Behaviourism Presentation NEW

7/25/2019 Behaviourism Presentation NEW

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BEHAVIOURISM

Presented by -

Meghna Vanjani

Meher Sharma


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CONTENTSIntroduction

Emergence

Watsonian behaviorism

Other varieties of behaviorismNeo behaviourism

Edward Chance Tolman

Clark Leonard HullTolman vs. Hull

Positivism and Logical Positivism

Behaviorism vs. Neo Behaviorism


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WHAT IS

BEHAVIOURIS

M?


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Behaviourism, also known asbehavioural psychology, is a theory

of learning based upon the ideathat all behaviors are acquiredthrough conditioning. Conditioningoccurs through interaction with theenvironment. Behaviorists believethat our responses toenvironmental stimuli shapes our

behaviors.


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According to behaviourism

All behaviours are acquired throughconditioning

Conditioning occurs through interaction

with the environmentResponses to environmental stimuli

shapes behaviour

Behaviour should be studied in asystematic and observable manner

Only observable behaviours are studied;internal states such as cognitions,

emotions and moods are too subjective


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EMERGENCE OF

BEHAVIOURISM

Psychology changed dramatically during the

early 20th-century as another school of thought

known asbehaviourismrose to dominance.

Behaviourism was a major change from previous

theoretical perspectives, rejecting the emphasison both the conscious and unconscious mind.

Instead, behaviourism strove to make psychology

a more scientific discipline by focusing purely on

observable behavior.John B Watson(1878-1958) founded the school

of behaviourism. He proposed that psychologists

should abandon the study of the consciousness

altogether.


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Watson wanted psychology to be a science with

reliable, exact knowledge, which would replace

vague speculation and personal

opinion. He argued in the Nature vs.Nurture debate that people were made, not born.

He called for a radical revisioning of the scope

and method of psychological research.

Introspection was to be abandoned in favour ofthe study of behaviour.

Behaviour was to be evaluated in its own right,

independent of its relationship to any

consciousness that might exist. The concept of"consciousness" was to be rejected as an

interpretive standard and eschewed as an

explanatory device.


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As an objective, natural science, psychology was

to make no sharp distinction between human and

animal behavior; and its goal was to develop

principles by which behavior could be predictedand controlled.

Watson stated that psychology is a purely

objective branch of natural science with an

oretical goal of prediction and control ofbehaviour. According to him, introspection

formed no essential part of its methods nor the

scientific value of its data dependent on the

readiness with which they lend interpretation interms of consciousness.


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J. B. Watson faulted introspection on empirical,

philosophical and practical grounds. Empirically, it failed to define questions it could

convincingly answer. Philosophically, Watson condemned mentalistic

psychology for its use of non-scientific method of

introspection.

Finally on practical grounds, in the laboratory , it

demanded that animal psychologists find some

behavioural criterion of consciousness, an issue that

involved Watson as he reviewed it several times.

On Watsons account, then, introspective

psychology had nothing to recommend and muchto condemn it.


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Therefore, as a starting point, Watsons

behaviourist manifesto proposed that psychology

would be the study of adjustive behaviour.

Description of behaviour would lead to theprediction of behaviour in terms of stimulus and

response.


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JOHN BROADUS WATSON

(1878-1958)


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Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and

my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll

guarantee to take any one at random and train him

to become any type of specialist I might select

doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, evenbeggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,

penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race

of his ancestors.

-John B Watson,1913


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DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY

He defined psychology as that division of natural

science which takes human behaviour the

doings and saying, both learned and unlearned,

of people as its subject matter

He considered the psychic life or consciousness as

pure assumptions

He also included verbalisation as a kind of

behaviour.

Watsons behaviourism had two specific

objectives-

1. To predict the response, knowing the stimulus

2. To predict the stimulus, knowing the response


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THE MIND BODY PROBLEMBehaviourists did not wish to study consciousness

or mind and therefore wished to deny itsimportance.

Most behaviourists adopted one of these two views

1.An epiphenomenal view implying that

consciousness had no causal efficacy & littleinterest for science

2.A completely physical monism which denied

existence of mind & served the purposes of

behaviourismWatson adopted a less extreme view. He believed

that conscious processes are real but cannot be

studied as they are not observable.


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WATSONS EXPERIMENTAL

PROGRAM

Conducted extensive study of behaviour during

the foetal and early postnatal period in animals.

Began the comparable study of human infants to

determine the kind and variety of congenital

behaviour which could be reliably identified and

which was presumably inherited.

Studied emotional life of the infant and child.

One of the well known studies was the

controversial Little Albert experiment.


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He was first presented with a white

rat. Whenever he reached out to touch

it, a loud noise was made and littleAlbert cried. After this conditioning

process, every time he was presented

with the rat he cried.


