Behaviorist psychology

Subjectbackground

Socialbackground

BehaviouristpsychologywasfoundedbyAmericanpsychologistWatson.ThereasonwhybehavioristpsychologycanbeproducedintheUnitedStatesismainlyrelatedtotheneedsofAmericansociallife,productionpracticeandsocialimprovementatthattime.Firstofall,theemergenceofbehaviorismwasareflectionoftheneedsofAmericansociallifeandproductionpracticesatthattime.TheUnitedStatescompletedtheIndustrialRevolutioninthesecondhalfofthe19thcenturyandbegantheprocessofurbanization.Alargenumberofruralpeopleenteredthecities,andthenationalgovernmentneededtotrainthem.Thisdemandpromptspsychologiststoshiftfromthestudyofconsciousnesstothestudyofadaptivebehavior.Atthesametime,inordertoimprovetheefficiencyofindustrialproduction,itisalsonecessarytostudytheeffectsofworkers'activities.Second,behaviorismisaproductoftheprogressivemovementinAmericanpoliticallife.ThepoliticalreformmovementintheUnitedStatesinthe1890scalledforthereplacementofoldmembersofpoliticalinstitutionsandtheuseofpeoplewhocanscientificallymanagesocietytocontrolsociety.

Philosophicalbackground

Watson’sbehaviorismhasaprofoundphilosophicalorigin.Philosophicalthoughtssuchasmechanicalmaterialism,positivism,andpragmatismhaveallexertedextensiveinfluenceonbehaviorism.SincetheIndustrialRevolution,thephilosophicalthoughtthatsummarizedtheachievementsofnaturalscienceatthattimewasmechanicalmaterialism.WhenWatsonfoundedhisbehavioristsystem,heobviouslyacceptedthiskindofmechanicalmaterialism.Hebelievedthat"manisalsoamachine,subjecttothestimulus-responselaw."Thebasicprincipleofpositivismistobaseallscientificknowledgeontheempiricalfactsofobservationandexperiment.Earlybehaviorismwasbasedonthisprincipleandabandonedthestudyofconsciousnessinfavorofobservablebehavior.Comparedwithmechanicalmaterialismandpositivism,pragmatismastheauthoritativeAmericanphilosophyhasamoredirectandprofoundinfluenceonearlybehaviorism.Watsonexcludedtheinabilitytodirectlyobserveandexperienceconsciousnessfrompsychologicalresearch,simplifiedhumanbehaviorintoastimulus-responsebehaviormodel,andtookeffectivecontrolofhumanbehaviorastheultimategoalofpsychology,whichisallpragmatism.Theconcreteembodimentofphilosophyinpsychology.

Naturalsciencebackground

Physiologyiscloselyrelatedtobehaviorism,whichisthenaturalscientificbasisofbehaviorism.Inthe1870s,thefatherofRussianphysiology,Sechenov,proposedaprogramtotransformpsychologyintoanobjectivesciencebasedonanewreflectionscheme.Pavlovopposedintrospectionandestablishedthedoctrineofconditionedreflex.Watsondirectlyusedconditionedreflexasthetheoreticalbasisforhisexperimentaltechniquesandalllearnedbehaviors.Inaddition,mathematicallogichasalsohadanimpactonHull'sbehaviorism,oneoftherepresentativesofnewbehaviorism.Hulladvocatedusingmathematicallanguagetoexplainandexpressthelawsofbehavior.

Psychologicalbackground

Thecontradictorymovementwithinpsychologyisalsothemainfactorthatpromotesit.Afterthebirthofscientificpsychology,consciousnesshasalwaysbeentheobjectofresearch,buttherearedifferentopinionsontheunderstandingofconsciousnessandresearchmethods,whichhascausedconflictsandoppositionsbetweenpsychologyschools,andfinallyledtothecrisisofconsciousnesspsychology.Thepsychologycirclebegantoreflectontheresearchobjectsandthedefinitionofpsychology.Inaddition,undertheinfluenceofDarwin'stheoryofevolution,researchonanimalpsychologyhasbeenrapidlydeveloped.Watsonhimselfalsoestablishedhisownbehavioristideologicalsystembasedontheconceptsandmethodsformedbystudyinganimalpsychology.Finally,thegradualdevelopmentoffunctionalisminthedirectionofobjectivefunctionalismalsomadenecessarytheoreticalpreparationsforbehaviorism.

