BEHAVIOURISM

Presented by Meghna Vanjani

Meher Sharma

CONTENTS
Introduction
Emergence
Watsonian behaviorism
Other varieties of behaviorism
Neo behaviourism
Edward Chance Tolman
Clark Leonard Hull
Tolman vs. Hull
Positivism and Logical Positivism
Behaviorism vs. Neo Behaviorism

WHAT IS

BEHAVIOURIS
M?

Behaviourism, also known as

behavioural psychology, is a theory
of learning based upon the idea
that all behaviors are acquired
through conditioning. Conditioning
occurs through interaction with the
environment. Behaviorists believe
that our responses to
environmental stimuli shapes our
behaviors.

According to behaviourism
All

behaviours are acquired through

conditioning
Conditioning occurs through interaction
with the environment
Responses to environmental stimuli
shapes behaviour
Behaviour should be studied in a
systematic and observable manner
Only observable behaviours are studied;
internal states such as cognitions,
emotions and moods are too subjective

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 emphasis
on 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.

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 of
the 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.

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 predicted
and controlled.
Watson stated that psychology is a purely
objective branch of natural science with an
oretical goal of prediction and control of
behaviour. 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 in
terms of consciousness.

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 much
to condemn it.

Therefore, as a starting point, Watsons

behaviourist manifesto proposed that psychology
would be the study of adjustive behaviour.
Description of behaviour would lead to the
prediction of behaviour in terms of stimulus and
response.

JOHN BROADUS WATSON

(1878-1958)

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, even
beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race
of his ancestors.
-John B Watson,1913

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.
2.

To predict the response, knowing the stimulus

To predict the stimulus, knowing the response

THE MIND BODY PROBLEM

Behaviourists did not wish to study consciousness

or mind and therefore wished to deny its
importance.
Most behaviourists adopted one of these two views
1. An epiphenomenal view implying that
consciousness had no causal efficacy & little
interest for science
2. A completely physical monism which denied
existence of mind & served the purposes of
behaviourism
Watson adopted a less extreme view. He believed
that conscious processes are real but cannot be
studied as they are not observable.

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.

He was first presented with a white

rat. Whenever he reached out to touch
it, a loud noise was made and little
Albert cried. After this conditioning
process, every time he was presented
with the rat he cried.

POSTULATES
1.
2.

3.

4.

Behaviour is composed of response elements &

can be analysed by natural scientific methods
Behavior is composed entirely of glandular
secretions & muscular movements. It is reducible
ultimately to physiochemical processes
There is an immediate response of some sort to
every effective stimulus & every response has
some stimulus. Thus, there is strict cause &
effect determinism in behaviourism
Conscious processes if they exist cannot be
studied scientifically, allegations concerning
consciousness represent supernatural tendencies
must be ignored

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 techniques
of 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 say
Johnny eats while eating. Over time, due to parental
pressure, this tends to turn into silent speech or
thinking in adulthood.

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

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.
2.
3.

the functional relations of conscious experiences

accuracy of verbal reports
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.

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 rejecting
awareness 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.

OTHER
VARIETIES OF
BEHAVIORISM

EDWIN BISELL HOLT

(1873-1946)

EDWIN BISELL HOLT

(1873-1946)
Born in Winchester, Massachusetts
Bachelors degree and Ph.D. from Harvard
Agreed with Watson - psychology should study
behaviour
Gave a broader and philosophical view of behaviour
Argued organisms are goal oriented and movement is
based on purposes, wishes & plans
Behaviour is not random
Attempted new explanation to consciousness
Consciousness linked with neurophysical processes &
physical objects
Emphasis on molar behavior

ALBERT PAUL WEISS

(1879-1931)

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

WALTER SAMUEL HUNTER

(1889-1954)

WALTER SAMUEL HUNTER

(1889-1954)
Born in Illinois
Bachelors 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

BEHAVIORISM
VS. NEO
BEHAVIORISM

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.

The distinction between behaviourism

and neo-behaviourism rested on the
distinction between positivism and
logical positivism.

Positivism:

Only the objective and the undebatable knowledge was

considered valuable. Only empirical observations
should be on basis for the acquisition of knowledge. The
behaviourists are strictly positivists.

