How to Understand Behaviorism

Behaviorism, or behavioral psychology, focuses on external behavior, seeking ways to change a person's behavior to improve his life overall. Though this psychological approach doesn't focus on a person's internal understanding of the world, behaviorism has been shown useful in battling addictions and other maladaptive behaviors. Read on to learn how to understand behaviorism.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Understand how conditioning, which is the foundation of behaviorism, functions. As someone interacts with her environment, she makes connections between behavior or stimulus and her responses. Her behavior changes as she interacts with the environment.

2. Learn the characteristics of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning begins by pairing a natural stimulus with a response, and then pairs a neutral and created stimulus with the natural stimulus. Eventually, the natural stimulus is removed, and the conditioned stimulus then evokes the conditioned response.

3. See how operant conditioning reveals a different level of behaviorism. It focuses on punishments and rewards rather than natural stimulus. Consequences of behavior are learned through operant conditioning, and someone learns which behaviors to engage in and which to avoid.

4. Read the classic literature supporting behaviorism. Ivan Pavlov is perhaps the most well-known behaviorist. His experiments with dogs showed that dogs could be conditioned to respond to a sound by salivating, which is the same way that they naturally respond to food. Read about his experiments in his own writings, or find critiques of his experiments. B.F. Skinner's 1971 book "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" is another classic text of behaviorism in which he focuses on the fact that free will is an illusion.

5. Get to know other theorists who specialize in behaviorism. Look up the works of Clark Hull, Edward Thorndike and John Watson for a fuller understanding of behaviorism.

6. Examine the applications of behaviorism. Because it focuses on stimulus, behaviorism is a good method to bring changes in behaviors like phobias or addiction. Token economies used for developmentally disabled persons also reveal the applications of behaviorism.

7. Educate yourself on the shortcomings of behaviorism. It only focuses on the external markers of behavior and doesn't examine internal influences. Additionally, it doesn't take into account modes of learning apart from punishment and reward.

Tips & Warnings

• Pavlov's dogs revealed the effects of classical conditioning.

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