DevelopmentHistory

EarlyBehaviorism

In1913,Watsonpublishedareportentitled"ABehavioristInstitute"intheAmerican"PsychologicalReview".Theessayin"PsychologyofThinking"clarifiedhisbehavioristviewpoint,andthisthesisisgenerallyregardedasadeclarationoftheformalestablishmentofbehavioristpsychology.In1914,hepublishedthebook"Behavior-AnIntroductiontoComparativePsychology".HisbookisbasedoneightlectureshegaveatColumbiaUniversityinthewinterof1913.Inthisbook,hisbehavioristpsychologytheorysystemhasbeguntotakeshape.Watson'sbehavioristviewswerequicklyacceptedbyyoungpsychologists.In1915WatsonwaselectedpresidentoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation.In1918,Watsonbegantostudyyoungchildren,whichwastheearliestattemptwithhumaninfantsassubjects.In1919,hismasterpiece"ThePsychologyofBehaviorism"waspublished.Inthisbook,headoptedPavlov'sconceptofconditionedreflextosystematicallyexpresshistheoryofbehavioristpsychology.In1925,hepublishedthebook"Behaviorism".Thisbookclearlyexpresseshisextremeenvironmentaltheory.

NewBehaviorism

Afterthe1930s,somepsychologistsweredissatisfiedwiththeextremeviewthatearlybehaviorismignoredtheinternalfactorsoftheorganismandsimplifiedcomplexissues.Theybegantotrytoreformtheearlybehaviorism,whichistheso-callednewbehaviorism.Tolmanputforwardthetheoryofteleologicalbehaviorism.Hullputforwardthetheoryoflogicalbehaviorism.Skinnerputforwardthetheoryofoperationalbehaviorism,thatis,thetheoryofoperationalconditioning.

NewNewBehaviorism

BehaviorismhasbeendominantanddominantinthepsychologycirclesintheUnitedStatesandtheworldformorethan50years,butithasalsoexposedseriousflawsanddeficiencies.Manypsychologistshavebeguntoabandontheirbehavioriststandpointsandturntothestudyofpeople'sinternalpsychologicalprocesses.Atthistime,cognitivepsychologyisrapidlyemerging.Psychologicalconceptsrejectedbyearlybehaviorism,suchasconsciousness,thinking,appearance,memory,etc.,haveonceagainbecomelegalresearchobjectsofpsychology.Undersuchhistoricalconditions,someneo-behaviouriststriedtoopenupacompromisepathbetweenbehaviorismandcognitivepsychology,whichledtothebirthofnewneo-behaviorism.Gusriproposedthatconditioningisthebasisofallhumanbehaviors,andtheproximityofstimuliandresponsesistheuniversalprinciplefortheoccurrenceofconditioning.SpencerevisedanddevelopedHull'stheoryandsystem,andputforwardthetheoryofincentivemotivation(theoryofincentivemotivation),takingintoaccountboththeincentivemotivationandtheprincipleofproximity.Tolman'sfollowerstriedtoexpressthetheoriesoftheNeo-TolmanSchool,integratedconnectionismandcognitivetheory,andputconnectionismonthetrackofcognition.

Schooldecline

Behaviorismhasbeendevelopedbyseveralgenerationsofscholars,fromtheinitialresearchconsciousnessofextremeexclusion,tothetransformationofnewbehaviorism,andthentothefaceofthetrendofcognitivismInthemiddleofthe20thcentury,thestudyofbehaviorismfellintoaquagmire,anditsinfluencebecamesmallerandsmaller.Thedevelopmentofpsychologybegantodevelopinthedirectionofacomprehensivecombinationofmultipletheories.

TheoreticalSystem

DisciplinaryNature

Behavioralistpsychologybelievesthatpsychologyisapurenaturalscience.Behavioralpsychologycriticizesthetraditionalpsychologyofconsciousness.Itbelievesthatinorderforpsychologytoachievethesamestatusasbiology,physicsandothernaturalsciences,itisnecessarytoabandonallsubjectiveconceptsandterminologyinpsychologicalresearchandadoptmoreobjectiveconcepts.Theresearchobjectsandmethods.

