Behaviorism: The Beginnings - Notes

Behaviorism: The Beginnings

The Psychologist, the Baby, and the Hammer: Don’t Try This at Home!

Little Albert Study

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner conducted experiments on an infant known as "Little Albert" to test learning. In this study, a child was distracted while Watson struck a steel rod with a hammer, creating a loud noise.

  • The child reacted violently and began crying due to the loud noise.

  • Watson paired the hammer strike with previously neutral stimuli, such as a white rat.

  • The stimuli began to elicit a fear response after the association was made.

  • The fear generalized to other fuzzy objects like a dog, fur coat, and Santa Claus mask.

Conclusion

Adult fears, anxieties, and phobias are conditioned emotional responses established in infancy and childhood and persist throughout life.

John B. Watson (1878-1958)

Founder of Behaviorism

Watson founded behaviorism but did not originate the ideas. His efforts crystallized emerging concepts within psychology.

Distinction from Predecessors

Watson intentionally aimed to found a new school of thought.

The Development of Behaviorism

Watson's View on Mental Concepts

Watson believed psychic or mental concepts had no value for the science of psychology.

Official Launch

The official launch of behaviorism occurred with Watson's publication in the Psychological Review in 1913.

Animal Psychology

Watson argued for the acceptance of animal psychology, highlighting the advantages of using animal subjects in psychological research.

Practical Value

Watson wanted behaviorism to have practical value and be applied to the real world.

The Reaction to Watson’s Program

Initial Reaction

Watson’s program was not immediately or universally embraced.

Criticisms

Critics questioned his rejection of introspection and the use of animals in research.

Acceptance

By the 1920s, universities offered courses in behaviorism, and the term became acceptable in professional journals.

The Methods of Behaviorism

Focus on Observable Data

Watson insisted that psychology restrict itself to the data of the natural sciences, focusing on what could be observed.

Methods Used

  • Observation with and without instruments

  • Testing methods

  • Verbal report method

  • Conditioned reflex method

The Methods of Behaviorism (cont’d.)

Verbal Report

Instead of introspection, speech reactions were considered objectively observable and meaningful for behaviorism, similar to any other motor response.

Conditioned Reflex Method

Watson was responsible for the widespread use of the conditioned reflex method.

The Methods of Behaviorism (cont’d.)

Change in the Role of Human Subjects

New methods changed the nature and role of human subjects in the psychology laboratory.

  • Subjects were no longer responsible for observing.

  • The experimenter's role became more important than the subject's.

  • Subjects merely behaved, reinforcing the view of people as machines.

The Subject Matter of Behaviorism

Focus on Elements of Behavior

Behaviorism focused on the elements of behavior: the body’s muscular movements and glandular secretions.

Objective Description

Psychology would deal only with acts described objectively, without subjective or mentalistic terminology.

Underlying Belief

All areas of behavior would be considered in objective Stimulus-Response (S-R) terms.

Instincts

Early Acceptance

Watson initially accepted the role of instincts in behavior.

Revised Position

In 1925, Watson revised his position and eliminated the concept of instinct.

  • He refused to admit any inherited capacities, temperaments, or talents.

  • Behaviors that seemed inherited were traced to early childhood training.

Optimistic Viewpoint

Children could be trained to be whatever one wanted them to be.

Emotions

Physiological Responses

Emotions are physiological responses to specific stimuli.

  • Physical manifestations include blushing, perspiration, and increased pulse rate.

  • Watson denied any conscious perception of the emotion or the sensations from internal organs.

Three Primary Learned Reactions

  • Fear: produced by loud noises and loss of support

  • Rage: restriction of bodily movements

  • Love: rocking, patting, caressing

Albert, Peter, and the Rabbits

Rejection of the Unconscious

The conditioning of Little Albert led Watson to reject the notion of the unconscious because it could not be objectively observed.

Mary Cover Jones

Mary Cover Jones conducted a study with three-year-old Peter, who already showed a fear of rabbits.

  • She successfully eliminated the fear response through conditioning.

  • This was a precursor to behavioral therapy.

Thought Processes

Watson's View

Watson believed that thought processes occur in the absence of muscular movements and are not accessible to observation and experimentation.

Reduction to Motor Behavior

  • He attempted to reduce thinking to implicit motor behavior.

  • Thinking was reduced to sub-vocal talking, relying on the same muscular habits learned for overt speech.

Behaviorism’s Popular Appeal

Reasons for Popularity

  • Possibility of controlled behavior, free of myths, customs, and conventional behaviors

  • Studies provided evidence that all undesirable behaviors could be eliminated, especially in childhood

  • The theory does not blame individuals for negative behaviors

  • Replacement of religion-based ethics with experimental ethics

An Outbreak of Psychology

1920s

Following behaviorism’s announcement, the general public believed that psychology provided the path to health, happiness, and prosperity.

Practical Topics

  • Curing the blues

  • The psychology of crooks

  • Fears and worries

  • The meaning of IQ scores
    IQ

  • Inferiority complexes

  • Family conflicts

  • Why we drink coffee

Public Education

Psychology taught the public how to explore one’s mind.

Criticisms of Watson’s Behaviorism

Criticisms

Watson’s system was criticized because it:

  • Proposed sweeping revisions

  • Blatantly attacked the existing order

  • Suggested discarding earlier versions of the truth

  • Omitted important components (e.g., sensory and perceptual processes)

Criticisms of Watson’s Behaviorism (cont’d.)

Key Figures

  • Edwin B. Holt: A student of William James

  • Karl Lashley (1890-1958)

    • Former advocate of Watson’s behaviorism

    • Authored the 1929 book Brain Mechanisms and Intelligence

Lashley's Principles

  • Law of mass action

  • Principle of equipotentiality

Criticisms of Watson’s Behaviorism (cont’d.)

William McDougall (1871-1938)

  • A forceful opponent of Watson

  • Known for his instinct theory of behavior, suggesting innate tendencies to thought and action

Contributions of Watson’s Behaviorism

Contributions

  • An effective agent of the Zeitgeist

  • More objective in methods and terminology

  • Overcame earlier positions in psychology

  • Strong conceptual base for modern psychology

  • Watsonian behaviorism was replaced by other forms of psychological objectivism that built on it

Selected Discussion Questions

  • What ethical and moral considerations were involved in the Little Albert study?

  • How did the behaviorists’ view of the role and task of human subjects differ from that of the introspectionists?

  • Discuss how Watson’s subject matter and methodology continued the atomistic, mechanistic, and empiricistic tradition.

  • Explain the reasons for behaviorism’s popular appeal.

  • Do you think Watson’s behaviorism would have become so popular without the earlier work of the functional psychologists? Explain your answer.

Here are some names mentioned in the notes along with their contributions:

  • John Watson: Founder of behaviorism; conducted the Little Albert study.

  • Rosalie Rayner: Collaborated with John Watson on the Little Albert study.

  • Mary Cover Jones: Conducted a study with Peter to eliminate fear responses, a precursor to behavioral therapy.

  • William James: Mentioned in reference to his student Edwin B. Holt.

  • Karl Lashley: Former advocate of Watson’s behaviorism; authored Brain Mechanisms and Intelligence.

  • William McDougall: A forceful opponent of Watson; known for his instinct theory of behavior.

  • Edwin B. Holt: A student of William James