Behaviorism: Antecedent Influences
Hans the Wonder Horse—Math Genius?
Hans, a celebrity horse in Germany, was known for apparent mathematical and cognitive abilities, inspiring songs, articles, books, and advertisements. Hans's talents included adding, subtracting, using fractions and decimals, reading, identifying coins, playing card games, spelling, recognizing objects, and performing feats of memory.
Toward a Science of Behavior
The evolution of psychology shifted from Wundt's approach to functionalism. Watson advocated for a change, influenced by objectivism, mechanism, animal psychology, and functional psychology. The prevailing Zeitgeist was dominated by objectivistic, mechanistic, and materialistic influences. This new psychology focused solely on observable and tangible phenomena.
The Influence of Animal Psychology on Behaviorism
Animal psychology served as an antecedent to Watson's behaviorism. Jacques Loeb (1859-1924), a German physiologist and zoologist, introduced the concept of tropism, explaining animal behavior as an involuntary forced movement. Loeb argued that animal consciousness was revealed through associative memory, where animals learned to react to stimuli in desirable ways.
Rats, Ants, and the Animal Mind
In 1900, the rat maze was introduced as a standard method for studying learning. Charles Henry Turner began using the term "behavior," which Watson later adopted. By 1910, eight comparative psychology laboratories had been established. The concept of the animal mind was considered analogous to the human mind.
On Becoming an Animal Psychologist
Animal psychology was a challenging profession due to a lack of respect in academia, funding concerns, and poor career prospects. Regarding Hans, the wonder horse, it was determined that the horse was not receiving intentional signals from its owner. There was no fraud or deceit; the horse used subtle cues from the audience and keeper, demonstrating animals' capacity for learning.
Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949)
Edward Lee Thorndike created a mechanistic, objective learning theory rooted in overt behavior. He advocated that psychology should study behavior rather than mental elements or conscious experiences. Connectionism, Thorndike’s approach to learning, emphasized connections between situations and responses. He posited that behavior should be reduced to its simplest elements: stimulus-response units.
The Puzzle Box
Thorndike used puzzle boxes constructed from crates and sticks on animals. For instance, a food-deprived cat was placed in a box to test how long it would take to activate a lever for food. Responses were initially random, but with subsequent trials, random behaviors decreased until learning was complete. This process is known as trial-and-error learning, based on the repetition of response tendencies that lead to success.
Laws of Learning
Thorndike developed two primary laws of learning:
Law of effect: Acts that produce satisfaction in a given situation become associated with that situation. When the situation recurs, the act is likely to recur.
Law of exercise: The more an act or response is used in a given situation, the more strongly the act becomes associated with that situation.
Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov (1849–1936)
Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov's work focused on learning. His research shifted associationism from subjective ideas to objective and quantifiable physiological events, such as glandular secretions and muscular movements. Pavlov provided Watson with a method for studying, controlling, and modifying behavior.
Conditioned Reflexes
Pavlov's research addressed three main problems:
Function of the nerves of the heart.
Primary digestive glands.
Conditioned reflexes: Reflexes that are conditional or dependent on the formation of an association or connection between stimulus and response; reinforcement, which increases the likelihood of a response.
E. B. Twitmyer (1873–1943) is an example of simultaneous discovery with Pavlov.
Vladimir M. Bekhterev (1857–1927)
Vladimir M. Bekhterev led the field away from subjective ideas toward objectively observed overt behavior. This Russian physiologist, neurologist, and psychiatrist pioneered several research areas, showing a particular interest in motor responses.
Associated reflexes: Reflexes that can be elicited not only by unconditioned stimuli but also by stimuli that have become associated with the unconditioned stimuli.
The Influence of Functional Psychology on Behaviorism
Before Watson, functional psychologists shifted away from Wundt’s and Titchener’s pure psychology of conscious experience, which expressed a need for an objective psychology that would focus on behavior instead of consciousness. The Zeitgeist, or overall movement of American psychology, was in a behavioristic direction. Watson became the critical agent of a revolution whose inevitability and success were assured.
Selected Discussion Questions
In what ways had psychology changed by the second decade of the twentieth century?
Why was Watson so opposed to the study of consciousness and the method of introspection?
What role did positivism play in the scientific Zeitgeist of the twentieth century?
Describe Thorndike’s puzzle-box research and the laws of learning suggested by the results.
Discuss the overall significance for the development of behaviorism of Thorndike’s research on human and animal learning.
How did Pavlov’s work influence Watson’s behaviorism?
Discuss the Zeitgeist in American psychology in the second decade of the twentieth century with reference to ideas promoted by the structuralists and functionalists.
Specifically:
Wilhelm Wundt: Known for his approach to structuralism in psychology.
John B. Watson: An advocate for behaviorism, influenced by objectivism, mechanism, animal psychology, and functional psychology.
Jacques Loeb: A German physiologist and zoologist who introduced the concept of tropism.
Charles Henry Turner: He started using the term "behavior," which was later adopted by Watson.
Edward Lee Thorndike: Created a mechanistic, objective learning theory rooted in overt behavior and developed the concept of connectionism.
Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov: His work focused on learning, particularly conditioned reflexes, and provided Watson with a method for studying, controlling, and modifying behavior.
E. B. Twitmyer: Known for the simultaneous discovery of conditioned reflexes with Pavlov.
Vladimir M. Bekhterev: Led the field towards objectively observed overt behavior and pioneered research in motor responses.
Edward Bradford Titchener: Known for his work in structuralism.