Researchobject

Behaviouristpsychologystipulatesthatitsresearchobjectisobservableobjectivebehavior.Behavioristtheorybelievesthatbehaviorisanorganism'sresponsethatcanbeobservedexternally.Itsessenceistheadaptationofhumansandanimalstotheexternalenvironment.Stimulus-responseisacommonelementofallorganisms'behaviors.

SubjectTasks

Theresearchpurposeofbehavioristpsychologyistopredictandcontrolthebehavioroforganisms.Thetheorybelievesthattheresearchobjectofpsychologyisthebehaviorofhumansandanimals,andthebehaviorsofhumansandanimalsarecomposedofstimulus-responselinkages.Inthisway,psychologycandeterminetheconnectionlawbetweenstimulusandresponsethroughthestudyofbehavior,sothatpeoplecanpredictwhatkindofresponsewilloccurafterthestimulusisknown,orwhentheresponseisknown,itcanpointouttheeffectivestimulus.nature.

Researchmethods

Theresearchmethodsofbehaviorismarerelativelyrich,mainlyincludingobservationmethod,conditioningmethod,speechreportmethod,testmethodandsocialexperimentmethod.Observationmethodsincludenaturalobservationandobservationwiththeaidofinstruments.Theconditioningmethodisamethodofintroducingtheconditioningmethodinphysiologyintopsychologytoconductexperimentalresearchonbehavior,anditisthemostimportantresearchmethodinbehavioristpsychology.Theverbalreportmethodisthesubjectreportingthechangesinthebody,anditisalsocalledtheoralreportmethod.Thebehavioristtestmethodistotesttheparticipant'sresponsetoastimulatingsituation;thismethodcanbeappliedtopeoplewithlanguagedefects.Tosomeextent,thesocialexperimentmethodofbehaviorismcanbesaidtobetheapplicationoftheprinciplesofbehaviorisminthestudyofsocialproblems,whichcanexaminetherelationshipbetweensocialsituationsandsocialchanges.

Schooltheory

Classicalbehaviorism

Classicalbehaviorism,thatis,earlybehaviorism,advocatesabandoningconsciousnessandchangingtobehaviorastheresearchobjectofpsychology,abandoningTheintrospectivemethodischangedtotheobjectivemethodastheresearchmethodofpsychology,usingthetermsofstimulusandresponsetoexplainbehavior.ItemphasizesthattheresearchersoftheInstituteofScientificPsychologyareonlyexplicitbehaviorsthatcanbeobjectivelyobservedandmeasuredbyothers;itistheindividual'sresponsethatisthebasisofthebehavior,andthewholeofthebehaviorcanbeknownbythecollectionofmultipleresponses;itinsiststhatindividualbehaviorisnotinnateItisnotdeterminedbygenetics,butpassivelylearnedbytheinfluenceofenvironmentalfactors;itisbelievedthattheprinciplesandprinciplesofbehaviorobtainedthroughexperimentalresearchonanimalsandchildrencanbeinferredtoexplainsimilarbehaviorsofordinarypeople.Suchbehavioristorientation,whichispurelybasedon"objectiveobjectiveness",isalsocalledradicalbehaviorism.

NewBehaviorism

PurposeBehaviorism

Tolmaninsiststhatpsychologymustbestudiedinanobjectiveway.Theactofobservation.ButTolman'sso-calledbehaviorisdifferentfromthatoftheearlybehaviorists.Heopposesthestudyofbehavioratthemolecularlevel.Hebelievesthatpsychologyshouldstudyoverallbehavior,andoverallbehaviorispurposefulandcognitive.Inhisview,allbehaviorsareguidedbypurpose.Forexample,thewhitemousewalksawayfromthemazeandthecattriestoescapefromthelostbox.Itisallpurpose-oriented.Thismeansthatthewhitemouseislearning,anditislearningthisbehaviorthatprovideshighlyobjectiveevidenceforachievingthegoal.

