Principles of Behaviorism
The behaviorist movement began in 1913 when John B. Watson wrote an article entitled Psychology as the behaviorist views it, which set out several underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioral analysis:
All behavior is learned from the environment:
One assumption of the learning approach is that all behaviors are learned from the environment. They can be learned through classical conditioning, learning by association, or through operant conditioning, learning by consequences.
Behaviorism emphasizes the role of environmental factors in influencing behavior to the near exclusion of innate or inherited factors. This amounts essentially to a focus on learning. Therefore, when born, our mind is “tabula rasa” (a blank slate).
Classical conditioning refers to learning by association, and involves the conditioning of innate bodily reflexes with new stimuli.
Pavlov’s Experiment
Ivan Pavlov showed that dogs could be classically conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented while they were given food.
He first presented the dogs with the sound of a bell; they did not salivate so this was a neutral stimulus. Then he presented them with food, they salivated.
The food was an unconditioned stimulus and salivation was an unconditioned (innate) response.
Pavlov then repeatedly presented the dogs with the sound of the bell first and then the food (pairing) after a few repetitions, the dogs salivated when they heard the sound of the bell.
The bell had become the conditioned stimulus and salivation had become the conditioned response.
Examples of classical conditioning applied to real life include:
- taste aversion – using derivations of classical conditioning, it is possible to explain how people develop aversions to particular foods
- learned emotions – such as love for parents, were explained as paired associations with the stimulation they provide
- advertising – we readily associate attractive images with the products they are selling
- phobias – classical conditioning is seen as the mechanism by which – we acquire many of these irrational fears.
Skinner argued that learning is an active process and occurs through operant conditioning. When humans and animals act on and in their environmental consequences, follow these behaviors.
If the consequences are pleasant, they repeat the behavior, but if the consequences are unpleasant, they do not.
Behavior is the result of stimulus-response:
Reductionism is the belief that human behavior can be explained by breaking it down into smaller component parts.
Reductionists say that the best way to understand why we behave as we do is to look closely at the very simplest parts that make up our systems, and use the simplest explanations to understand how they work.
Watson described the purpose of psychology as: “To predict, given the stimulus, what reaction will take place; or, given the reaction, state what the situation or stimulus is that has caused the reaction.” (1930, p. 11).
All behavior, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus-response association).
Stimulus refers to any feature of the environment that affects behavior. For example, in Pavlov’s experiment, food was a stimulus.
A response is the behavior elicited by the stimulus. For example, in Pavlov’s experiment, the dog’s salivation was a response.
Psychology should be seen as a science:
Theories need to be supported by empirical data obtained through careful and controlled observation and measurement of behavior. Watson (1913) stated:
“Psychology as a behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is … prediction and control.” (p. 158).
The components of a theory should be as simple as possible. Behaviorists propose using operational definitions (defining variables in terms of observable, measurable events).
Behaviorism introduced scientific methods to psychology. Laboratory experiments were used with high control of extraneous variables.
These experiments were replicable, and the data obtained was objective (not influenced by an individual’s judgment or opinion) and measurable. This gave psychology more credibility.
Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion:
The starting point for many behaviorists is a rejection of the introspection (the attempts to “get inside people’s heads”) of the majority of mainstream psychology.
While modern behaviorists often accept the existence of cognitions and emotions, they prefer not to study them as only observable (i.e., external) behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured.
Although theorists of this perspective accept that people have “minds”, they argue that it is never possible to objectively observe people’s thoughts, motives, and meanings – let alone their unconscious yearnings and desires.
Therefore, internal events, such as thinking, should be explained through behavioral terms (or eliminated altogether).
There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals:
There’s no fundamental (qualitative) distinction between human and animal behavior. Therefore, research can be carried out on animals and humans.
The underlying assumption is that to some degree the laws of behavior are the same for all species and that therefore knowledge gained by studying rats, dogs, cats and other animals can be generalized to humans.
Consequently, rats and pigeons became the primary data source for behaviorists, as their environments could be easily controlled.
