Behavior Therapy

2 Pages 496 Words

Behaviorism is a school of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the scientific study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning. That is the text book definition of behaviorism, my definition in my own words is, doing something that causes a response in someone or something, and by doing it enough times causes a constant reaction every time in the person or thing. John Watson founded behaviorism in the early 1900's. Watson emphasized the scientific study of observable behaviors rather then the study of subjective mental process.

The behavioral theory dominated psychology for more then 50 years. Watson believed that as much as Pavlov's dogs reflexively salivated to food, human emotions could be thought of as reflexive responses involving the muscles and glands. In studies with infants, Watson identified three emotions that he believed represented inborn and natural unconditioned reflexes, fear, rage, and love. According to Watson, each of these emotions could be triggered by stimuli. For example, he found two stimuli that triggered fear, a sudden loud noise, or sudden dropping motion. A prime example of this is when you have a new puppy and you are training it to sit. Because he is, just a puppy it will have no idea what the command "sit" is, so you will have to teach it what the command means. When you give the command to the puppy you will push his butt down and show him what he is suppose to do when he hears the command. You will have to do this a few times until the dog gets used to it. Every time you give the command and the puppy follows it, you reward him for his actions, either with a treat or pet and praise him. If the puppy does not follow the command, you give him negative attention such as spank, or yell at him. Soon enough the dog will realize that every time I follow my masters command I get praised, but when I fail to obey them I get punished. The dog would much r...