LogicalBehaviorism

Hullbelievesthatitispossibletoestablishacontinuouslogicalchainfromsimpleelectronprotonmotiontocomplexpurposefulbehavior.,Andregarditasascientificresearchgoal.Hulladvocatedthedevelopmentofamathematicaldeductivesystemasamodelintoauniversalandformalbehavioralsystem.Thishypothesis-deductivesystembeginswithhypotheses,andeachhypothesisisfullyandcompletelyconsistentwithalogicalsystem,fromwhichconclusionscanbededuced.Iftheconclusionisconsistentwiththeempiricalfacts,thehypothesisisretained;otherwise,thehypothesisneedstobemodifiedoreliminated.Hulltriedtoquantifythepsychologicalsystem,andhislearningtheorywasoncethemostinfluentialtheoryintheWest.

OperationalBehaviorism

Skinneremphasizesthatbehavioralscientificresearchmustbecarriedoutwithinthescopeofnaturalscience,anditstaskistoestablishexperimenter-controlledThefunctionalrelationshipbetweenthestimulussituationandthesubsequentresponseoftheorganism.Skinner'spositionisstrictlybehaviorism,heonlystudiesobservablebehavior;whathecaresaboutisdescribingbehavior,notexplainingbehavior.Skinner'sprincipleoftheeffectofoperatingconditionsisacorepartofhisanalysisofthebehavioroforganisms.HedistinguishedconditionedeffectsintoS-typeandR-type.TheS-typeresponseisaresponseevokedbyaspecialandobservablesituationalstimulus,whichhecallsaresponsiveresponse;theR-typeresponseisaresponseintheabsenceofanyobservableexternalstimuli,whichhecallsitoperational.reaction.Hebelievesthatinthecausalrelationshipbetweenbehaviorandenvironment,reaction,stimulation,andreinforcementarethebasiccontingencythatoccurssequentially.Inthisprocess,theroleofreinforcementisveryimportant.TheteachingmachinethatSkinnermadeinaccordancewiththeprincipleofoperationreinforcementthatcanhelpteachinghasagreatinfluenceontheUnitedStates.Amongallthenewbehaviorists,Skinneristhemostradicalonewhoinsistsonthebasicpositionofbehaviorism,andheisalsothenewbehavioristwhohasthegreatestinfluenceoncontemporarypsychology.Amongallthenewbehavioristviewpoints,Skinner'sviewpointisthepurestandmostextreme,anditisalsotheclosesttoWatson'sbehavioristviewpoint.

NewNewBehaviorism

ClosetoAssociationBehaviorism

Comparedwithothernewbehaviorists,Edwin·Guthrie'spositionandviewsareclosertoearlybehaviorism.Hebelievesthatconditioningisthebasisofallhumanbehaviors,andtheproximityofstimuliandreactionsistheuniversalprinciplefortheoccurrenceofconditioning.Therefore,theconditionedactionprincipleofstimulusandresponseproximitycanexplainhumanlearningbehavior.Otherconceptssuchasexercise,motivation,habit,reinforcement,forgetting,etc.areunnecessarybecausetheycanallbeexplainedbyproximityprinciple.Guthrie'sachievementsaremainlyreflectedinhislearningtheory,whilehislearningtheoryonlyemphasizestheobjectiveconnectionofstimuliandresponse.Gusriarguedthattheconnectiononlyoccursbetweentheobservablestimulusandtheresponse;andtheconnectionbetweenthestimulusandtheresponserequiresonlyonecondition,thatis,theproximityofthestimulusandtheresponse,orsimultaneousconditioning.Guthrie'sapproachtoassociationbehaviorismisconciseandconcise,andisintegratedanddevelopedbyhisdisciples,andhasbeenwidelydevelopedintobehavioraltechnology,whichisusedinavarietyofbehavioraltherapy.Buthistheoryhasalsobeencriticizedforbeingtoosimple.