Logical positivism:

They allow for the study of unobservable phenomena

only if the theoretical constructs and ideas are defined
in such a way that they could be logically inferred.

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.

DIFFERENCES B/W BEHAVIOURISM

AND NEO-BEHAVIOURISM
1.

Mind-body position

Behaviourism largely relegated the existence of the mind

Neo behaviourism considered the mind to be real.

2.

What can be studied

Behaviourists believed that only observable behaviour

can be studied, and ignored internal processes such as
emotion and cognition.
Neo behaviourists sought to explain internal processes
by means of using operational definitions.

3.

Nature of behaviour

Behaviourism reduced all behaviour to physiochemical

processes in the brain and muscle movements.
Neo behaviourism considered behaviour to be goal
oriented, in which cognition also plays a role.

NEO BEHAVIORISM

EDWARD CHANCE TOLMAN

(1886-1959)

INTRODUCTION
Well known for concept of purposive
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
Men
1942 There is more than one kind of learning
1959 Died.

HIGHLIGHTS OF HIS
SYSTEM
Formulated a theory of stimulus-response and
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 muscle
twitches and glandular secretions.
Suggested that learnt behaviour is directed and
goal oriented.
Rejected reinforcement and instead proposed that
animals learned connections between stimuli
and therefore did not need any explicit biologically
significant event to make learning occur.
This was known as purposive behaviourism.

MOLAR BEHAVIOUR
Considered behaviour to be molar instead of
molecular. Some characteristics of behaviour
Behaviour is goal directed (purposive)
Behaviour makes use of environmental props as
means objects towards a goal
Cognitive Map
Principle of least effort
Behaviour is also docile plasticity or
teachableness is high.

INDEPENDENT
VARIABLES
Tolman identified Independent Variables as the
major causative factors of behaviour.
These factors can be observed.
Identified 5 IVs

Environmental

Stimuli (S)
Physiological Drive (D)
Heredity (H)
Previous Training (T)
Maturity/Age (A)

Behaviour (B) = f (S, D, H, T, A)

Releasing
variables
Guiding
variables

DEPENDENT VARIABLES
Dependent Variables refer to those behaviours
which are observable, active, and selective.
Observable behaviour not a mechanistic
stimulus-response affair

Purposive

& cognitive
Hierarchy of demands, sign gestalt, readiness &
expectation

INTERVENING
VARIABLES
Intervening variables set of inferred and nonobserved variables that intervene between the
observable independent variables and observable
dependent variables.
Listed 6 intervening variables

Demand

Appetite

(for food)

Differentiation
Motor

Skill
Hypotheses
Biases

THEORY OF LEARNING
Alternative theory to S-R theory suggested that
organisms learn through signs and not muscular
or glandular movement.
Sign learning what leads to what
Organisms learn goals (reward)
so that they
come to know what stimuli will follow particular
S-R connections.

3 situations give strong

support for S-S pattern of
behaviour-

Reward expectancy The

organism has some
representation of the
expected reward at the time it
responds.
Place Learning Rats
remember the place where they
have 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 until
the appropriate motivational
conditions are
obtained/provided.

Gave 6 types of learning

Cathexis

Affective properties acquired by objects

Equivalence Beliefs Cognitive representations of
subgoals , 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 different
deprivational conditions.
Motor Patterns response & combinations of
responses.

CONTRIBUTIONS
Remembered as being a pioneer in cognitive psychology
during a time when behaviourism dominated the field.
Originator of modern cognitive theory; hence classified as
cognitive behaviourist today.
Theory of cognitive maps precursor to concepts of
spatial memory and spatial thinking.
Also contributed to theories of behaviour and motivation.
Believed that behaviourism could be generalised across
species.
Believed that psychology should be a dynamic study as its
subjects (humans & animals) are dynamic beings.
Maintained a distinction between learning &
performance.

CRITICISMS

Synthetic Approach
Too

optimistic in his approach

Wanted to work out an account of behaviour in a very
short period of time

Particularistic Approach
Basic

problem of generality

Logical weakness
His

system was not tightly knit.

