Chapter 7 The Birth and Development of the Behaviorist Tradition
PSK306-History of Psychology Assoc. Prof. Okan Cem Çırakoğlu [email protected] Several developments contributed to early behaviorism
• The success of animal psychology was among the major factors stimulating behaviorism. Many researchers studying animals believed in a principle of continuity: both humans and animals represent one natural world and must be subject to similar laws.
• The success of general physiology in the 19th century encouraged many psychologists to turn to physiology of the brain and the nervous system.
• Search for new methods: A growing number of psychologists treated introspective self-reports as unreliable methods. They believed that psychology as an experimental science should turn to a new generation of experimental methods. Animal and Comparative Psychologists
Lewis Henry Morgan (1818–1881) argued that animals, like humans, possess many mental abilities, such as reason, creativity, and moral judgment. Portraying animal behavior in human terms is called anthropomorphism.
George J. Romanes (1848–1894) introduced the term comparative psychology. His Animal Intelligence, published in 1882 defended the anthropomorphic view.
Jacques Loeb (1859–1924), a German zoologist studied tropisms -- physical and chemical reaction of orientation of the organism in a field of force. Favorable conditions of this field stimulate specific types of behavior. The Impact of Edward Thorndike
• The Puzzle Box: A new experimental method • Laws of Learning • The Learning Curve concept • He liked the certainty of observations, the clarity of statements, and the emotional detachment from the object of studies. • The use of statistics to support his research The Work of Ivan Pavlov
Pavlov’s explanations of reflexes demonstrated on salivary responses
Unconditioned Reflexes. The reflexes of this category are associated with the direct influence of a substance on the receptors within the mouth. They are inborn: dogs do not learn how to salivate when the food enters their mouth.
Conditioned Reflexes. Also called “acquired reflexes,” they occur under two conditions. The first is a specific situation, or a specific environment in which the reflex is formed. The second is the existence of the unconditioned reflex. The Work of Ivan Pavlov
Associative Connections. Pavlov applied the term association to physiological processes. Instead of speculating about “mental associations,” as many psychologists did, he introduced the concept of physiological associations.
Lock: when two areas of excitement are connected, they are locked together in some way. The nervous system works according to principles
Excitement Generalization
Inhibition Differentiation
The Work of Ivan Pavlov
Inability to form new reflexes
Mental Illness
Dealing with contradictory signals Animal Research
Pavlov was aware of the negative reaction of some people to his research on animals. He received many letters asking why animals had to suffer to satisfy a scientist’s research interests. Pavlov frequently addressed this question during his public lectures. He always maintained that he had no easy feelings when he had to operate on a dog or cat. However, he believed that this was necessary to do for the sake of science, medicine, and, above all, people. Reflexology of Vladimir Bekhterev (1857–1927)
• Reflexology: The name of Bekhterev’s theory, the central concepts of which were reflex and adaptation. • “Objective psychology” should focus on behavior and physiological processes taking place within the brain and the nervous system. • Energy transformation is the main mechanism by which to describe physical and biological processes. Reflexes
• Innate ▫ Spinal cord
• Associated ▫ Cerebral cortex
Reflexology of Vladimir Bekhterev
Reflexology’s Applications
Suggestion Education and Hypnosis
Treatment of Collective Traumatic Reflexology Emotions The Behaviorism of John Watson (1878–1958)
3 founding principles of behaviorism:
1. Stimulus and response (behavior is a set of responses to specific signals)
2. Habit formation (behavioral responses become useful and retained)
3. Habit integration (simple reactions develop into complex acts) The Behaviorism of John Watson (1878–1958)
1. He focused on observable behavior. The only behavior is observable one.
2. He ignored the concept of «purpose»
Mental Illness
• Mental illness is a kind of habit disturbance • Psychological disorders are maladaptive reflexes • They are triggered by a dysfunctional habit and cause mental illnesses in chain reactions. Applied Works
• Advertising (testimonials) • Brand loyalty • Personnel selection Why Was Watson’s Behaviorism Popular?
• Support
• Simplicity
• Inspiration
• Controversy
• Practicality