IncentiveMotivationTheory

SpensisHull’scollaboratorandsuccessor.HismainrevisionanddevelopmentofHull'stheoryandsystemisthetheoryofincentivemotivation.Hullbelievesthattheinducementmotivationisthemediatorofthestimulus-responseconnection,anditsstrengthisaffectedbythestrengtheningcondition.Thatistosay,thegreatertherewardeffectofstrengtheningonaspecificstimulustomakeaspecificresponse,thegreatertheincentiveandmotivationeffectitproducesonthatstimulus-response.Spence,ontheotherhand,arguesthatrewardsshouldbeconceivedasstimulatingthehabit,ratherthanthatitdirectlyaffectstheintensityofthehabititself.ThisassumesthattheintensityofhabitisafunctionofthenumberoftimesS-Rapproaches,andrewardsaffecttheresponsethroughincentives.Thistheorytakesintoaccountboththeincentivemotivationandtheapproachprinciple.

Sociallearningtheory

Sociallearningtheoryisabehavioristtheorythatexplainshowpeoplelearninasocialenvironment.ItisdevelopedonthebasisofthelearningtheoriesofWatson,Hull,Skinnerandothers,andfocusesonclarifyinghowpeoplelearninasocialenvironmenttoformanddeveloptheirpersonalitycharacteristics.Therepresentativesofearlysociallearning,DollardandMillerco-authored"SocialLearningandImitation"andotherbooks,conductedexperimentalresearchonimitation,emphasizingthatbehaviorisrestrictedbysocialconditions.Becausetheyinferhumansocialbehaviorfromtheresearchmodelofanimalbehavior,theycannotgetridofthelimitationsoftraditionalbehavioristlearningtheory.Inthe1960s,Banduracreatedthemodernsociallearningtheory,whichbelievedthatpeople'ssocialbehaviorsareobtainedthroughobservationallearning,thatis,theyareformedbyobservingthebehaviorofothersandimitatingothers'examples.Inthisprocessofsociallearning,itistheenvironmentthatplaysadecisiverole.Aslongaspeoplecontroltheenvironment,theycanpromotethedevelopmentofchildren'ssocialbehaviorintheexpecteddirection.Atthesametime,Mitchellalsoproposedthecognitivesociallearningtheory,whichmainlyusesfivevariablestoclarifyhowpeoplerespondtovariousstimuli,namely,theabilitytoconstitutecognitionandbehavior,thetranslationstrategyforbehavior,andtheindividualThecognitivecomponentsofthecognition,theexpectationoftheoutcomeofone'sownbehavior,thetendencyofsubjectivestimulusvalue,andtheself-regulationsystemandplan.Thesefivevariablesarenotonlyimportantfactorsthatdeterminepeople'sbehavior,butalsothemaincomponentsofpersonalitystructure.BanduraandMitchellnotonlybelongtothecategoryofbehaviorism,butarealsodifferentfromtraditionalbehaviorism,reflectingthegradualconvergenceofbehaviorismandhumanisticpsychology.

Representatives

Maincontributions

Promotingobjectiveresearch

BehaviorismrejectsspiritualismandIntrospectionismrecognizestheobjectiveexistenceofexternalstimuli,opposesenclosingthepsychologywithinthesubject,andadvocatesthatobjectivebehavioristheobjectofpsychology,andthesubjectiveintrospectionmethodshouldbereplacedbyastrictobjectivelaw.Thisgetsridoftheresearchorientationofsubjectivepsychologydivorcedfromreality,andhasmadehistoricalachievementsontheroadofpsychologytoobjectiveresearch,makingpsychologyabigstepforwardfromthedevelopmentofsubjectiveidealismtoobjectivematerialism.

Enrichingresearchfields

Behaviorismhasdeepenedsomebasicresearchinpsychology,andhasmadegreatachievementsinanimalpsychology,childpsychology,especiallyexperimentalpsychologyandlearningpsychology.Ontheotherhand,becausebehaviorismadvocatesthestudyofbehavior,itdirectlymakesthestudyofanimalbehaviorlegal.Behavioralpsychologistsactivelycarryoutexperimentalresearchonanimallearning,andtrytousethelawsofanimallearningtoillustratethelawsofhumanpsychology.Behaviorismhasalsoactivelydevelopedthetheoryofconnectedlearning,pushingthepassiveclassicalconditionedlearningtoanewstageofactiveoperatingconditionedlearning,anditcontainsimportantfactorsandembryonicformsofcognitivelearningtheory.Watsonalsointroducedexperimentalmethodsintothefieldofchildren'slearning,promptingpeopletodoalotofresearchonthedevelopmentofchildren'semotionsandspecificresponsepatternsofspecificemotions,whichenrichedthefieldofchildpsychology.Thestudyofbehaviorismhasmadeagreatcontributiontolearningpsychology.

