Perspectives Paper
Perspectives Paper
PSY/310
Perspectives Paper
B.F. Skinner, Edward C. Trolman, and John Watson, although all wonderful and very intelligent psychologist, did not always agree, when it comes to behaviorism perspectives. Some perspectives were believable at the time and others society felt was so far out in left field that it did not make any sense to them in any way. Even though all three were very intelligent, they all three come from very different backgrounds.
B.F. Skinner was a product of a small town America. He was from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. He grew up at a time when optimism within the emerging white middle class was high in America. The country had just emerged from difficult economic times in the 1890’s and it had just been beaten the overmatched Spanish in the Spanish-American war. (Goodwin, 2008)
Edward C. Tolman was born into an upper middle class environment in a suburb of Boston. As a child he learned the virtues of perseverance and hard work from his father, a successful business executive, who had a Quaker background. (Goodwin, 2008)
John Watson was born in 1878 in the rural area just outside of Greenville, South Carolina. He was born into a family that would earn the label “dysfunctional” today. His father was a marginally successful farmer whose interests included consuming large amounts of alcohol, brawling, and committing adultery. He frequently left home for extended periods of time. Watson’s mother was fiercely religious that he aspire to the ministry. Growing up in his environment by mid adolescence he had behavioral problems of his own. (Goodwin, 2008)
Skinner is responsible for making the distinction between classical and operant conditioning. Skinner distinguished between type s and type r conditioning. He said through the procedure of pairing two stimuli one that initially elicits the response and one that does not. Some behavior is emitted by the organism and is controlled by the immediate consequences of the behavior, not
PSY/310
Perspectives Paper
B.F. Skinner, Edward C. Trolman, and John Watson, although all wonderful and very intelligent psychologist, did not always agree, when it comes to behaviorism perspectives. Some perspectives were believable at the time and others society felt was so far out in left field that it did not make any sense to them in any way. Even though all three were very intelligent, they all three come from very different backgrounds.
B.F. Skinner was a product of a small town America. He was from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. He grew up at a time when optimism within the emerging white middle class was high in America. The country had just emerged from difficult economic times in the 1890’s and it had just been beaten the overmatched Spanish in the Spanish-American war. (Goodwin, 2008)
Edward C. Tolman was born into an upper middle class environment in a suburb of Boston. As a child he learned the virtues of perseverance and hard work from his father, a successful business executive, who had a Quaker background. (Goodwin, 2008)
John Watson was born in 1878 in the rural area just outside of Greenville, South Carolina. He was born into a family that would earn the label “dysfunctional” today. His father was a marginally successful farmer whose interests included consuming large amounts of alcohol, brawling, and committing adultery. He frequently left home for extended periods of time. Watson’s mother was fiercely religious that he aspire to the ministry. Growing up in his environment by mid adolescence he had behavioral problems of his own. (Goodwin, 2008)
Skinner is responsible for making the distinction between classical and operant conditioning. Skinner distinguished between type s and type r conditioning. He said through the procedure of pairing two stimuli one that initially elicits the response and one that does not. Some behavior is emitted by the organism and is controlled by the immediate consequences of the behavior, not
References: Goodwin, C. (2008). A history of Modern Psychology 3rd. ED. . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons. Watson, J. (1913). John Watson and behaviorism . Retrieved October 22, 2012, from Watson: http://www.psych.utah.edu/gordon/Classes/Psy4905Docs/PsychHistory/Cards/Watson.html