Behaviorism and Its Impact on Psychology

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Structuralism
Functionalism
Behaviorism
Impact on the Psychological Field
Changes in the Learning Process
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The history of psychology as a distinct discipline is extensive. The argument over how to categorize and explain the human brain and behavior started when psychology initially emerged as a discipline distinct from biology and philosophy. Several schools of psychology represent the major psychological theories. John B. Watson, an American psychologist, proposed behaviorism as a different school of psychology in 1913 (Mehrad 3). Watson and his adherents believed that external conduct, not inward experience, was the only source of knowledge that could be trusted. This emphasis on visible occurrences also responded to structuralism’s preference for introspection. Behaviorists were also concerned with how much an individual’s environment influenced their behavior. Fundamentally, they searched for associations between observable behavior and environmental cues. Thus, the paper aims to discuss the influence of behaviorism on psychology and the changes it stimulates in the field.

Structuralism

Before behaviorism, one of the learning theories that existed was Structuralism. A theory of consciousness established by Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (1832–1920) and his disciple Edward Bradford Titchener is known as structural psychology (1867-1927) (Subedi). Most people agree that the earliest school of psychological thought was structuralism. A concept of consciousness known as structuralism examines the constituent parts of mental experiences, including sensations, mental pictures, and feelings, and how these parts interact to create more complex experiences. The goal of structuralism was to break down brain processes into their most fundamental components. This point of view emphasized dissecting mental operations into their most fundamental parts. In the 20th century, this hypothesis was contested (Subedi). Although it is disputed who discovered this branch of psychology, it is generally acknowledged that Wundt laid the groundwork for Titchener’s expansion. The structuralisms examined the inner workings of the human mind using methods like introspection.

Introspection involves looking inside into one’s thought processes to understand how they operate. It involves one’s awareness being observed by oneself. A school of psychology known as structuralism aims to break down the adult mind (the sum of all experiences from infancy to the present) into its most basic, measurable components before determining how these components combine to create more complex experiences and how they relate to actual physical events. To do this, psychologists use introspection. Through introspection, self-reports and their fundamental components are recognized and examined. As a result, structuralism primarily focuses on the human mind, whose fundamental components are recognized and examined through introspection.

Functionalism

Besides structuralism, another theory was widespread before behaviorism was well-known. Functionalism (1890–the 1920s) emerged as a response to structuralism yet was greatly influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as well as the writings of William James (1842–1910) (Subedi). Functional psychology, often known as functionalism, is a psychological school of thought that sprang directly from Darwinian thinking and focuses on the utility and meaning of behavior that has evolved throughout human history. The goal of functionalists was to provide a more organized and precise explanation of how the mind works. Functionalists put more emphasis on the function of consciousness and behavior than on the components of consciousness. Functionalism, which likewise emphasized individual differences and experimented with learning via trial and error, became recognized as the movement’s de facto leader. In direct opposition to Edward Titchener’s structuralism, which placed more emphasis on the contents of consciousness than the goals and ideals of human action, this approach emerged in the United States in the late 19th century (Subedi).

Functionalism rejects the idea of introspection, which favors exploring the internal world of human thought above comprehending the physiological underpinnings of human awareness. It had an impact on the growth of applied psychology and behaviorism. Functionalism also impacted education, particularly John Dewey’s idea that kids should study at the level they are developmentally ready for (Subedi). The fundamental features of this theory’s explanation are based on precise and systematic explanations of many aspects of awareness, conduct, and life goals.

Additionally, it focuses on a person’s behavior and mental health as they relate to their capacity for environmental adaptation. Contrary to structuralism, this concept is more concerned with how the human mind adapts to varied contexts than pinpointing the makeup of the human mind. Functionalism is indeed considered to be focused on how the brain affects people’s welfare and emphasizes the idea that no one can live in nature until they fulfill their reason for existing. However, the fundamental issues with this theory include its overemphasis on objective issues while entirely ignoring the subjective inclinations of human conduct. They expanded the field of psychological study and application as a result.

Behaviorism

Interactions with the environment acquire all behaviors, or conditioning, according to behaviorism, commonly referred to as behavioral psychology, a theory of learning. The psychological approach known as behaviorism is limited to what is observable, quantifiable, and objective. This strategy, which predominated in psychology till the 1950s, promoted using science to examine behavior under precisely controlled circumstances (Subedi). Therefore, behavior is only a reaction to external cues. A methodical approach to analyzing human and animal behavior is called behaviorism.

It incorporates ideas from theory, methodology, and philosophy. Behaviorism was founded from previous studies in the late 19th century, including when Edward Thorndike invented the law of effect (Subedi). It was greatly influenced by scientists like J. B. Watson, Evan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, Edward Thorndike, and others (Subedi). This method involved using consequences to enhance or weaken behavior. Behaviorism arose in the early 1900s as a response to psychoanalytic theory and other traditional psychology practices, which frequently struggled to make forecasts that might be tested experimentally (Subedi). It is predicated on the idea that behavior can be either a reflex brought on by the combination of specific stimuli in the environment.

It can also result from the individual’s history, particularly reassurance and punishment contingencies, in conjunction with their current state of motivation and controlling stimuli. According to behaviorists, humans learn most from their surroundings, and learning includes changing one’s behavior, while only what is visible is significant (Subedi). Conditioning is a key concept in behaviorism since theorists think an individual is more frequently conditioned than learning as it is often beyond their control. Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning theory, which describes how an organism may and is programmed to respond to certain stimuli, enters the picture at this point (Mehrad 3). When a previously neutral stimulus is applied with an unconditioned stimulus and results in an unconditioned response, these components are then repeated until the unconditioned stimulus becomes a conditioned response with a conditioned response.