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POSTULATES

1. Behaviour is composed of responseelements&can be analysed by natural scientific methods

2. Behavior is composedentirelyofglandular

secretions& muscular movements. It is reducible

ultimately to physiochemical processes3. There is an immediate response of some sort to

every effective stimulus & every response has

some stimulus. Thus, there is strict cause &

effectdeterminismin behaviourism

4. Conscious processes if they exist cannot be

studiedscientifically, allegations concerning

consciousness represent supernatural tendencies

must be ignored


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SECONDARY

CHARACTERISTICS

Language Development

Watson considered thinking to be implicit, or covert,

behaviour. Such behaviour consists of tendencies

toward muscular movements or glandular secretions

that are no directly observable by the usual techniquesof observation but play an important role in activating

or mediating other, more overt behaviour.

According to him, motor activity in you children is

accompanied by a more or less complete language

description. For example, the child will tend to sayJohnny eats while eating. Over time, due to parental

pressure, this tends to turn into silent speech or

thinking in adulthood.


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CONTRIBUTIONS

Watson contributed to making psychology more

scientific.

He emphasised on the noninteraction of the mind

and body within an individual.

Heuristic value

Mysticism removed intelctual sounding


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METHODOLOGICAL

CRITICISMS

Watsons extreme formulation left out important

components of psychology. For example, Woodworth

argued that the emphasis on strict objectivity hindered

research into sensory and & perceptual processes.

McDougall argued that behaviourism lacks the following

1. the functional relations of conscious experiences

2. accuracy of verbal reports

3. the meaningfulness of the verbal report

Woodworth argued that although Watson postulated

implicit behaviour, he restricted his own research to

directly observable aspects of behaviour. For example, in

his study of emotions.

Tolman criticised the molecular approach to behaviour.


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METAPHYSICAL CRITICISMS

Watson considered thinking to be a matter of

language mechanisms and emotion to be a set of

glandular responses. However, he failed to explain the

terms thinking and emotion.

Heidbreder criticised behaviourism for rejectingawareness of ones own personal and private

sensations (interoreceptors) but accepting observable

evidence of bodily reactions (exteroreceptors).For example, one does not to look at oneself in the mirror

or undergo tests in order to be aware that he is angry.

Bergmann criticised Watson for adopting an extreme

position (that the mind does not exist) in order to

establish psychology as a science.


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OTHERVARIETIES OF

BEHAVIORISM


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EDWIN BISELL HOLT

(1873-1946)


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EDWIN BISELL HOLT

(1873-1946)

Born in Winchester, MassachusettsBachelors degree and Ph.D. from Harvard

Agreed with Watson - psychology should study

behaviour

Gave a broader and philosophical view of behaviourArgued organisms are goal oriented and movement is

based on purposes, wishes & plans

Behaviour is not random

Attempted new explanation to consciousnessConsciousness linked with neurophysical processes &

physical objects

Emphasis on molar behavior


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ALBERT PAUL WEISS

(1879-1931)


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ALBERT PAUL WEISS

(1879-1931)

Ph.D. from university of Missouri

Proposed strict behaviorism

Believed behavior should be understood in terms

of social & physiological components

No reasonable bias in invoking consciousness

Argued psychologists shouldnt employ psychical

explanatory principle until all mechanical

explanations are exhausted

A radical & uncompromising behaviorist

Committed to physical monism

Pioneer in study of human-machine interaction


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WALTER SAMUEL HUNTER

(1889-1954)


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WALTER SAMUEL HUNTER

(1889-1954)

Born in IllinoisBachelors from university of Texas

Avoided extreme positions by use of nothing but, all &

every

Called behavioristic point as anthroponomy, the

science of human behavior

Anthroponomy- law of man

Open to variety of methods-observation, experimental

methods

Stressed on studies related to workplace, everyday

adjustment, military

Famous work-delayed reaction in animals & children

Contributed to perception that behaviorism is not

restricted to laboratory


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BEHAVIORISM

VS. NEO

BEHAVIORISM


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Behaviourism:

The system of objective psychology was founded

by J. B. Watson and its major goal was to study

behaviour and processes that were totally

objective and fully observable.

They wanted to study behaviour making no

assumption beyond what was available to the

senses.

Behaviourism was a narrow field of interest that

dictated that all mentalistic concepts were

useless. For e.g.: behaviourism had rejected both

consciousness and unconsciousness as useless

myths.


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The distinction between behaviourism

and neo-behaviourism rested on the

distinction between positivism and

logical positivism.


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Neo behaviourism :The main goal of the neo behaviourists was to

study somewhat mentalistic concepts like

learning, memory, but there was a condition that

only if the concepts were defined in terms of

directly observable behaviour.

