Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Chapter 13 – Behaviorism A History of Psychology: Ideas and Context (4 th edition) D. Brett King, Wayne Viney, and William Douglas Woody This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Behaviorism Behaviorism started as a system of psychology, but grew into a worldview. Antecedents of behaviorism include –Ancient Greek atomic materialism and mechanism. Leucippus and Democritus Aristotle’s associationism British and continental associationists and mechanists.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Russian Research Behaviorism had its most recent roots in Russian physiological and behavioral research. –Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov may be the first modern behaviorist. –He argued for an objective psychology as a natural science. He wrote Reflexes of the Brain. The basic unit of study is the reflex, including three parts: –afferent activity, –central connective processes, and –efferent activity.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Ivan Pavlov Ivan Pavlov shifted his focus from physiology to psychology. –He studied action at a distance or psychical reflex and later described his work in terms of classical conditioning. Pavlov researched variations in classical conditioning, including –delayed conditioning, –simultaneous conditioning, and –trace conditioning. Pavlov evaluated the processes of –extinction, –spontaneous recovery, –disinhibition, –stimulus generalization, and –discrimination as well as –the interaction of temperament and conditioning.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Ivan Pavlov Pavlov’s later work focused on experimental neurosis. –He assaulted the nervous system of dogs and studied their responses. –He described ultramaximal inhibition, a state of protective shock. –Extensive research revealed three different after effects of ultramaximal inhibition: the equivalent phase, the paradoxical phase, and the ultraparadoxical phase. –The ultraparadoxical phase may occur in human conversion experiences. –Pavlov became interested in problem solving, and he worked to challenge the claims of the Gestalt Psychologists.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Other Russian psychologies Other Russian psychologies emerged as contemporaries with Pavlov. –Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev advanced Reflexology. He argued that the reflex is the fundamental category of inquiry. –Konstantin Nikolaevich Kornilov articulated Reactology. He worked to establish a psychology that was Marxist-Leninist.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Edward Lee Thorndike Edward Lee Thorndike’s research and theory of connectionism were antecedents of behaviorism. –Thorndike’s work with cats and puzzle boxes drove his formulation of the law of exercise and the law of effect. He later published the truncated law of effect that cast doubt on the effectiveness of punishment. –Thorndike’s work in education and testing supported the identical elements theory over the doctrine of formal discipline. –Thorndike also conducted research in areas such as psychology of business, education and society, and the psychology of labor. –Thorndike has been called a “sane positivist.” He believed that a science of values could better society.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 John B. Watson The formal founding of American Behaviorism occurred when John B. Watson set forth its basic tenets in John B. Watson’s academic appointment at Johns Hopkins ended with his affair with Rosalie Rayner, his graduate student. –He was forced from academia. –He eventually succeeded in a sales career. Watson attacked the psychology of his day for –establishing arbitrary divisions of consciousness, –being too human centered, –using esoteric and unreliable methods such as introspection –an inherently dualistic approach.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 John B. Watson Watson defined psychology as “a purely objective experimental branch of natural science” with the goal of “the prediction and control of behavior.” The methods of psychology include the gathering of facts and subjecting the facts to logical and quantitative analysis. The scope of psychology is broad. –Psychologists study the behavior of humans and animals. Habit and learning formed the center of Watson’s psychology. –He emphasized conditioning in the cause and treatment of mental illness. Conditioned Emotional Reactions, the classic study by Watson and Rayner, described the fear conditioning of Little Albert. Watson argued that most emotional attachments occur through conditioning. –He suggested that infants are only capable of fear, rage, and love.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 John B. Watson Watson’s view of instincts changed. –Initially, he accepted the role of instincts in behavior. –He later revised his position to reject any belief in human instinct. Watson’s behaviorism was thorough. –He argued that a natural science approach to thinking is possible and productive. He maintained that thinking is behavior.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Applied Psychology Behaviorism strongly influenced methods in applied psychology. –Both Pavlov and Watson were concerned with practical problems. –The successes of behavioral therapy and behavioral approaches to advertising owe part of their history to early behaviorism.