Not a logical system

CLARK LEONARD HULL

(1884-1952)

INTRODUCTION
Born inAkronin westernNew Yorkstate.
Obtained bachelor's and master's degrees from the
University of Michigan, and in 1918 a PhD from
theUniversity of WisconsinMadison
His doctoral research on "Quantitative Aspects of the
Evolution of Concepts" was published inPsychological
Monographs.
Studied math, physics, and chemistry, intending to
become an engineer, but changed direction when he
encountered the works ofWatsonandPavlov.
Sought to explainlearningand motivationby scientific
laws ofbehaviour.
Known for his debates withEdward C. Tolman and his
work in drive theory.

CONCEPTS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS

Strongly influenced by Watsons Behaviouristic theory.

Stressed on objective and manipulable variables and avoided
mentalistic concerns.
Used concepts reducible to physical terms.
Believed that whatever exits, exists in a certain quantity ;
whatever relationships have to be discovered by science, they
have to be presented by mathematical equations.
4 basic methods leading to discovery of scientific truth :

Simple, unplanned observation

Systematic, planned observation
Experimental testing of some specific and mutually nonrelated
hypotheses.
Three step method of research :
I.
II.
III.

System of definitions has to be introduced.

Series of highly conceptualised postulates is proposed.
Series of detailed theorems is rigorously deduced from these
definitions/postulates.

CONCEPTS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS
Hull proposed that since we cannot observe the
mediating 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 words
operational definitions are those that can quantify
these events.

stimulus

mediating events

response

CONCEPTS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS
Clark Hull's Mathematico Deductive Theory of Behavior relied on the
belief that the link between the S-R relationship could be anything that
might effect how an organism responds; learning, fatigue, disease, injury,
motivation, etc. He labeled this relationship as "E", a reaction potential, or
assEr.
Proposed 4 criteria of a scientific theory :
1.Concerning definitions and postulates.

Clearly defined

Mutually consistent

Permit deductions from theorems

As few as possible
2.Concerning implications and inferences to be deduced from the main
definitions/postulates.

Clear

Exhibited

Detailed
The 3rd and 4th view relationship between theorems and experiments.

CONCEPTS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS

Human behaviour is an interplay between the organism and the

environment.
Stimulus
given by environment
Response
given by organism
Behaviour is :
Goal directed
Goal is
reduction of the need. Serves the promotion of the
optimal conditions for survival.
Drive (D) is a general condition of privation of the organism. Under
the pressure of needs and drives, the organism undertakes adaptive
actions. When the goal of the drive is attained (food, water, mating,
warmth) the drive is reduced, at least temporarily. This reduction of
drive serves as a reinforcer for learning. Thus learning involves a
dynamic interplay between survival drives and their attainment.
Hull proposed 17 postulates.

CRITICISMS
Theory 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.

TOLMAN VS. HULL

Tolmans purposive behaviourism came into
conflict with Hulls mechanistic behaviourism
on the following aspects1. Conception on purpose and cognition:

Tolman believed that purpose and cognition were

real, although his conception of their reality changed
over time.
Hull explained purpose and cognition as the result of
mindless mechanical processes describable in
logicomathematical equations.

The difference between

the Tolmans cognitive
& Hulls S-R theories
can be better explained
through their
approaches toward the
maze experiment with
rats.

According to Hull, 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-R 1
is stronger than S-R2, which is stronger than S-R3. This is
called a divergent family hierarchy.
R1

R2
R3

When a block is placed at Point 1, the rat will run into it, back up,
and choose Path 2. The connection S-R1 is weakened by the block, so
S-R2 becomes stronger and is acted on. If a second block is placed at
Point 2, the rat will retreat to the choice point and again choose Path
2 as S-R1 is again blocked and S-R2 becomes stronger. However, the
block will again be met, S-R2 will weaken, and finally S-R3 will be
strongest and the rat will choose Path 3.

Tolman denied that what is learned is a set of responses

triggered to differing degrees by the stimuli at the choice
point. 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.

2.

Relative Influence

Tolman 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 of
postulates and derived theorems from them. This
helped him gain disciples and also made him more
influential than Tolman.

SIMILARITIES
Both wanted to write scientific theories of
learning and behaviour applying to all mammals.
Pursued the goal by experimenting on rats and
generalising conclusions on human beings.
Rejected consciousness as subject matter of
psychology; instead stressed on the description,
prediction and control of behaviour.
Influenced by logical positivism.