By: Stephanie Gonzales, Heather Shannon, Aubrey Minor-Byrd, and Kaitlyn Hubbard
Behaviorism Theory
Behaviorism was established in 1913 by John Watson (Cherry, 2022). This theory is defined as “a movement in psychology that advocates the use of strict experimental procedures to study observable behavior in relation to the environment” (Behaviorism, 2018). In other words, behaviorism is the belief that our behaviors are simply just our response to our surrounding stimuli. Behaviorists believe that when we are born, our minds are blank slates and as we interact with our environment our actions are shaped. There are two main types of behaviorism: methodological and radical.
Methodological behaviorism aligns with John Watson’s beliefs and states that observable behavior should be studied scientifically and that we should take no notice of the mental/cognitive processes as they do not contribute to the understanding of one's behavior (Cherry, 2022).
Radical behaviorism aligns with B.F. Skinner’s beliefs and states that we can understand behavior by “looking at one's past and present environment and the reinforcements within it, thereby influencing behavior either positively or negatively” (Cherry, 2022).
References
Behaviorism. (2018). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 1;
Cherry, Kendra.(2022). “Why Behaviorism Is One of Psychology's Most Fascinating Branches.” Verywell Mind.