Hergenhahn's Introduction to History of Psychology PDF

Hergenhahn’s An Introduction to the History of Psychology Eighth Edition Chapter 12 Behaviorism © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Russian Objective Psychology (1 of 11) Ivan Sechenov – Sechenov s...

Hergenhahn’s An Introduction to the History of Psychology Eighth Edition Chapter 12 Behaviorism © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Russian Objective Psychology (1 of 11) Ivan Sechenov – Sechenov sought to explain all psychic phenomena on the basis of associationism and materialism  Thoughts do not cause behavior.  Both internal behavior (mental processes) and external behavior are reflexive in that they are triggered by external stimulation. – Inhibition: inhibitory mechanisms in the brain  All behavior is reflexive  Saw human development as the slow establishment of inhibitory control over reflexive behavior © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Russian Objective Psychology (2 of 11) – The only valid approach to the study of psychology involved the objective methods of physiology. Ivan Pavlov – Won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his work in physiology. – During his work on the physiology of the digestive system Pavlov discovered the conditioned reflex.  Noted that objects or events associated with presentation of food also produced gastric secretions. o Referred to these as “conditional” because they depended on something else.  An early translation of his work mistranslated conditional as conditioned. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Russian Objective Psychology (3 of 11) – Developed classical (Pavlovian) conditioning  In classical conditioning: o An unconditioned response (UR)(innate unconditioned reflex) is triggered by an unconditioned stimulus (US)(a stimulus which naturally elicits the unconditioned response out of the organism).  For example, food elicits salivation out of an organism. o The conditioned reflex (conditioned response) is developed by the laws of contiguity and frequency. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Russian Objective Psychology (5 of 11) A biologically neutral stimulus (NS) (a stimulus that does not elicit a specific response, a response similar to the unconditioned response, out of the organism) is associated, through contiguity, with the unconditioned stimulus (US) and develops the capacity to elicit some fraction of the unconditioned response – At this point, the neutral stimulus (NS) has become the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response to the conditioned stimulus is the conditioned response (CR). © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  For example: a dog salivating to the sight of person bringing food is an example of classical conditioning and the salivation is the conditioned response. – Food = US  Paired with footsteps (NS), the original response to the US (food) becomes attached to the NS.  The neutral stimulus becomes conditioned (CS) & the original response does, as well. (UR -> CR). © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Russian Objective Psychology (6 of 11) – Excitation and Inhibition  All central nervous system activity can be characterized as either excitation or inhibition (Sechenov). o The pattern of excitation and inhibition that characterizes the brain at any given moment is what Pavlov called the cortical mosaic. – Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery  Extinction o If a conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by the unconditioned stimulus, then extinction of the response will occur. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Russian Objective Psychology (7 of 11)  Spontaneous Recovery o If a period of time elapses between extinction and the presentation of the conditioned stimulus again, the conditioned response will be observed  This is called spontaneous recovery. – Experimental neurosis  Occurs when excitatory and inhibitory tendencies are brought into conflict. o Reward with circle; No reward with ellipse  Slowly shifting the circle into an ellipse causes a breakdown in the animal’s behavior  There is an element of inflexibility with similar stimuli. 4 types of reactions seen in animals. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Russian Objective Psychology (8 of 11) – Signal Systems  First-signal system or “the first signals of reality.” o Stimuli (conditioned stimuli) that come to signal biologically significant events  Second-signal system or “signals of signals” o Humans learn to respond to symbols of physical events (use of language, words are symbols referring to events).  Pavlov had a low opinion of psychologists but did appreciate Thorndike for his systematic and objective approach to research.  Believed Thorndike’s law of effect was the key for associationism’s success.  He thought the study of consciousness should be studied using only scientifically based methods. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (1 of 10) Early in his career (1908) he publicly announced his behavioristic views – His behavioristic views were severely criticized  He withdrew and fell silent temporarily  Psychologists tried to convince him otherwise. – In 1913, he presented his famous lecture “Psychology as a behaviorist views it,” the “Behaviorist Manifesto,” within which he lays out the basic tenets of behaviorism. They are:  Psychology is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (2 of 10)  Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior.  Introspection forms no essential part of its method.  The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute – The reaction was, for the most part, critical and immediate.  This served the purpose to just make him more adamant and radical in his views. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (3 of 10) Watson forced to resign – Watson was forced to resign from Johns Hopkins University after a scandal – He then entered into advertising where he made a substantial amount of money. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (4 of 10) Watson’s objective psychology – Goal was the prediction and control of behavior. – Four types of behavior  Explicit (overt) learned behavior o talking, writing, etc.  Implicit (covert) learned behavior o increased heart rate caused by a feared stimulus  Explicit unlearned behavior o grasping, blinking, sneezing, etc.  Implicit learned behavior o glandular secretions © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (5 of 10) – Four methods of research  Observation, naturalistic or controlled  Conditioned-reflex method, proposed by Pavlov and Bechterev  Testing, meant taking samples of behavior and not measurement of “capacity” or “personality”  Verbal reports, which were treated as any other type of overt behavior. – Language and thinking were a form of behavior.  Speech was simply a form of overt behavior, while thinking was a form of implicit or subvocal speech. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (7 of 10) – There were a few simple reflexes, but no complex innate behavior patterns in humans  Our experience is what makes us who we are—radical environmentalism. – Proposed that, along with a few basic reflexes, humans inherit the emotions of fear, rage, and love. Through learning, emotions come to be elicited by many stimuli, not just the stimuli that naturally elicit them. In addition, all other emotions are derived from these three. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (8 of 10) – The research with infants (Little Albert) exemplified the conditioning (learning) of emotional responses in humans and the counterconditioning of those emotions.  One of the first examples of behavior therapy. Proposed that children should be raised in an objective manner – Few displays of affection. – They are to be treated as adults. – Watson also believed that children should receive sex education. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (9 of 10) Learning was one of contiguity and frequency – Events are associated in time, which produces conditioning of behavior to occur.  Law of recency Adopted a physical monism position – Eventually switched to a physical monism position regarding the mind-body problem, rejecting the existence of mental events (consciousness) altogether. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. John B. Watson and Behaviorism (10 of 10) Behaviorism had two long-lasting effects – Psychology’s main goal changed from description and explanation of states of consciousness to the prediction and control of behavior. – Overt behavior was the almost-exclusive subject matter of psychology. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.