Promotepracticalapplications

Behaviorismhighlightstheobjectivity,openness,andoperabilityofpsychologyresearchobjectsandmethods,andregardspredictingandcontrollinghumanbehaviorasthefundamentaltaskofpsychology.Therefore,itisdeterminedthatbehavioralpsychologypaysmoreattentiontoface-to-life,psychologicaleffectsanddevelopmentofappliedpsychology.Watsonbelievesthatthebehavioriststandpointandtheenvironmentaldeterminismpointofviewhaveenabledcertainbranchesofpsychologytobreakawayfromitsoriginsandthrive,suchaspharmaceuticalpsychology,advertisingpsychology,legalpsychology,measurementpsychology,andpsychopathologyWait.Behavioralepistemology,behavioralexperimentalanalysis,andappliedbehavioralanalysisarestillactiveresearchfields.IntheUnitedStates,behavioristthinkingisnotonlywidelyusedinvarioussocialinstitutions,butalsopenetratesintothehumanities,suchassociology,politicalscience,behavioralscience,andeventhearts.

Mainissues

Biologicalism

Behaviorismignorestheessentialdifferencebetweenhumansandanimals,attributedpeopletoanimals,andobliteratedtheessentialdifferencesbetweenhumansandanimals,Thusfallingintobioism.First,theearlybehavioristsregardedhumansandanimalsasidenticalorsimilarnaturalentities,ignoringthathumansaresocialandhistoricalbeings.Secondly,behavioriststakeanimalsastheirresearchobjects,andzoologicalizeorbiologicalizehumanpsychology.

Objectivism

Behaviorismadvocatestheuseofrigorousobjectivemethodstostudybehavior,opposessubjectivistpsychology,andpushespsychologytoanobjectiveresearchpath.Ithaspositivesignificance,butitalsoGototheotherextreme.Behaviorismdevalues​​thestatusandroleofthesubjectinpsychologicalandbehavioralactivities,deniesthesubjectivityandintrospectionofpsychology,andregardsobjectivebehaviorandobjectivemethodsastheonlyresearchobjectsandmethodsofpsychology.Itistruethatthereisacloserelationshipbetweenpsychologicalcontrolbehaviorandbehavioralperformancepsychology.However,therearealsoobviousdifferencesbetweenthetwo.Behaviorismequatesorreplacesconsciousnesswithbehavior.Inessence,itaffirmsobjectivityandnegatessubjectivity,anditwillinevitablyfallintotheobjectivismof"psychologywithoutpsychologicalcontent".

Mechanism

Therearedifferentlevelsandlevelsinthestudyofhumanpsychologyandbehavior,suchasmechanicalmovementandmechanicslevel,andsomefromthephysiologicallevel.,Somefromthebiologicallevelofadaptingtotheenvironment,andsomefromthelevelofsocialinitiativetotransformtheworld.Thecomplexityofhumanpsychologyliesinthefactthatitisnotasingle,low-levelmovementform,butaprocessofmutualtransformation,interconnection,andmutualpenetrationbetweensocialmovementpatternsandlifemovementpatterns.Behaviorismobliteratesthedifferencesinbehavioratdifferentlevels,portrayspeopleasapassivemechanicalstructure,andfallsintotheerrorofmechanicalism.

Reductionism

Thebehavioriststrytoreducethepsychologybetweennaturalsciencesandsocialsciencestonaturalsciences,andpsychologytophysiologyandphysics.Theybelievethatallpsychologyandbehaviorarenothingmorethansomephysicalandchemicalchangescausedbyotherphysicalandchemicalchanges.Thisobliteratesthespecialnatureofpsychologicalphenomenathataredifferentfromnaturalphenomena,andreducespsychologicalphenomenatopurelynaturalphenomena.Reductionism.