Comparison Between the Perspectives of Watson, Skinner and Essay Example
Psychological perspectives have changed as the field of psychology has progressed. There are a few perspectives that have core values that have remained steadfast even in today's pool of theories. John Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Edward Tolman, all had theories that remain the foundation for many schools of thought in psychology today. This paper will compare and contrast these theories.
John B. Watson
John Watson was born in 1878 and at the age of 16, went to college. He attained a Masters degree at the age of 21, from where he went on to be a school principal. His job lasted a year and then he moved on to attend school once more at the University of Chicago. There he studied philosophy under John Dewey. He was not satisfied with Dewey's teachings so "he sought out a different advisor and settled on functionalist psychologist James Rowland Angell and physiologist Henry Donaldson" (Wikipedia, 2007).
Taking what he learned from Angell and Donaldson, Watson began forming his own theories about behavior, eventually known as "behaviorism". John B. Watson was soon to become known as the founder of the school of behaviorism in psychology.
According to Wikipedia, "Behaviorism (also called learning perspective) is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things which organisms do- including acting, thinking and feeling- can and should be regarded as behaviors." Watson's theory was considered classical behaviorism otherwise known as classical conditioning. Watson's view on behavior was that it was purely elicited. He believed that people did not experience emotions, that they were a response to some other stimuli. Watson's goal for classical behaviorism was to create a more objective science
John Watson's most famous experiment was that of little Albert. Albert was a small child who was brought to work every day by his parent, a laboratory worker. Everyday Albert would play with the lab rats to keep himself occupied. Watson viewed Albert's
John B. Watson
John Watson was born in 1878 and at the age of 16, went to college. He attained a Masters degree at the age of 21, from where he went on to be a school principal. His job lasted a year and then he moved on to attend school once more at the University of Chicago. There he studied philosophy under John Dewey. He was not satisfied with Dewey's teachings so "he sought out a different advisor and settled on functionalist psychologist James Rowland Angell and physiologist Henry Donaldson" (Wikipedia, 2007).
Taking what he learned from Angell and Donaldson, Watson began forming his own theories about behavior, eventually known as "behaviorism". John B. Watson was soon to become known as the founder of the school of behaviorism in psychology.
According to Wikipedia, "Behaviorism (also called learning perspective) is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things which organisms do- including acting, thinking and feeling- can and should be regarded as behaviors." Watson's theory was considered classical behaviorism otherwise known as classical conditioning. Watson's view on behavior was that it was purely elicited. He believed that people did not experience emotions, that they were a response to some other stimuli. Watson's goal for classical behaviorism was to create a more objective science
John Watson's most famous experiment was that of little Albert. Albert was a small child who was brought to work every day by his parent, a laboratory worker. Everyday Albert would play with the lab rats to keep himself occupied. Watson viewed Albert's