Psychological Theorist Storyboard
Kerri Largo
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John B. Watson
1878-1958
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http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson2.htm
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Title
Born on January 9, 1878, John Broadus Watson
was the fourth of six children in Greenville, South
Carolina to Emma and Pickens Watson. The
family was poor and his mother, who was very
religious, dreamed her son would become a
minister someday.
His father, on the other hand, was known for
drinking and extra marital affairs. He left the family
when Watson was a youngster in 1891. Watson
reported rebelled due to his father’s absence, but
eventually turned his life around thanks to a
teacher, Gordon Moore, at Furnam University.
http://thecollaboratory.wikidot.com/gene
ral-psychology3-fa10
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Watson-furman
http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson3.htm
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Watson began his studies in 1894 at Furnam
where he was a member of Kappa Alpha and was
considered nonconformist by many of his
professors. He wasn’t a strong student and
reportedly received his lowest marks in
psychology.
In 1900, Watson pursued additional studies at the
University of Chicago. He worked as a janitor,
waiter, and rat caretaker and took philosophy
classes with John Dewey, claiming he didn’t
understand him. He pursued a PhD in
http://www.wardcontracting.com/uofcma experimental psychology under James Rowland
Angelll instead.
s.htm
In 1903, Watson graduated from the University of
Chicago. He stayed on five additional years as an
as Angell’s assistant and later as a faculty
member. in 1904, Watson married Mary Ickes, a
former student and with whom he shared two
children, Mary and John.
http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson4.htm
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http://www.best-masters.com/ranking-
In 1908, Watson became a professor at Johns
Hopkins University where he also headed their
psychological laboratory. During his 14 years,
Watson experienced much success with his
psychological research. His paper, “Psychology
as the Behaviorist Views It” is considered the
master-public-administrationmanagement/north-america/johnshopkins-university-mbama-ingovernment.html
founding of behaviorism. Watson also became the
president of the American Psychological
Association in 1915.
Perhaps Watson’s most famous, and most
controversial experiment, was that of Little Albert.
Watson presented a white rat to a young infant,
who expressed no initial fear for the rodent.
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http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psy
cweb/history/watson.htm
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http://www.glogster.com/shantaebourne
/john-b-watson-/g6m3pnt7g4c66qhomgo54va0?old_view
=True
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http://www.bdrum.com/p130grp5/albert.
html
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Watson and his assistant began to present the rat
with a loud clanging noise. Repeating this
process, the infant began to cry upon seeing
objects similar to the rat—anything with white fur.
The mother, who was reportedly not aware of this
experiment, quickly removed her child and moved
away, without de-conditioning.
For years, many wondered what happened to Little
Albert and his life without deconditioning. In 2009,
researchers identified Little Albert as Douglas
Merritte who sadly died at age six. And, contrary
to Watson’s claims, the boy was identified as
having “water on the brain” which can cause a
mental disability. The results of Watson’s
experiment are still under scrutiny to this date.
Watson’s academic career ended after a
controversial affair with a research assistant.
Immediately following his divorce to Mary, Watson
married Rosalie Rayner and the highly publicized
affair forced Hopkins to ask for his resignation.
http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson5.htm
Watson’s next career was in advertising, where he
would implement his psychological beliefs for profit
generation. He applied his beliefs of behavior and
the emotions of fear, rage, and love and their
effects on consumers.
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http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson6.htm
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http://www.cnbc.com/id/43896801/Top_
He also began surveying consumer to determine
their need and wants, which would lead to
businesses producing more marketable products.
He also encouraged advertisements to appeal to
Ad_Icons_of_the_20th_Century
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emotions and was also instrumental in suggesting
celebrity endorsements to appeal to consumers.
In 1935, his wife passed away at the young age of
35. In 1945, Watson retired to live the ranch life
until his death in 1958.
http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson7.htm
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http://www.riverlightcenter.com/bsc/testi
monials.shtml
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http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson8.htm
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http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watso
n/watson1.htm
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In the early 20th Century, psychologists were in
disagreement about the role of consciousness and
cognition. He believed that psychology was the
study of people’s actions with the ability to predict
and control actions. He proposed the objective
study of behavior called “behaviorism.” He really
believed that observable behavior is all that
psychologists should study.
