Final: Behaviorism and Behaviorism Background Behaviorism Essay example

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Behaviorism Background
Jamia E. Phoenix
Colorado Christian University
Abstract
Behaviorism is a theory of learning Behaviorism purposes that learning is based on the thought that all behaviors are gained when they are conditioned. The theory of behaviorism supposes that behavior can be studied in a controlled manner and according to John B. Watson we can observe it and it should have nothing to do with introspection because introspection is too subjective (Goodwin, 2008). Besides John B. Watson and of course there were others also interested in the study of behavior, specifically, these gentlemen named Ivan P. Pavlov, Burrhus F. Skinner. Behaviorism was a major change from earlier views because it discarded the importance of the conscious and unconscious mind and instead it attempted to make psychology a more scientific field by focusing just on the observable behavior. Behaviorism has its earliest start with the work on Ivan P. Pavlov’s research on the digestive system of dogs that led him to the discovery of “classical conditioning process”.

Behaviorism Background
Behaviorism background and description of Behaviorism in relation to learning is not believed in association and that “the objects being associated are similar, or opposite, or near each other.” Then Behaviorism came into play with Ivan P. Pavlov a Russian physiologist.
Behaviorist
Ivan Palov studied the behavior of dogs and how they would salavating (conditioning reflex) when shown just the food dish without food (conditioning stimulus or conditioned response). Next, John B. Watson wrote a book called Behavior, where he described psychology as the process where behavior can be predicted and controlled. Watson studied how learning can be achieved through a repeated stimulus and specific responses. Edward Thorndike described behaviorism as “a description of man’s mind is that it is his connection system, adapting the responses of thought, feeling and the action that he makes to the situation that he meets”. Thorndike also studied the “law of effect” and “law of exercise”. However according to Demirezen (1988:135) background of behaviorism growth is basically, behaviorist theory is psychology theory that was founded by J.B. Watson as a reaction to traditional grammar. This theory was supported by Leonard Bloomfield, O.N Mowrer, B.F. Skinner and A.W. Staats. Behaviorism grown in America as new approach of psychology by making a particular emphasis on the importance of verbal behavior. “The major principles of behaviorist theory is the analyst of human behavior in observable stimulus-response interaction as the association between them. Thorndike was the first behaviorist who explored the learning theory and the idea in order to form the association on particular process of behavior theory and the consequence of itself. Those were kinds of behaviorism that the behaviorist theory stimulus response learning was developed in operant conditioning from Skinner. He assumed that all learning to be established of habits as a result of reinforcement and reward. On the other hand, the other behaviorist that was assumed by Pavlov that the stimulus and response work together. The example of behaviorism based on Pavlov was children developed to learn the language of their social surroundings naturally whose importance both over language learning and teaching must never be underestimated. In this project of behaviorist was in fact that human and animal learning in process ofclear that habit information. A highly complex learning task, according to this theory may be learned by being broken down into small habits. These are formed correct and incorrect response are rewarded or punished (Hubbard Jones and Thornton Wheeler, 1983:326 as cited in Demirizen 1988:135). Thus it is clear that the acquisition of learning in infancy is governed by the acquisition of learning other habits.

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
The Principles of Learning Behaviorism
Ivan Pavlov a