Behavioral Psychology Strengths and Weaknesses

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What is one of the strengths of behavioral psychology highlighted in the text?

Focuses on observable, measurable behaviors

According to critics, what is a weakness of behaviorism in understanding human behavior?

Does not account for moods, thoughts, or feelings

What are some useful applications of behavioral psychology mentioned in the text?

Therapy, education, parenting, child care

Who criticized behaviorism for being a one-dimensional approach to understanding human behavior?

Many critics Signup and view all the answers

According to Noam Chomsky, why is behaviorism insufficient in explaining language acquisition?

Language is too complex to be learned through mimicry alone Signup and view all the answers

What aspect did Freud feel behaviorism failed to account for in understanding human behavior?

Unconscious mind's thoughts, feelings, desires Signup and view all the answers

According to John B. Watson, what is the core belief of behaviorism?

All behaviors are the result of experience. Signup and view all the answers

How did Watson express his confidence in the impact of environmental factors on shaping individuals' behavior?

By stating that he could take any infant and train them to become any type of specialist. Signup and view all the answers

Why is John B. Watson often referred to as the 'father' of behaviorism?

He formalized behaviorism with his 1913 publication 'Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It.' Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary reason for the growth in popularity of behavioral psychology from the 1920s to the mid-1950s?

A desire to establish psychology as an objective and measurable science. Signup and view all the answers

Who is the only person mentioned who conducted behaviorist experiments on a human being?

J.B. Watson with little Albert. Signup and view all the answers

Describe the experiment conducted by J.B. Watson with little Albert.

Albert, an 11-month-old, played with a white laboratory rat placed near him on a table. Signup and view all the answers

According to the passage, what is one criticism of behaviorism raised by humanistic psychologists like Carl Rogers?

Behaviorism was too rigid and limited, failing to take into consideration personal agency. Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of human behavior does biological psychology emphasize?

The power of the brain and genetics in determining and influencing human actions. Signup and view all the answers

What types of mental processes does the cognitive approach to psychology focus on?

Thinking, decision-making, language, and problem-solving. Signup and view all the answers

According to the passage, what types of learning does behavioral psychology neglect?

Learning that occurs without the use of reinforcement and punishment. Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon challenges the principles of behavioral psychology, according to the passage?

People and animals can adapt their behavior when new information is introduced, even if that behavior was established through reinforcement. Signup and view all the answers

What is one criticism of behaviorism raised in the passage?

It neglects mental processes and other influences in favor of studying just observable behaviors. Signup and view all the answers