Impact on the Psychological Field

A valuable viewpoint for understanding some of the anxieties and phobias people can develop is provided by classical conditioning. Later, behaviorism theory included Skinner’s operant conditioning, and according to the theory of operant conditioning, when a reaction is reinforced, it becomes more likely to happen again (Mehrad 3). Psychology is an objective experimental area of natural science from a behaviorist perspective. Theoretically, prediction and control are the main objectives. A theory’s constituent parts ought to be as straightforward as feasible. Although behaviorism can be useful in explaining some forms of learning, it ignores crucial components like emotions, feelings, and cognitions. Additionally, it does not account for learning that occurs without association, reinforcement, or punishment.

As a result, psychologists carry out a study using the scientific approach. They make observations, acquire information, develop hypotheses, put predictions to the test, and interpret the outcomes based on those theories. To gauge and analyze behavior, researchers make observations. They continually observe occurrences and then develop ideas to account for their findings. A theory describes how various bits of information are coherently arranged. However, scientists only create a hypothesis if they have many data to back it up.

Additionally, they guarantee that the study’s findings can be replicated. Before the psychological study can be deemed scientific, it must be able to satisfy several requirements. It should be exact, verifiable, repeatable, and economical. A variable is something that has the potential to change.

Changes in the Learning Process

Behaviorism as well made a great impact on the process of learning and greatly contributed to the knowledge about the topic. Learning is the technical process of connecting stimulus and response, resulting in novel behavior. Rewarding this new behavior helps it stick, and early learning studies suggest that classic behaviorist theories of learning impact teaching tactics (Ahmad et al. 20). The further exploration of the hypothesis showed that learning is a behavior change brought about by stimulus and response exercises designed to promote the acquisition of a fundamental skill or other desired learning outcome (Ahmad et al. 20). Through constant reinforcement and feedback, these fundamental abilities, knowledge, and academic outcomes would be integrated into a person’s current level of knowledge.

The learner, viewed from the behaviorist perspective, reacts to the stimuli. It was thought that the behavior was the consequence of reinforcement and that the learner’s mind was a tabula rasa (a person’s mind is like a blank slate) (Ahmad et al. 20). The reinforcement process increases the likelihood of repeating the behavior, which can be positive or negative. As a result, learning may be described as a change for the better in a person’s conduct brought on by his own experience.

In contrast to internal psychological understandings and the individual’s endeavor to absorb only a few things from his surroundings, behaviorists place more emphasis on observable behavior. Thus, this idea is seen in terms of creating associations. Behaviorists thought it was the learners’ responsibility to communicate and teach information (Ahmad et al. 21). The behaviorist learning theory makes it more effective to teach discrete knowledge using conventional methods such as lectures, skill workbooks, and standardized evaluation methods.

Four qualities are essential for behaviorist-inspired instruction design. The first two are dividing the learning content into manageable teaching modules and outlining the many phases of the educational process. Additionally, it includes replicating instructions while considering the findings of diagnostic testing. When an appropriate description is given, learners begin to imitate the desired action.

The behaviorist school of thought advocates using teaching methods emphasizing low-level learning, such as rote memorization, and high-level cognitive abilities, such as inquiry-based teaching and problem-solving. Due to this, the behaviorist school of thinking has occasionally come under fire for being overly passive.

It has certain strengths since behaviorism makes it easy to describe behavioral exchanges at home and school. Moreover, changing someone’s behavior through reinforcement, reprimand, and extinction is essential. The effectiveness of consequences is quantifiable, and encouraging replies about conduct enable the student to respond reliably in certain circumstances.

However, there are certain weaknesses, such as behaviorism does not consider how the environment affects people’s behavior and offers little to no information about how human languages develop. Additionally, working instructors have employed the methods of rewards and punishments during class to hasten the students’ expected performance and deter their bothersome behavior.

Conclusion

Overall, structuralism and functionalism were two learning theories before behaviorism. The structuralisms used techniques like introspection to study the inner workings of the human mind. Although functionalism began as a reaction to structuralism, William James’ writings and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution had a significant impact. Functionalism emphasizes the belief that no one can survive in nature unless they accomplish their purpose for existence. It is said to be centered on how the brain impacts people’s welfare. This focus on outward manifestations also addressed structuralism’s predilection for introspection.

The degree to which an individual’s surroundings affected their conduct was another issue for behaviorists. They fundamentally looked for links between perceptible behavior and environmental signals. Psychological research must be precise, verifiable, repeatable, and cost-effective in order to be considered scientific. Behaviorists emphasize observable conduct more than internal psychological conceptions and an individual’s attempt to take in only a few items from his environment. Consequently, learning may be defined as an improvement in behavior brought on by personal experience. The behaviorist school of thought emphasizes focusing on low-level learning and high-level mental function while developing students’ academic skills.

Works Cited

Ahmad, Shahzad, Naveed Sultana, and Sadia Jamil. “Behaviorism vs constructivism: A paradigm shift from traditional to alternative assessment techniques.” Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research 7.2 (2020): 19-33.

Subedi, Khemraj. General Psychology: Conceptual and Methodological Frameworks. Far Western University, 2022.

Mehrad, Aida. “Appraise to social psychology, structuralism, behaviorism, Gestalt Psychology and psychoanalysis.” Academic Research Journal of Psychology and Counseling 5.1 (2018): 1-4.

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