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Behaviorism
History of Psychology
Sara Barnett
Class 7
Food for Thought
► 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 beggar-man and thief, regardless of his
talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations,
and race of his ancestors.
--John Watson, Behaviorism, 1930
Agenda
►
Announcements
►
Review of the History of Behaviorism
►
Review of Learning Theory
►
Review of Treatment Methods in Behavioral Therapy
►
Visualization Exercise
►
Questions, Comments, Concerns
Announcement
► Unit
7 Project is due next Tuesday –
suggested outline is posted in Document
Sharing
► Good
job on DBs and projects thus far!
Behaviorism
► The
study of observable human behavior
► Dominant school of thought in the 1920s
► Basis for learning theory (classical
conditioning, operant conditioning,
observational learning)
► Famous names: John Watston & BF Skinner
John B. Watson
►
►
►
John Broadus Watson (1878-1958)
First PhD from University of Chicago (1904)
Professor/researcher at Johns Hopkins University
- Private experience of the mind = too vague to
measure/accurately assess
- Psychologists should focus solely on what people do
- Psychologists should study how to predict and control
behavior, for the betterment of society
- Studied animal behavior as means for studying that of
people (influenced by Pavlov; famous for Little Albert
experiment)
BF Skinner
► Burrhus
Frederick Skinner (1904-1990)
► Completed PhD at Harvard
- Sought to understand how animals
learn to act
- Built “conditioning chamber” –
identified principal of reinforcement
- Advised the society incentivise healthy
living and good will using this principal
Criticisms of Behaviorism
► Ignores
the mental process (i.e., doesn’t
explain how children learn language)
► Ignored evolutionary theory (i.e., why does
a rate associate nausea with food more so
than it does with light)
► Ignored alternative theories on intrinsic
motivation and non-rational actions
Learning in Behaviorism
► Classical
Conditioning
► Operant
Conditioning
► Observational
Learning
Example of Classical Conditioning
► You
eat a new food and then get sick because of
the flu. However, you develop a dislike for the
food and feel nauseated whenever you smell it.
► This
example is classical conditioning because
nausea is an automatic response.
► The flu sickness is the US.
► The nausea is the UR.
► The new food is the CS.
► The nausea to the new food is the CR.
Examples of Classical
Conditioning
►
An individual receives frequent injections of drugs, which
are administered in a small examination room at a clinic.
The drug itself causes increased heart rate but after
several trips to the clinic, simply being in a small room
causes an increased heart rate.
►
This example is classical conditioning because the
increased heart rate is an automatic response.
The drug is the US.
The accelerated heart rate is the UR.
The small room is the CS.
The accelerated heart rate to the room is the CR.
►
►
►
►
Examples of Operant
Conditioning
►A
lion in a circus learns to stand up on a chair and
jump through a hoop to receive a food treat.
► This
example is operant conditioning because
standing on a chair and jumping through a hoop
are voluntary behaviors.
► The food treat is a positive reinforcement because
it is given and it increases the behavior.
Examples of Operant
Conditioning
► Your
car has a red, flashing light that blinks
annoyingly if you start the car without buckling the
seat belt. You become less likely to start the car
without buckling the seat belt.
► This
example is operant conditioning because
buckling a seat belt is voluntary.
► The flashing light is a positive punishment.
► The consequence is given .
► The behavior of not buckling the seat belt
decreases.
Observant Learning
► Observational
learning (also known as
vicarious learning, social learning, or
modeling) is a type of learning that occurs
as a function of observing, retaining and
replicating novel behavior executed by
others
► Note: observational learning is NOT the
same as imitation
Behavioral Therapy
► Aims
to treat psychopathology through techniques
designed to reinforce desired and extinguish
undesired behaviors
► Based on the notion that retraining the behavior in
turn retrains the mind
► Most often used in combination with traditional
counseling
► Appropriate for short-term therapy
► Proven effective in the treatment of phobias, in
particular
Behavioral Therapy Techniques
► Relaxation
Techniques (imagery, meditation)
► Homework
(journaling, reading up on a subject,
keeping a calendar of events)
► Role-Play
(practicing behaviors with the therapist)
► Exposure
Therapy (facing fears head on)
Questions
► What
do you think about these therapeutic
techniques?
► Which
sounds like a technique that you
would use?
► Which
sounds like a technique that would
work for you as the client?
Visualization Exercise
► Just
relax…
Questions, Comments, Reflections?
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