Behaviorism and Conditioning Principles

Experiment by Pavlov with dogs to illustrate classical conditioning:
- Concept: Dogs drooled at the sound of a bell after association with food.
- Definition: Classical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus (the bell) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food), leading to a conditioned response (drooling).
John Watson's Contributions:
- Famous for conditioning Little Albert to fear various stimuli (e.g., a white rat) through classical conditioning, leading to fear responses in non-threatening situations.

Notoriously fired from Johns Hopkins University for an affair with Rosalie Rayner.
Transitioned to advertising, where he exerted substantial influence:
- Made approximately $1 million a year (modern day equivalent given inflation).
- Published articles, like in Women's Home Journal, on child-rearing advocating for emotional distance in parenting.
Married Rosalie and fathered children together.
- Rosalie disagreed with Watson’s parenting philosophy, advocating for affection in child-rearing.

Quote: "Give me 12 healthy infants, and I will raise them to be whatever occupation you want them to be."
Believed in the malleability of behavior through environmental influences, dismissing genetic factors as predetermined.
- Argued that individuals could be shaped into various roles (e.g., doctor, thief) based on the environment.
Prominent Ideas:
- Focus on observable behavior rather than internal states, avoiding covert mechanisms such as thought and emotion.
- The necessity of an empirical approach to studying psychology and behavior.

Expanded Watson's theories into operant conditioning, focusing on the consequences of behavior:
- Introduced terms such as reinforcement and punishment.
- Differences between classical conditioning (pairing stimuli) and operant conditioning (consequences affecting behavior).

Skinner's Goals:
- Emphasized predicting individual behavior rather than establishing universal laws.
- Focused on functional analysis to identify behavioral antecedents (past reinforcement/punishment leading to current behavior).
Personality Definition: Skinner posited that personality is reflected in behavior; therefore, changing behavior through reinforcement can alter personality.

Reinforcement: Increases the probability of a behavior's future occurrence.
- Positive Reinforcement: Adding something desirable (e.g., treats for a dog).
- Negative Reinforcement: Removing something undesirable (e.g., chores taken away for good behavior).
Punishment: Decreases the probability of a behavior occurring again.
- Positive Punishment: Adding something undesirable (e.g., scolding).
- Negative Punishment: Removing something desirable (e.g., screen time taken away).

Key Analytical Questions:
1. Is behavior increasing (reinforcement) or decreasing (punishment)?
2. Is something being added (positive) or taken away (negative)?
Examples:
- Positive Reinforcement: Giving treats to a puppy for good behavior.
- Negative Reinforcement: Taking away chores for good grades.
- Positive Punishment: Yelling at a child for misbehavior.
- Negative Punishment: Taking away car keys for breaking curfews.

Notable experiments used to illustrate operant conditioning principles:
- Skinner Box: Rats perform behaviors (e.g., lever pressing) to receive food pellets as positive reinforcement.
- Variable Schedules: Reinforcement based on varied responses (fixed or variable ratio/interval) that affect behavior consistency.
- Example of Variable Ratio: Gambling provides unpredictable rewards, leading to persistent behaviors due to uncertainty.

Functional Analysis: Understanding behavior through analyzing antecedents and consequences.
Shaping: Gradually reinforcing closer approximations to desired behaviors.
Extinction: Stopping reinforcement leads to the gradual disappearance of a behavior.

Transition to observational learning theories explored by Albert Bandura; shifted focus to cognitive processes analyzed alongside behavioral principles.
Bobo Doll Experiment: Demonstrated children imitate aggressive behaviors observed in adults, indicating that reinforcement is not solely acquired through direct experience but also through observation.

Behaviorism emphasizes observable behavior and rejects subjective experience, while contemporary cognitive psychology integrates cognition to explain behavior.
Applications in therapy, education, and behavioral modification programs demonstrate the relevance of behaviorists' principles today.
Scrutiny on classic behaviorist studies indicates the need for diverse populations and contexts to give a clearer understanding of human behavior.