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History of Psychology

History of Psychology. Chapter 10 Behaviorism: The Beginnings. A. Watson’s life 1. Rebel personality 2. Mother: wishes him to be a minister Father: drank heavily. I. John B. Watson (1878-1958). John B. Watson (1878-1958). 3. 1900: U. of Chicago

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History of Psychology

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  1. History of Psychology Chapter 10 Behaviorism: The Beginnings

  2. A. Watson’s life 1. Rebel personality 2. Mother: wishes him to be a minister Father: drank heavily I. John B. Watson (1878-1958)

  3. John B. Watson (1878-1958) • 3. 1900: U. of Chicago • a. studied philosophy with Dewey • b. attracted to psychology through work with Angell • c. studied biology and physiology with Loeb • d. 1903: youngest Ph.D. from Chicago (at his age of 25)

  4. John B. Watson (1878-1958) • 4. Dissertation on “neurological and psychological maturation of the white rat” • 5. 1903-1908: faculty at U. of Chicago • 6. 1908: to John Hopkins U. • a. 1909: chair of the psychology department • b. 1909: editor of Psychological Review

  5. John B. Watson (1878-1958) • 7. 1913: published his article on the Psychological Review; Behaviorism was officially launched • 8. 1914: book: Behavior: An Introduction to Comparative Psychology • a. argued for acceptance of animal psychology • b. described advantages of animal subjects

  6. John B. Watson (1878-1958) • 9. 1919: Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist • a. argued methods and principles of animal research appropriate for study of humans • 10. 1920: forced to resign from Johns Hopkins

  7. John B. Watson (1878-1958) • 11. second career: applied psychology in advertising • a. mechanistic view of humans: • Consumers’ behavior could be predicted and controlled • b. proposed experimental (lab) study of consumer behavior • 12. publicity for psychology in the popular media

  8. John B. Watson (1878-1958) • 13. 1925: Behaviorism • 14. 1928: Psychological Care of the Infant and Child • a. focus on environmental factors • b. recommended perfect objectivity in child-rearing practices • c. had thegreatest impact of all his work

  9. John B. Watson (1878-1958) • 15. 1935: his wife died; he moved to a farmhouse • 16. burned all of his papers prior to his death

  10. II. The Reaction to Watson’s Program • A. His major points • 1. Psychology is the science of behavior • 2. a purely objective experimental natural science • 3. both animal and human behavior are studied

  11. II. The Reaction to Watson’s Program • A. His major points • 4. discard all mentalistic concepts & used only behavior concepts (e.g., stimulus & response) • 5. Goal of psychology: prediction and control of behavior

  12. The Reaction to Watson’s Program • B. Initial reactions • 1. behaviorism was not embraced • 2. his 1919 book provided the movement’s impact • C. Calkins: adhered to introspection as the sole method for some processes • D. Washburn: called Watson an enemy of psychology

  13. The Reaction to Watson’s Program • E. 1920s • 1. university offered courses in behaviorism • 2. the word "behaviorist" appeared in journals • 3. McDougall: against behaviorism publicly • 4. Titchener: complained of its force and extent • 5. Other forms of behaviorism have developed

  14. III. The Methods of Behaviorism • A. Psychology must restrict itself to the objective study of behavior. • B. Adoption of the methods of the natural sciences • 1. observation, with and without instruments • 2. testing methods • 3. verbal report method • 4. conditioned reflex method

  15. The Methods of Behaviorism • C. Observation: • a necessary basis for the other methods • D. Testing methods • Were already in use • But Watson thought that test results are samples of behavior, not indices of mental qualities

  16. The Methods of Behaviorism • D. Verbal reports • 1. A controversial issue • 2. speech reactions are objectively observable • 3. thinking is speaking silently • 4. admitted the lack of precision and limitations • 5. limited it to situations where it could be verified

  17. The Methods of Behaviorism • D. Conditioned reflex method • 1. adopted in 1915 • 2. Watson responsible for widespread use • 3. conditioning is stimulus substitution • 4. selected as an objective method of behavior analysis

  18. The Methods of Behaviorism • 5. Reinforced the concept of people as machines. • 6. human subject: the observed rather than the observer • a. designation changed from "observer" to "subject“ • b. experimenter became the observer

  19. IV. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • A. Elements of behavior • 1. The primary subject matter of behaviorism was the elements of behavior • 2. goal: understand the organism’s total behavior

  20. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • 2. explicit versus implicit • a. Responses can be explicit or implicit • b. explicit responses: overt and observable • c. implicit responses: occur inside of the organism (e.g., nerve impulses) • 1) observable • 2) must be observable through the use ofinstruments

  21. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • 3. simple versus complex stimuli • a. Stimuli may be simple or complex • B. stimulus situation can be reduced to specific component stimuli • 4. laws of behavior • a. specific behavior can be analyzing the S-R complexes into their elementary S-R units. • b. all areas of behavior must be considered as objective S-R events

  22. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • B. Instincts • 1. 1914: Watson described 11 instincts • 2. 1925: eliminated the concept of instinct • a. an extreme environmentalist • b. denied inherited capacities, temperaments, talents • c. children can become anything one desires • d. this viewpoint became popular in America society

  23. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • C. Emotions • 1. Emotion was physiological responses to specific stimuli • E.g., threatening (Stimuli)  produces internal physical changes such as rapid heart rate (response). • 2. Denied any conscious perception of emotion or sensations from internal organs

  24. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • C. Emotions • 3. Emotion is a form of implicit behavior: internal responses are evident in physiology (e.g., pulse rate) • 4. Criticized James’s theory of emotion • 5. fear, love, and rage are 3 innate emotional responses

  25. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • D. Albert, Peter, and the rabbits • 1. the Albert study never successfully replicated • 2. Mary Cover Jones • a. study of Peter • b. generalized fear responses eliminated • c. Later: modern systematic desensitization techniques.

  26. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • E. Thought processes • 1. Watson attempted to reduce thinking to implicit motor behavior • a. Thought was a type of sensorimotor behavior. • b. The behavior of thinking must involve implicit speech reactions or movements • c. reduced thinking to subvocal talking

  27. The Subject Matter of Behaviorism • 2. Thinking is a way of talking silently. • 3. We also express thought through gestures (e.g., frowns), which are overt reactions to stimuli

  28. V. Behaviorism’s Popular Appeal • A. Watson called for a society based on scientifically shaped and controlled behavior • B. Emphasis on childhood environment and minimization of heredity (Hope to public)

  29. Behaviorism’s Popular Appeal • C. Conditioned reflex experiments (e.g., Albert study) • 1. implied emotional disturbances in adulthood due to conditioned responses during earlier years • 2. implies proper childhood conditioning should prevent adult disorders • D. Experimental ethics • 1. a framework for research • 2. elaborated by Skinner

  30. VIII. Criticism of Watson’s Behaviorism • A. McDougall against Watson’s view • a. agreed data of behavior are a proper focus for psychology • b. argued data of consciousness also necessary • c. questioned Watson's view that human behavior is fully determined; left no room for free will • d. critical of Watson’s use of the verbal report method

  31. IX. Contributions of Watson’s Behaviorism • A. Made psychology more objective in methods and terminology • B. Stimulated a great deal of research • C. Effectively overcame the earlier positions in psychology • D. Objective methods and language became part of the mainstream

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