History of Psychology

Chapter 10 Behaviorism:

The Beginnings

I. John B. Watson (1878-1958) A. Watson’s life

1. Rebel personality

2. Mother: wishes him to be a minister Father: drank heavily

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)

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

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

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

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

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 the greatest impact of all his work

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 of

instruments

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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)

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

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

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