Behaviorist Theory
Historically, the most significant distinction between versions of behaviorism is that between Watson’s original methodological behaviorism, and forms of behaviorism later inspired by his work, known collectively as neobehaviorism (e.g., radical behaviorism).
John B Watson: Methodological Behaviorism
Proposed by John B. Watson, methodological behaviorism focuses solely on observable, measurable behaviors and rejects the study of internal mental processes.
Watson argued that thoughts, feelings, and desires cannot be directly observed and, therefore, should not be part of psychological study.
Watson proposed that behaviors can be studied in a systematic and observable manner with no consideration of internal mental states.
He argued that all behaviors in animals or humans are learned, and the environment shapes behavior.
Watson’s article “Psychology as the behaviorist views it” is often referred to as the “behaviorist manifesto,” in which Watson (1913, p. 158) outlines the principles of all behaviorists:
“Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness.”
In his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, the behaviorist recognizes no dividing line between man and brute.
Man’s behavior, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist’s total scheme of investigation.
This behavioral perspective laid the groundwork for further behavioral studies like B.F’s. Skinner who introduced the concept of operant conditioning.
B.F Skinner: Radical Behaviorism
Radical behaviorism was founded by B.F Skinner, who agreed with the assumption of methodological behaviorism that the goal of psychology should be to predict and control behavior.
Radical Behaviorism expands upon earlier forms of behaviorism by incorporating internal events such as thoughts, emotions, and feelings as part of the behavioral process.
Unlike methodological behaviorism, which asserts that only observable behaviors should be studied, radical behaviorism accepts that these internal events occur and influence behavior.
However, it maintains that they should be considered part of the environmental context and are subject to the same laws of learning and adaptation as overt behaviors.
Another important distinction between methodological and radical behaviorism concerns the extent to which environmental factors influence behavior. Watson’s (1913) methodological behaviorism asserts the mind is a tabula rasa (a blank slate) at birth.
Unlike methodological behaviorism, radical behaviorism recognizes the role of genes and biological components in behavior, accepting that organisms are born with innate behaviors.
Bandura: Social Learning
Behaviorism has undergone many transformations since John Watson developed it in the early part of the twentieth century.
Social learning theory is a more recent extension of behaviorism that emphasizes the role of plans and expectations in people’s behavior.
One more recent extension of this approach has been the development of social learning theory, which emphasizes the role of plans and expectations in people’s behavior.
Under social learning theory, people were no longer seen as passive victims of the environment, but rather they were seen as self-reflecting and thoughtful.
The theory is often called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation.
Applications
Mental health
Behaviorism theorized that abnormal behavior and mental illness stem from faulty learning processes rather than internal conflicts or unconscious forces, as psychoanalysis claimed.
Based on behaviorism, behavior therapy aims to replace maladaptive behaviors with more constructive ones through techniques like systematic desensitization, aversion therapy, and token economies. Systematic desensitization helps phobia patients gradually confront feared objects.
The behaviorist approach has been used in treating phobias.The individual with the phobia is taught relaxation techniques and then makes a hierarchy of fear from the least frightening to the most frightening features of the phobic object.
He then is presented with the stimuli in that order and learns to associate (classical conditioning) the stimuli with a relaxation response. This is counter-conditioning.
Aversion therapy associates unpleasant stimuli with unwanted habits to discourage them. Token economies reinforce desired actions by providing tokens redeemable for rewards.
Education
The implications of classical conditioning in the classroom are less important than those ofoperant conditioning, but there is still a need for teachers to try to make sure that students associate positive emotional experiences with learning.
If a student associates negative emotional experiences with school, then this can obviously have bad results, such as creating a school phobia.
For example, if a student is bullied at school, they may learn to associate the school with fear. It could also explain why some students show a particular dislike of certain subjects that continue throughout their academic career. This could happen if a teacher humiliates or punishes a student in class.
Addiction
Cue reactivity is the theory that people associate situations (e.g., meeting with friends)/ places (e.g., pub) with the rewarding effects of nicotine, and these cues can trigger a feeling of craving (Carter & Tiffany, 1999).
