can be seen as typical contributing factors. It is not necessarily a single experience that causes an effect on the unconscious, but instead repeated traumas (Freud, 1910). These factors don’t always have to be ‘things’ or ‘experiences’; they can simply be triggered from family tragedies or genetic dispositions. This is where the important aspect of ‘repression’ comes into play. Thoughts are suppressed because they are regarded as threatening (even subconsciously). This inner battle ultimately results in the repression of the idea that granted itself to the consciousness. When the idea is repressed from consciousness, it is forgotten (Freud, 1910). However, all the symptoms of this behavior would depart when under hypnosis. Under hypnosis, the patient is able to access their unconscious, remember the situation and make associative connections (Freud, 1910). Anxiety disorders such as phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder are obvious areas where psychoanalysis approach may be successful. The aim of this approach is to recognize the origin of a person’s current anxiety rooted in childhood relationships that are being relived in adulthood. (Svartberg & Stiles,1991). In utilising this technique of psychoanalysis, there are limitations