John Watson Functionalism

Introduction
Before the creation of behaviorism, the focus of psychological study was on individuals requiring treatment for abnormal behaviors (Ledoux, 2012). While the treatment of individuals with psychological disorders was beneficial to society, the result of information gleaned during research was not applicable to all organisms. In an effort to explore behavior within organisms, functionalism emerged as a school of thought based on Darwinism (Green, 2009). Although functionalist focused on organisms, functionalist emphasized the importance of the consciousness on behavior. The rise of behaviorism occurred due to philosophical disagreements within the field of psychology (Clark, 2004; Ledoux, 2012; Watson, 1913). Specifically, behaviorists
A prominent difference between functionalism and behaviorism is the methodology of research; specifically, John Watson sought to increase validity within the field of psychology (Watson, 1913). The researcher asserted that in order for psychology to become a credible field of science, experiments require measurable, replicable and empirical research. Furthermore, John Watson believed that the field of psychology would lack longevity unless researchers recognized the need to increase validity within the field (Moore, 2011). Although John Watson maintained a vocal stance against many aspects of the field of psychology, two prominent issues were objectivity and the
An example of the type of research conducted by behaviorist is John Watson’s Little Albert experimentation in which he conditioned an infant to fear white furry animal (Digdon, Powell and Harris, 2014). Initially, the researcher introduced a white rat in conjunction with a loud noise to startle the infant. Over time, the child began to fear rats and formulated a connection between all white furry objects. While this experiment provided substantial evidence on conditioning methodologies, individuals across academia voiced ethical and validity concerns about the experiment. In regards to the ethical concerns, psychologists believed that the research was in violation of the child’s ethical rights due to the level of anguish displayed by the child. Additionally, members of the psychological community asserted that John Watson placed a greater emphasis upon the outcome of the experimentation versus the well being of Little Albert. In reference to the concerns about the validity of the experimentation, critics highlighted abnormalities with the child’s behavior and disposition before the start of the experiment. Specifically, researchers surmised that the subject of the experimentation had neurological deficits by reviewing videos of the Little Albert