John B. Watson Defines the Field
While Wundt’s introspection helped to establish the field of psychology, many working within this new discipline did not feel that Wundt went far enough in exerting the rigid structure of the scientific method on questions of interest to the field. Some believed that in order to become a true science that psychologists must move father away for traditional methods employed by philosophy. The Behaviorist paradigm was an attempt to achieve this end. This perspective came out of the work of several psychologists but one in particular was credited with defining the Behaviorist perspective. In 1913 John B. Watson, a professor of psychology at Johns Hopkins University published Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it in the journal Psychological Review. This text established Behaviorism as a theoretical perspective within psychology. The document opened with the following text:
“Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist's total scheme of investigation.”
Watson, J. (1913). Psychology as the Behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158-177.
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/views.htm
In this statement and the text that followed Watson presented the fundamental principles of Behaviorism. Most notably that observable behavior was the only legitimate subject of study in psychology. Thus, the mind, both conscious and unconscious, was specifically excluded from study by Behaviorists. In addition, Watson proposes that there is no need to differentiate between animals and humans in the study of behavior. Asserting that it is perfectly legitimate to study animal behavior and generalize the results to humans. Thus, results like Pavlov’s work with dogs can easily be generalized to humans.
However, Watson’s is famous for a human study. The study was described in the film you just watched, it is know as the “Little Albert” study. In that study Watson conditioned the infant Albert to fear a white rat and then generalize that fear to other white furry objects. See a full description of this experiment below. It is important to note that there a strict guidelines for working with human subjects in place that prevent such an experiment from being conducted because of the harm that it could cause the subject.
*Watson, J. and Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(1), 1-14.
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/emotion.htm
*Video of little Albert experiment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0ucxOrPQE
*THE SEARCH FOR PSYCHOLOGY'S LOST BOY by Tom Bartlett, June 2, 2014 Chronicle of Higher Education
https://chronicle.com/article/The-Search-for-Psychologys/146747/
*History of Psychology Watson site
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/watson.htm
“Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist's total scheme of investigation.”
Watson, J. (1913). Psychology as the Behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158-177.
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/views.htm
In this statement and the text that followed Watson presented the fundamental principles of Behaviorism. Most notably that observable behavior was the only legitimate subject of study in psychology. Thus, the mind, both conscious and unconscious, was specifically excluded from study by Behaviorists. In addition, Watson proposes that there is no need to differentiate between animals and humans in the study of behavior. Asserting that it is perfectly legitimate to study animal behavior and generalize the results to humans. Thus, results like Pavlov’s work with dogs can easily be generalized to humans.
However, Watson’s is famous for a human study. The study was described in the film you just watched, it is know as the “Little Albert” study. In that study Watson conditioned the infant Albert to fear a white rat and then generalize that fear to other white furry objects. See a full description of this experiment below. It is important to note that there a strict guidelines for working with human subjects in place that prevent such an experiment from being conducted because of the harm that it could cause the subject.
*Watson, J. and Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(1), 1-14.
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/emotion.htm
*Video of little Albert experiment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0ucxOrPQE
*THE SEARCH FOR PSYCHOLOGY'S LOST BOY by Tom Bartlett, June 2, 2014 Chronicle of Higher Education
https://chronicle.com/article/The-Search-for-Psychologys/146747/
*History of Psychology Watson site
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/watson.htm