Psychology and Methodological Behaviorism Essay Example
Sarah Richling
Psychology 400
Dr. Kenniston
September 27, 2006
Paper 1 The school of thought in psychology that I most closely identify myself with is methodological behaviorism. Behavior analysis is the science that studies environmental events that change behavior (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968). Behaviorists take a hedonistic approach to learning. This involves the basic idea that an organism will seek pleasure (reinforcement) and avoid pain (punishment). The organism will then "learn" from this environmental experience and will shape future behavior of the organism.
This principle also leads into the idea that behavior is controllable and predictable. We can answer questions about the organism by looking at the environmental conditions it is subjected to. Behaviorists may also assume that humans and animals are alike, but humans are capable of more complex learning. In addition, complex behavior is thought to be reducible to simple laws of behavior and is not qualitatively different than simple behavior.
Behaviorists hold that some processes, like thinking and feeling may exist, but are not directly observable and, hence, cannot be scientifically confirmed. Behaviorists do not tend to explain behavior is everyday terms such as "He ran to class because he thought he was going to be late". They try to explain this in a more scientific way using observable events. A behaviorist's explanation may be more like "He ran to class because in the past when he was late, he lost points."
There are three main types of behaviorism: radical, methodological, and logical. Radical behaviorists may claim that private events such as thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and mental states do not exist. Logical behaviorists hold that emotions need only be interpreted into behavioral terms. For example, consider the statement "Kari believes she is going to get in a car accident." A logical behaviorist would not accept this statement, but would translate it into an
Psychology 400
Dr. Kenniston
September 27, 2006
Paper 1 The school of thought in psychology that I most closely identify myself with is methodological behaviorism. Behavior analysis is the science that studies environmental events that change behavior (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968). Behaviorists take a hedonistic approach to learning. This involves the basic idea that an organism will seek pleasure (reinforcement) and avoid pain (punishment). The organism will then "learn" from this environmental experience and will shape future behavior of the organism.
This principle also leads into the idea that behavior is controllable and predictable. We can answer questions about the organism by looking at the environmental conditions it is subjected to. Behaviorists may also assume that humans and animals are alike, but humans are capable of more complex learning. In addition, complex behavior is thought to be reducible to simple laws of behavior and is not qualitatively different than simple behavior.
Behaviorists hold that some processes, like thinking and feeling may exist, but are not directly observable and, hence, cannot be scientifically confirmed. Behaviorists do not tend to explain behavior is everyday terms such as "He ran to class because he thought he was going to be late". They try to explain this in a more scientific way using observable events. A behaviorist's explanation may be more like "He ran to class because in the past when he was late, he lost points."
There are three main types of behaviorism: radical, methodological, and logical. Radical behaviorists may claim that private events such as thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and mental states do not exist. Logical behaviorists hold that emotions need only be interpreted into behavioral terms. For example, consider the statement "Kari believes she is going to get in a car accident." A logical behaviorist would not accept this statement, but would translate it into an