The History of Behaviorism designed by: Dylan Osborne
In 1897 Pavlov published the results of an experiment on conditioning after originally studying digestion in dogs.
In 1913 Watson launches the behavioral school of psychology (classical conditioning), publishing an article,
"Psychology as the behaviorist Views It".
In 1920 Watson and Rayner conditioned an orphan called Albert B (aka Little Albert) to fear a white rat.
In 1905 Thorndike formalized the "Law of Effect".
In 1936 Skinner wrote "The behavior of Organisms" and introduced the concepts of operant conditioning and
shaping.
In1942 Clark Hull’s Principles of behavior was published.
In 1948 B.F. Skinner published Walden Two in which he described a utopian society founded upon behaviorist
principles.
In 1963 Bandura publishes a book called the "Social learning theory and personality development" which
combines both cognitive and behavioral frameworks.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (begun in 1958)
In 1971 B.F. Skinner published his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity, where he argues that free will is an illusion.
In 1897 Pavlov published the results of an experiment on
conditioning after originally studying digestion in dogs.
Figure 1 (shivaraichandani.blogspot.com)
Fiqure 2 Ivan Pavlov (freeinfosociety.com)
In 1913, Watson launches the behavioral school of
psychology (classical conditioning), publishing an article,
"Psychology as the behaviorist Views It".
"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. I am going beyond my
facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of
the contrary and they have been doing it for many
thousands of years."
–John B. Watson, Behaviorism, 1913
On right, figure 3 Watson (biography.com)
In 1920, Watson and Rayner conditioned an orphan called
Albert B (aka Little Albert) to fear a white rat.
Figure 1, Left side, Retrieved from
highestfive.com
Figure 2, Right side, Retrieved from
blog.lib.umn.edu
Little Albert's story is one example of an
experiment with a poor method of research. The story found at http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/littlealbert-experiment.htm says,
"The participant in the experiment was a child that Watson and Raynor called "Albert B.", but is known popularly today as Little
Albert. Around the age of nine months, Watson and Raynor exposed the child to a series of stimuli including a white rat, a rabbit, a
monkey, a mask and burning newspapers and observed the boy's reactions. The boy initially showed no fear of any of the objects he
was shown.
The next time Albert was exposed to the rat, Watson made a loud noise by hitting a metal pipe with a hammer. Naturally, the child
began to cry after hearing the loud noise. After repeatedly pairing the white rat with the loud noise, Albert began to cry simply after
seeing the rat. "
In 1905, Thorndike formalized the "Law of Effect"
The Law of Effect states that one response to a situation that is followed by
satisfaction is strengthened and two responses that are followed by discomfort are
weakened (Child, 2007)
Thorndike's Law of Exercise continued this line of thought; a) Stimulus-response
connections that are repeated are strengthened, and b) Stimulus -response connections
that are not used are weakened (Child, 2007)
Figure 1, Top Left, Retrieved from
animalbehaviour.net
Figure 2, Left, Retrieved from
child-development-guide.com
Figure 3, Right, Retrieved from
pubpages.unh.edu
In 1936 Skinner wrote, "The behavior of Organisms" and
introduced the concepts of operant conditioning and shaping.
“Physics does not change the
nature of the world it studies,
and no science of behavior
can change the essential
nature of man, even though
both sciences yield
technologies with a vast
power to manipulate their
subject matters.”
Figure 1, Above, Retrieved
from simplypsychology.org
Figure 2, Left, Retrieved from
scientificamerican.com
-B. F. Skinner
In1942, Clark Hull’s Principles of behavior was published.
Figure 1, Left, Retrieved from
emeraldinsight.com
Figure 2, Bottom, Retrieved from
intropsych.com
Figure 3, Right, Retrieved from
osepideasthatwork.org
Motivation is the state of moving or forcing. Motivation
can be a term used to describe and explain either the
arousing or alerting of the organism and the consequent
directing of that organism's behavior.
In 1948, B.F. Skinner published Walden Two in which he
described a utopian society founded upon behaviorist principles.
The population of Walden Two is about one
thousand people, all of whom seem to be healthy
and happy. They live in communal dwellings, eat
in common dining spaces, raise their children in
a communal nursery, and grow and build much
of what they need. The standard workday lasts
only four hours, or less; no one is paid wages-but nothing at Walden Two costs money
(SparkNotes Editors, n.d.).
How does Walden Two achieve this utopia? Through a science
of behavior. Everything that is done at Walden Two is based on
principles of behaviorism, the idea that human behavior can be
controlled by manipulating contingencies of reward and, to a lesser
extent, punishment (SparkNotes Editors, n.d.).
Figure 1, Above, Retrieved
from scientificamerican.com
In 1963, Bandura publishes a book called the "Social
learning theory and personality development" which
combines both cognitive and behavioral frameworks.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (begun in 1958)
In 1971, B.F. Skinner published his book Beyond
Freedom and Dignity, where he argues that free will is an
illusion.
Reference Page
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Cherry, Kendra. (2012). The Little Albert Experiment. A Closer Look at the Famous Case of Little Albert. Retrieved July 1, 2012
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http://shivaraichandani.blogspot.com/2011/09/pavlovs-dog.html
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Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, pp. 158-177.