John B. Watson's Theory Of Behaviorism

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Dictionary.com defines Behaviorism as, "the theory or doctrine that human or animal psychology can be accurately studied only through the examination and analysis of objectively observable behavioral events, in contrast with subjective mental states" (Definition). Behaviorism was first proposed as behaviorism by John B. Watson in 1913. Prior to Watson there was a gentleman by the name of Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov was successful in his discovery of classical conditioning. It was Pavlov's success that paved the way for Watson's inspiration. Watson's entire view was that in psychology the whole focus should be taken off of a person's conscious and off a person's interpretation of their mental state and that focus should be shifted to one where a person's
This can be seen by simply moving geographical locations. If someone is born in a cold, northern state and at 15 years old moves to a warm, southern state at first the heat is going to be almost unbearable because it's something that person isn't used to. 5 years pass and now the heat doesn't seem like anything but that same person returns to their cold, northern state during the winter months and they will have nowhere near the tolerance they once had because their environment has changed. They adapted to their environment. This same scenario can be altered to account for people's behaviors as well. Watson believed that, "certain stimuli lead the organisms to make responses" (Hauser, L). So, not only did he think that our environment causes us to adjust but he also believed that being exposed to certain things would likely cause a reaction from the organism having the
It would now be understood that "behavior is the result of stimulus-response. All behavior, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus-response association" (McLeod, S.A). We act certain ways based on the stimulus we receive and these behaviors can be objectively observed to conclude on how to approach and treat mental ailments people suffer from. After Watson, B.F. Skinner continued to work on behaviorism and the theory of until his last published book in 1971. Because of the evolution and expansion Skinner made, Behaviorism is still actively used in the psychology world

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