Transcript Slide 1
JOHN B. WATSON Otekhile Cathy-Austin Katarzyna Gruszczyńska Anna Maciak "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select-doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and, yes, even beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it for many thousands of years." – John B. Watson, Behaviorism, 1930 John Broadus Watson Profoundly influenced by Pavlov’s model of classical conditioning Revolutionize American psychology Behaviorism – observable aspects of behavior. It’s real goal is to provide the basis of control of human beings Emotional Learning Watson’s Environmentalism Watson’s Ascent 1909: Chair of psychology department 1909: Editor of Psychological Review 1912: Presented ideas for a more objective psychology in lectures at Columbia 1913: Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It published in Psychological Review - Launched Behaviorism Angell was disappointed: “I shall be glad to see him properly spanked…” Scandal Ends his Academic Career Fell in love with Rosalie Rayner, graduate assistant Wife found his love letters Published in Baltimore Sun Forced to resign from Johns Hopkins Married Rosalie but still banished from academia Titchener one of the few academics who reached out to comfort him Behaviorism Before Watson: Behaviorism is a study of the phenomena of consciousness Watson: consciousness is an irrelevant concept. Behaviorists tried to limit psychology to the study of actual, observable behavior The main goals of behaviorism: to provide the basis for the prediction and control of human beings to derive laws to explain the relationships existing among stimuli, responses and consequential conditions (reward, punishment) Behaviorism John B. Watson (1878-1958) Attacked the psychology of his day: Arbitrary divisions of consciousness (How many colors can you name? Really?) Too human centered (Animals can be valuable.) Unreliable methods (Introspection?) “…a purely objective experimental science" with the goal of "predicting and controlling behavior." Little Albert Little Albert Little Albert Albert study was never successfully replicated It demonstrated conditioned (learned) emotional responses – or did it? Instincts 1914: Watson described 11 instincts 1925: eliminated the concept of instinct Seemingly instinctive behavior is actually a socially conditioned response Psychology can only be applied if behavior can be modified Children can become anything one desires Emotions psychophysical (mental and bodily) reactions to specific events. Watson observed that babies stimulated by certain events, such as falling, having their arms held tightly, or being stroked, showed three basic emotions. FEAR ANGER LOVE Watson’s environmentalism Are humans primarily product of genetic makeup or are they developed according environment? He was convinced that there are no individual differences at birth, people is function of their experience Very popular ides in the United States at that time Watson’s behaviorism Exaggerating role of learning in determining the behavior and underemphasizing the role of heredity He was more of a spokesman for behaviorism than a researcher He popularized notion of environmental experiences Can we think without Behaving? Traditional View Thinking occurs in the absence of muscle movements Not accessible to observation and experimentation Watson’s View Thinking is implicit motor behavior Reduced it to sub vocal talking Same muscular habits as used for overt speech Thinking = silent talking to oneself What did Watson Bring to Behaviorism? Made psychology more objective in methods and terminology Stimulated a great deal of research Surmounted earlier positions and schools Objective methods and language became part of the mainstream He stood strongly on the back of “nurture”, he often boost by saying give me twelve infants and by applying behavioral technique I will make them whatever person I desire Conclusion We can conclude from our findings that: Behavior can be learnt; Human beings are a greatly influence or a product of the environment in which they live; Infants can be nurture to be whoever we desire them to be. Sources http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI http://www.flavinscorner.com/scibadly1.htm http://www.innovativelearning.com/teaching/beha viorism.html http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/intro.htm Thank you for listening!