Perspectives Paper
The Perspectives of Watson, Skinner, and Tolman
Steven Billingsley
PSY 310
Dr. Stabile
The Perspectives of Watson, Skinner, and Tolman Dating back to ancient times, psychology has been a very important tool for learning people’s behaviors and ways of thinking. There have been countless numbers of people who have played a big role in breakthroughs and theories in psychology that have made its way to the modern times. This paper will compare and contrast perspectives of three psychologists that have made a big difference in the world of psychology. “There were many that changed and improved the theories and practices of American Behaviorism through the ages” (superadmin, 2011). The three most influential psychologist’s perspectives that will be compared and contrasted include John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Edward C. Tolman. Each perspective of the three will be described on how their perspectives relate to the field of modern-day psychology.
John B. Watson In Watson’s early years to study behavior he mostly used animals as subjects. Later on he focused more on human behaviors and emotions. One of Watson’s most famous studies was known as the Little Albert Experiment where he tried to theorize that children have three basic emotional reactions (Watson, 1999). These reactions include fear, rage, and love (Watson, 1999). “He wanted to prove that these three reactions could be artificially conditioned in children. Watson used a little boy named Albert to test his theory. He repeatedly presented Albert a rat in conjunction with a sudden, loud noise to classically condition fear of the rat” (Watson, 1999). ”Watson states that behaviorism is the scientific study of human behavior. It is simply the study of what people do. Behaviorism is intended to take psychology up to the same level as other sciences. The first task is to observe behavior and make predictions, then to take determine causal relationships. Behavior can be reduced to relationships between
Steven Billingsley
PSY 310
Dr. Stabile
The Perspectives of Watson, Skinner, and Tolman Dating back to ancient times, psychology has been a very important tool for learning people’s behaviors and ways of thinking. There have been countless numbers of people who have played a big role in breakthroughs and theories in psychology that have made its way to the modern times. This paper will compare and contrast perspectives of three psychologists that have made a big difference in the world of psychology. “There were many that changed and improved the theories and practices of American Behaviorism through the ages” (superadmin, 2011). The three most influential psychologist’s perspectives that will be compared and contrasted include John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Edward C. Tolman. Each perspective of the three will be described on how their perspectives relate to the field of modern-day psychology.
John B. Watson In Watson’s early years to study behavior he mostly used animals as subjects. Later on he focused more on human behaviors and emotions. One of Watson’s most famous studies was known as the Little Albert Experiment where he tried to theorize that children have three basic emotional reactions (Watson, 1999). These reactions include fear, rage, and love (Watson, 1999). “He wanted to prove that these three reactions could be artificially conditioned in children. Watson used a little boy named Albert to test his theory. He repeatedly presented Albert a rat in conjunction with a sudden, loud noise to classically condition fear of the rat” (Watson, 1999). ”Watson states that behaviorism is the scientific study of human behavior. It is simply the study of what people do. Behaviorism is intended to take psychology up to the same level as other sciences. The first task is to observe behavior and make predictions, then to take determine causal relationships. Behavior can be reduced to relationships between
References: superadmin, . (2011). Health, Body, and Soul. Retrieved from http://www.cvbrownhealth.org/tag/compare-and-contrast-perspectives-of-john-b-watson-and- bf-skinner-with/ Watson, E. (1999). John B. Watson. Retrieved from http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/watson.htm Boeree, G. C. (2006). B. F. Skinner. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/skinner.html VanderZwaag, L. (1998). Edward C. Tolman. Retrieved from http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/tolman.htm#Theory Barker, L.M. (1997). Learning and behavior. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.