Therefore, the neo behaviourists had adopted

logical positivism.


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EDWARDCHANCETOLMAN


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EDWARD CHANCE TOLMAN

(1886-1959)


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INTRODUCTION

Well known for concept ofpurposive

behaviourism

1886 Born in Newton, Massachusetts

1911 Bachelors degree in electrochemistry

1912 Exposed to Gestalt Psychology Koffka

1923 Studied gestalt psychology

1932 Purposive Behaviourism in Animals and

Men1942 There is more than one kind of learning

1959 Died.

HIGHLIGHTSOFHIS


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HIGHLIGHTS OF HIS

SYSTEM

Formulated atheory of stimulus-responseand

explained it through a series of non-observable

intervening variables.

Defined stimulus as a kind of perception of the

environment and response as a collection of muscletwitches and glandular secretions.

Suggested that learntbehaviour is directed and

goal oriented.

Rejected reinforcement and instead proposed thatanimals learned connections between stimuli

and therefore did not need any explicit biologically

significant event to make learning occur.

This was known aspurposive behaviourism.


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DEPENDENT VARIABLES

Dependent Variables refer to those behaviours

which are observable, active, and selective.

Observable behaviour not a mechanistic

stimulus-response affairPurposive & cognitive

Hierarchy of demands, sign gestalt, readiness &

expectation


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3 situations give strong

support for S-S pattern of

behaviour-

Reward expectancy Theorganism has some

representation of the

expectedreward at the time it

responds.

Place Learning Rats

remember theplacewhere theyhave been rewarded, rather

than the particular movements

required to get to the food box.

Latent Learning Learning

occurs in the absence of reward,

but is not demonstrated untilthe appropriate motivational

conditions are

obtained/provided.


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Gave 6 types of learningCathexis Affective properties acquired by objects

Equivalence Beliefs Cognitive representations ofsubgoals , secondary reinforcers, or impending

disturbances.

Field Expectancies representations of the

environment that make possible latent learning

Field Cognition Modes higher order functions,

modes of perceiving, remembering & inferring which

are acquired in the course of usual learning.

Drive Discrimination demonstrated abilities of

animals to behave differently under differentdeprivational conditions.

Motor Patterns response & combinations of

responses.


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CLARK LEONARD HULL

(1884-1952)


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CONCEPTSAND


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CONCEPTS AND

CONTRIBUTIONS

Hull proposed that since we cannot observe themediating events inside the organism, it does not

mean that they do not exist.

In order to study these mediating events we need

to operationally define them. In other wordsoperational definitions are those that can quantify

these events.

stimulus mediating events response


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CRITICISMSTheory had little value beyond laboratory.

Lack of internal inconsistency in the theory.

Theory not revised in the face of contradictory

data.

Criticised because he assumed that his laws of

behaviour, which were derived from experiments

with rats (drugs, effect on motor activity, sexual

motivation and performance), would account for

all human behavior, including social behavior.


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The difference between

the Tolmans cognitive

& Hulls S-R theories

can be better explained

through theirapproaches toward the

maze experiment with

rats.


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According toHull, The choice point presents stimuli (S) to

which three responses (Rs) corresponding to each path have

been conditioned during initial training. Path 1 is preferred to

Path 2, which is preferred to Path 3. That is, connection S-R1is stronger than S-R2, which is stronger than S-R3. This is

called adivergent family hierarchy.

When a block is placed at Point 1, the rat will run into it, back up,

and choose Path 2. The connection S-R1is weakened by the block, so

S-R2becomes stronger and is acted on. If a second block is placed atPoint 2, the rat will retreat to the choice point and again choose Path

2 as S-R1is again blocked and S-R2becomes stronger. However, the

block will again be met, S-R2will weaken, and finally S-R3will be

strongest and the rat will choose Path 3.

S

R1

R2

R3


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Tolmandenied that what is learned is a set of responses

triggered to differing degrees by the stimuli at the choicepoint. Instead, he held that the rat learns a mental map of

the maze that guides its behaviour.

According to this view the rat encountering the first block

will turn around and choose Path 2, as in the S-R approach,

because Path 2 is shorter than Path 3. However, if it

encounters Block 2, the rat will know that the same block ill

cut off Path 2 as well as Path 1. Therefore, the rat will show

insight: it will return and choose Path 3, ignoring Path 2

altogether.


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2. Relative InfluenceTolman could inspire students but he could not teach

them a systematic viewpoint. As such, he had no

disciples.

Hull, on the other hand, constructed a set ofpostulates and derived theorems from them. This

helped him gain disciples and also made him more

influential than Tolman.


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Behaviourism Presentation NEW