Behaviorism

Predecessors of Behaviorism Animal psychology Thorndike Pavlov

von Osten’s goal: prove humans and animals have similar mental processes Clever Hans, the clever horse

Used experimental approach 2 groups of questioners Group 1 knew the answers Group 2 did not know the answers Hans only answered correctly when questioners knew the answers Clever Hans, the clever horse An Investigation

Conclusion: Hans was receiving some type of information from questioners Hans had been unintentionally conditioned by his owner Impact: Scientists more skeptical of mental processes in animals But… Provided proof that animals were capable of learning Clever Hans, the clever horse An Investigation

Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949) Believed psychology should study behavior, not elements/conscious experiences Developed a theory of learning Puzzle boxes Measurements:  errors  time Trial-and-error learning

Connectionism Association between stimuli and responses Connection more likely to form if followed by a reinforcement Response-units simplest elements of behavior Theory of Learning

Law of effect: behavior that produces a good outcome becomes associated with a certain situation; when the situation recurs, the behavior is likely to occur again (“stamping in”) likewise, a behavior with a bad outcome is less likely to occur again (“stamping out”) Formal Laws of Learning

Intended to study for the priesthood Read about Darwin, chose to study animal physiology Total dedication to research, unwilling to deal with everyday problems Pavlov’s life ( ) 1904 Nobel Prize for work on digestion

An Accidental Discovery

Experimental Results Salivating to the food in mouth is innate: unconditional reflex Salivating to the sight of food is learned: conditional reflex Conditioned reflexes

Before conditioning Conditioned reflexes US (meat) UR (saliva) NS (bell) nothing

After conditioning Conditioned reflexes US (meat) UR (saliva) CS (bell) CR (saliva)

Influences on Psychology Shift of associationism from subjective ideas objective physiological responses Provided Watson with a new method

Toward a science of behavior Background : structuralism dominates, then first supplemented and finally replaced by functionalism 1913: behaviorism declares war Protest against both structuralism and functionalism 1924: Watsonian behaviorism preeminent in US

Three stages of behaviorism : Watsonian behaviorism : Neobehaviorism Hull, Skinner 1960-present: Sociobehaviorism return to cognitive processes Bandura, Rotter

Watson’s Life ( ) Family: poor, father drank, frequently unemployed, ran off with another woman when Watson was 13 Personality: Delinquent as a teen At 16, enrolled in university to become minister Very ambitious but insecure

Watson’s Life ( ) Academic career: 1903: youngest person at University of Chicago to receive doctorate (age 25) married one of his students 1909: Chair of psychology at John Hopkins Editor of Psychological Review

Watson’s Life ( ) Academic career: 1914: behavior: an introduction to comparative psychology Argued for acceptance of animal psychology Described advantages of animal subjects Discussed importance of ridding psychology of the remnants of philosophy 1919: psychology from the standpoint of a behaviorist Most complete account of behaviorism to date Argued methods and principles of animal research are appropriate for study of humans

Watson’s Life ( ) Overview Watson credited the work of others as originators of behaviorism Saw himself as bringing together the emergent ideas Goal: to found a new school

Watson’s Life ( ) 1920: Scandal Affair with student Rosalie Rayner Watson forced to resign Moved into advertising

Watson’s behaviorism Dealt solely with observable behavior Rejected mentalistic concepts and terms such as consciousness and soul, declared introspection irrelevant Desired practical applications Goal: prediction and control of behavior

Reactions to Watson’s Behaviorism Initial reactions Behaviorism was not embraced 1920s University courses in behaviorism The word “behaviorist” appeared in journals McDougall: issued a public warning against behaviorism Other forms of behaviorism emerging

The methods of behaviorism Only accepted methods Observation, with and without instruments Testing methods Verbal report method Conditioned reflex method Behavior = individual stimulus-response units

The subject matter of behaviorism Responses can be explicit or implicit Explicit  Overt, directly observable behavior  Ex. blinking, knee jerk Implicit  Behavior that occurs internally, but  Has a physical manifestation and  Is potentially observable through the use of instruments  Ex. glandular secretions

Instincts 1925: eliminated the concept of instinct Denied inherited capacities, temperaments, talents Children can become anything one desires with the correct training Seemingly instinctive behavior is actually a socially conditioned response

Emotions Physiological reactions to stimuli, different for each emotion Implicit behavior Only unlearned emotional response patterns: Rage Love Fear

Watson & Little Albert Albert conditioned to fear a white laboratory rat Each time he reached for the rat, Watson made a loud clanging noise right above Albert Albert’s fear generalized to anything white and furry Including rabbits and Santa Claus Study demonstrated conditioned (learned) emotional responses

Behaviorism’s popular appeal Watson called for a society based on scientifically shaped and controlled behavior Free of myths, customs, and convention Provided hope for a new, better society Emphasis on childhood environment and minimization of heredity Implied emotional disturbances in adulthood due to conditioned responses during earlier years

Famous Watson quote "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select--doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant- chief, and yes, even beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors"