What is behaviourism?
Background:
Behaviourism is a psychological theory and approach to understanding human behaviour that emphasizes the study of observable behaviours and the environmental factors that influence them. It is a school of thought that emerged in the early 20th century and was heavily influenced by the work of psychologists like Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner.
Key principles of behaviourism include:
- Stimulus-Response: Behaviourism focuses on the relationship between external stimuli (events or conditions in the environment) and the observable responses or behaviours that result from them. This perspective suggests that behaviour can be predicted and controlled by manipulating these stimuli.
- Conditioning: Behaviourism emphasizes the role of learning through conditioning. There are two main types of conditioning in behaviourism:
- Classical Conditioning: This involves associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to create a conditioned response. For example, Ivan Pavlov's famous experiment with dogs showed that they could learn to associate the sound of a bell with the arrival of food and subsequently salivate at the sound of the bell alone.
- Operant Conditioning: This focuses on the consequences of behaviour. B.F. Skinner introduced the concept of reinforcement (reward) and punishment as means to shape and control behaviour. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding a behaviour to increase its likelihood of occurring again, while punishment aims to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour.
- Observable Behaviour: Behaviourists argue that only observable behaviours should be studied, as subjective experiences (thoughts, emotions, etc.) are not directly measurable and, therefore, not within the purview of scientific psychology.
- Environmental Determinism: Behaviourism suggests that human behaviour is primarily determined by the environment and external factors, rather than by internal mental processes.
Behaviourism has had a significant impact on psychology and education. It provided the foundation for many therapeutic techniques, such as behaviour modification and applied behaviour analysis, which are used to address a wide range of behavioural issues in individuals. However, it is important to note that behaviourism is just one perspective in psychology, and other schools of thought, such as cognitive psychology and humanistic psychology, focus on different aspects of human experience and behaviour. Please see the "Potential harms" section for more information on the potential harms of behaviourism.
