University: Moulay ismail Course: applied linguistics SEmester: 5 Behaviorism Theory Overview Behaviorism is more concerned with behavior than with thinking, feeling, or knowing. It focuses on the objective and observable components of behavior. The behaviorist theories all share some version of stimulus-response mechanisms for learning. Behaviorism originated with the work of John B. Watson, an American psychologist. Watson held the view that psychology should only concern itself with the study of behavior, and he was not concerned with the mind or with human consciousness. He considered it paramount that men could be studied objectively, like rats and apes. Watsons work was based on the experiments of Ivan Pavlov, and classical conditioning. Nowadays, behaviorism is associated with the name of B.F. Skinner, who made his reputation by testing Watsons theories in the laboratory. Skinner ultimately rejected Watsons almost exclusive emphasis on reflexes and conditioning. Skinner believed that people respond to their environment, but they also operate on the environment to produce certain consequences. Thus they participate in a feedback loop as an important part of a larger system. Skinner developed the theory of operant conditioning, the idea that we behave the way we do because this kind of behavior has had certain consequences in the past. Presuppositions of behaviorism: 1. Behaviorism is naturalistic. This means that the material world is the ultimate reality, and everything can be explained in terms of natural laws. Man has no soul and no mind, only a brain that responds to external stimuli. 2. A central tenet of behaviorism is that thoughts, feelings, intentions, and mental processes, do not determine what we do. Behaviorism views behavior as the product of conditioning. Humans are biological machines and do not consciously act; rather they react to stimuli. 3. Consistently, behaviorism teaches that we are not responsible for our actions. If we are mere machines, without minds or souls, reacting to stimuli and operating on our environment to attain certain ends, then anything we do is inevitable. 4. Behaviorism is manipulative. It seeks not merely to understand human behavior, but to predict and control it. From his theories, Skinner developed the idea of shaping. By controlling rewards and punishments, you can shape the behavior of another person. Other significant behaviorist researchers were Guthrie and Thorndike. Early behaviorism in retrospect: Behaviorist theories ultimately have been relegated to mere historical significance as early attempts to explain learning, but are generally regarded as failures not so much because the stimulus-response ideas are inaccurate, but more because they are insufficient. They could be used to explain some behavior, but their generality was extremely limited. Other kinds of explanations were needed. Skinnerian behaviorism in retrospect: Skinner stands out in the history of psychology as a great system-builder. Probably his greatest contribution was his description of effects of reinforcement on responses. He related these findings to individuals as well as social groups. Behaviorist Approach Behaviorism (also called the behaviorist approach) was the primary paradigm in psychology between 1920s to 1950 and is based on a number of underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioral analysis: * Psychology should be seen as a science. Theories need to be supported by empirical data obtained through careful and controlled observation and measurement of behavior. Watson (1913) stated that psychology as a behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is ... prediction and control (p. 158). * Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion. Observable (i.e. external) behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured. Internal events, such as thinking should be explained through behavioral terms (or eliminated altogether). * People have no free will – a persons environment determines their behavior * When born our mind is tabula rasa (a blank slate). * There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals. Therefore research can be carried out on animals as well as humans. * Behavior is the result of stimulus – response (i.e. all behavior, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus – response association). Watson described the purpose of psychology as: To predict, given the stimulus, what reaction will take place; or, given the reaction, state what the situation or stimulus is that has caused the reaction (1930, p. 11). * All behavior is learnt from the environment. We learn new behavior through classical or operant conditioning. Varieties of Behaviorism Historically, the most significant distinction among versions of behaviorism is that between Watsons original classical behaviorism, and forms of behaviorism later inspired by his work, known collectively as neo-behaviorism. In his book, Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It Watson (1913, p. 158) outlines the principles of all behaviorists: Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorists total scheme of investigation. The History of Behaviorism * Pavlov (1897) published the results of an experiment on conditioning after originally studying digestion in dogs. * Watson (1913) launches the behavioral school of psychology (classical conditioning), publishing an article, Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It. * Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned an orphan called Albert B (aka Little Albert) to fear a white rat. * Thorndike (1905) formalized the Law of Effect. * Skinner (1936) wrote The Behavior of Organisms and introduced the concepts of operant conditioning and shaping. * Clark Hulls (1943) Principles of Behavior was published. * B.F. Skinner (1948) published Walden Two in which he described a utopian society founded upon behaviorist principles. * Bandura (1963) publishes a book called the Social Leaning Theory and Personality development which combines both cognitive and behavioral frameworks. * Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (begun in 1958). * B.F. Skinner (1971) published his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity, where he argues that free will is an illusion.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 16:02:36 +0000
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