Behaviorism: Major Influences
Stephanie Hoffer, Christina Depace, Martha Moler, Sara Reno
PSY/310
September 14, 2015
Jason Etchegaray
Behaviorism: Major Influences
Behaviorism is a theory within psychology, which suggests that behaviors are learned through positive and negative reinforcements. Behaviorists are concerned with observable behavior rather than relying on introspective methods because they believe external behavior can be measured scientifically and objectively. In the early to mid-twentieth century, behaviorism became popular after scientists had contributed their research and theories on classical conditioning. The study of conditioned reflexes originated with the Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov’s (1849-1936) experiments. However, it was American psychologist John B. Watson (1878-1958), who established behaviorism as a psychological school of thought. He also promoted behaviorism through his controversial studies on classical conditioning of animals and children. Furthermore, American psychologist B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) also contributed his theories and studies on classical conditioning, making a lasting impression in the evolution of behaviorism. Let us explore these great contributions to the development of behaviorism.
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov was born in 1849 in Russia. He was born to a Russian Priest, and a daughter of a Russian Priest. He was the oldest of eleven children, in which over half died during childhood. He started following his father’s footsteps early but then became interested in science. Pavlov started studying physiology and pharmacology at Saint Petersburg, where he later became a teacher. He showed great interest in the behavior of both animals and humans, especially in their reflexes.
Pavlov always insisted that he was a physiologist, not a psychologist since his regard for psychology was not high at all. His theory was that the brain needed to be treated like a black box because there is no...