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Early Behaviorism. A non mentalistic view of Psychology. The main founding influences:. Animal psychology's move from mentalism (the Clever Hans phenomenon) Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov (1849-1936) Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) John Broadus Watson (1878-1956). Clever Hans.
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Early Behaviorism A non mentalistic view of Psychology
The main founding influences: • Animal psychology's move from mentalism (the Clever Hans phenomenon) • Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov(1849-1936) • Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) • John Broadus Watson (1878-1956)
An intelligent horse? • Clever Hans was a horse trained by Wilhelm Von Osten, a retired mathematics teacher • It was established that there was no fraud • A grad student, Oskar Pfungst, demonstrated that the horse had been unintentionally conditioned by its owner.
What did the horse learn? • Clever Hans picked up UNCONSCIOUS physical cues people who knew the answer gave, cues to start tapping his hoof, and cues to stop. • Still a pretty clever horse!
Is this how ESP works? • Try this site: How does it work? http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/esp2.html#aleph1
Who influenced Pavlov? • The physiological work of William Beaumont (1785-1853) • An expanded concept of reflex to explain higher functions of thinking, willing, judging -pioneered bySechenov (1829-1905) • The ideas of Descartes (1596-1650) about reflexes
Pavlov’s work: • Work on the digestive system. Nobel price in 1904 • Notices “mental secretions” -anticipated responses of the animals becoming familiar to the setting. • Studied these “mental secretions” -they become what we know as “conditioned reflex”.
Important conceptsPavlov brought us • The whole notion of conditioned reflex • Concepts of generalization, differentiation, excitation, inhibition, higher level conditioning • Concept of experimental neurosis
Conditioned reflex • A neutral stimulus (ex: bell) is associated with an stimulus (ex: food) that creates a reflex response (ex: salivation) • Eventually, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and triggers the response. • This is an EXCITATION type of mechanism Pavlov
Generalization • The subject responds not only to the original conditioned stimulus, but to others that resemble it. • This is an EXCITATION type of mechanism Pavlov
Differentiation • Also called discrimination • Inhibiting PART of the generalization response so that the organism salivates for example to tone 1, and does not salivate to tone 2
Differentiation (2) • The organism learns that food NEVER follows tone 2, so it INHIBITS its conditioned response to it. • This is an INHIBITION mechanism Pavlov
Experimental neurosis • Start with a normal differentiation between, for example two tones. • Make the differentiation more and more refined so that the difference between tone1 and tone2 is smaller and smaller • When the organism can no longer tell the difference between tone1 and tone2, experimental neurosis results (after a time)
Why experimental neurosis? • Because of the conflict between the EXCITATION process and the INHIBITION process. • (Similar conditions can be created with other kinds of conflict: ex: approach-avoidance)
Applications? Main
Pavlov today? • Visit the Pavlov Institute of Physiology in Russia
Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) • Started in animal psychology, studying puzzle boxes • Then applied the principles to human learning
Who influenced Thorndike? • William James (read him, studied under him, James even hosted his chicks) • McKeen Cattell drew him to Columbia where he continued his research • After graduation, applied his research to educational psychology
Puzzle boxes • First random behaviors • Certain connections get stamped in or stamped out depending upon their consequences • The time required to solve the problem decreases as trials progress.
Laws of learning • Law of effect. • An act with produces comfort is more likely to recur when the situation recurs. The opposite is true for an act that produces discomfort • Law of exercise • The more often a response is used in a situation, the stronger the connection
More about Thorndike • A Thorndike site: • http://www.psy.pdx.edu/PsiCafe/KeyTheorists/Thorndike.htm
Thorndike's timeline • 1874 The birth of Edward Lee Thorndike • 1897 Applied for graduate program at Columbia University • 1898 Awarded his doctorate • 1899 Instructor in Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia • 1905 Formalized the Law of Effect • 1911 Published "Animal Intelligence" • 1912 Elected President of American Psychological Association • 1917 One of the first psychologist admitted to the National Academy of Sciences • 1921 Ranked #1 as an American Men of Science. • 1934 Elected President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science • 1939 Retired • 1949 Thorndike died
Who influenced Watson? • Reacts against Wundt and James -and their followers such as John Dewey-- though he studied at the U. of Chicago • Infuenced by Loeb (tropisms) and Henry Donaldson (white rat neurology) -studied the myelinization of white rat nervous system & consequent changes in the complexity of their behavior. • Pavlov
Watson's career • Started at the U. of Chicago • Then went to John Hopkins for the next 12 years (1908-1920) • Was fired because of an affair w/ Rosemarie Rayner (married her later) • Went into advertising and did very well there
Watson’s main contributions • Official founder of behaviorism as an independent and valid approach to psychology • Is a radical behaviorist • Introduces the notion of conditioned emotional response (little Albert) • Peter (Mary Cover Jones): precursor to behavioral therapy • Three emotions: fear, rage, love -all emotional life built on those • Applies this to advertising