These factors become smoking-related cues. Prolonged use of nicotine creates an association between these factors and smokingbased on classical conditioning.
Nicotine is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), and the pleasure caused by the sudden increase in dopamine levels is the unconditioned response (UCR). Following this increase, the brain tries to lower the dopamine back to a normal level.
The stimuli that have become associated with nicotine were neutral stimuli (NS) before “learning” took place but they became conditioned stimuli (CS), with repeated pairings. They can produce the conditioned response (CR).
However, if the brain has not received nicotine, the levels of dopamine drop and the individual experiences withdrawal symptoms, therefore, is more likely to feel the need to smoke in the presence of the cues that have become associated with the use of nicotine.
Issues & Debates
Free will vs. Determinism
Behaviorism tends to overemphasize the role of the environment in shaping behavior, suggesting that behavior is primarily determined by external factors such as stimuli, reinforcement, and punishment.
Strong determinism of the behavioral approach as all behavior is learned from our environment through classical and operant conditioning. We are the total sum of our previous conditioning.
The social learning approach, while still emphasizing the role of the environment, recognizes an element of choice in whether we imitate a behavior or not, reflecting a softer form of determinism.
This environmental determinism can lead to underestimating the influence of genetic, biological, and individual factors on behavior.
Behaviorism may provide an incomplete or overly simplistic account of human behavior by neglecting the role of internal processes and individual differences.
Nature vs. Nurture
Behaviorism strongly supports the nature vs. nurture debate, arguing that behavior is primarily learned from the environment.
The social learning theory, which builds upon behaviorist principles, is also on the nurture side, emphasizing the role of observational learning and the influence of role models in shaping behavior.
According to the behaviorist approach, apart from a few innate reflexes and the capacity for learning, all complex behavior is learned from the environment, minimizing the role of genetic or biological factors.
Holism vs. Reductionism
The behaviorist approach and social learning theory are reductionist in nature, as they seek to break down complex behaviors into smaller, more manageable parts for study.
Behaviorists believe that all behavior, regardless of its complexity, can be reduced to the fundamental processes of conditioning, such as classical and operant conditioning.
By focusing on the isolation and manipulation of specific variables, behaviorism aims to identify the basic principles and mechanisms that govern behavior, rather than considering behavior as an irreducible whole.
Idiographic vs. Nomothetic
The behaviorist approach is primarily nomothetic, as it seeks to identify universal laws and principles that govern behavior across all individuals.
It is a nomothetic approach as it views all behavior governed by the same laws of conditioning.
By focusing on these universal principles, behaviorism aims to develop a general theory of behavior that can be applied to all individuals, rather than focusing on the unique experiences and characteristics of each person.
However, it does account for individual differences and explains them in terms of differences in the history of conditioning.
Strengths
1. Scientific Methodology
Behaviorism emphasizes observable and measurable behaviors, leading to a more scientific and objective approach to studying psychology.
This approach allows for greater objectivity and replicability in psychological research, as behaviors can be quantified and studied systematically.
By emphasizing scientific methods, behaviorism has contributed to the development of psychology as a more rigorous and evidence-based discipline.
2. Empirical Support
Behaviorism has experimental support: Pavlov showed that classical conditioning leads to learning by association.
Watson and Rayner showed that phobias could be learned through classical conditioning in the “Little Albert” experiment.
3. Parsimony
Behaviorist explanations are often simpler and more straightforward than those of other approaches, as they focus on observable behaviors rather than internal mental processes.
According to the law of parsimony, the fewer assumptions a theory makes, the better and the more credible it is. Therefore, behaviorism looks for simple explanations of human behavior from a scientific standpoint.
Behaviorist principles have been successfully applied in various real-world settings, such as clinical therapy, educational interventions, and organizational behavior management.
Techniques like behavior modification, contingency management, and reinforcement schedules have proven effective in modifying problematic behaviors and promoting desired outcomes.
The behaviorist approach has been used in the treatment of phobias, as well as systematic desensitization.
The practical focus of behaviorism has led to the development of evidence-based interventions that can directly benefit individuals and society.