One of Watson’s most famous quotes, listed on
definitionpsychology.com, “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, 1924)
http://www.definitionpsychology.com/john-bwatson-biography/
Watson’s theory revolves around classic
conditioning and the relationship between a
stimulus and a response. Moods and thoughts not
important in observable behavior, according to
Watson. He believed that complex behaviors
resulted from reflexes and he did not acknowledge
individual differences. Emotions, he believed,
were just a result of classical conditioning.
His theory does offer insight into external stimuli
influencing behaviors and emotions. However, his
theory diminishes the impact of internal influences,
such as moods, attitudes, and beliefs.
http://asiasociety.org/education/resourc
es-schools/professional-learning/whatyou-should-know-about-systemsthinking
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Watson is considered the father of Behaviorism
and the study of behaviorism influenced the field of
psychology for over 50 years. Watson then
influenced the works of two other famous theorists.
Ivan Pavlov is best known for his experiments with
his dogs and classic conditioning.
http://bubblesppea1106.blogspot.com/2
010/09/behaviorist_20.html
Similar to the Little Albert Experiment, Pavolv’s
dogs were exposed to a bell when food was
presented. After several presentations, the dogs
began to salivate (response) to the bell (stimuli),
even when the food was no longer present.
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http://schoolworkhelper.net/2010/10/lea
rning-classical-conditioning-operantconditioning/
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Furthering the work of Watson and Pavolv, B.F.
Skinner became most famous for his operant
conditioning theory. Unlike Watson and Pavlov
where the stimulus influenced the response,
Skinner believed the consequence from the
response influenced the behavior.
http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/staf
ford/rs_skinner.htm
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He placed a hungry rat into a box known as the
“Skinner Box.” When the rat pressed on a lever
that released food, the rat quickly learned the next
time he was placed in the box to press the lever,
for the reward.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_con
ditioning_chamber
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http://www.savagechickens.com/tag/op
erant-conditioning
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http://www.seligmanschools.org/pbis.ht
ml
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http://www.sjusd.org/studentservices/index.php/pbis/pbis-
Essentially, if a positive outcome resulted, a
behavior was likely to be repeated. This has also
lead to his reinforcement theory (also stemming
from Thorndike’s Law of Effect), which is still
widely used today.
In the classroom, teachers utilize these behaviorist
theories when they reward students or punish with
consequences. One of the most recent in practice
is the concept of PBIS, Positive Behavior
Interventions and Supports. In our district, two
schools have implemented a PBIS model and my
school will implement this fall.
PBIS involves teaching, rewarding, and
encouraging positive behaviors, while defining a
system of consequences. For instance,, at our
school, teachers will reward students who
demonstrate positive behaviors with tokens that
schools/canoas/73
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http://www.enfora.com/index.cgi?PageI
nfo:CONTENT_ID=137
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http://www.fredjones.com/pbis/toolsand
pbis.html
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http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/
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http://www.teachingenglishabroad.org/t
eaching-english-abroad-programs-1/
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http://www.propertymarketinvestment.co.uk/bradford-studentaccommodation-investment-citycentre.htm
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can be entered into a raffle to win a variety of
prizes.
Prizes and recognition, such as “Senior of the
Month,” also reward students for their efforts and
are designed to motivate students towards success
(and thus the behaviors leading to success—such
as hard work, dedication, and achievement).
Additionally, this theory provides insight into
student behavior and attitudes in the classroom.
For instance, students who encounter negative
experiences in an educational setting may have a
negative attitude towards education and may be
less willing to take an active role in their
educational endeavors. They essentially lose
motivation which in turn can lead to failure.
Contrary to Watson, I do believe students’ moods
and thoughts do play a role in their educational
success and motivation and feel that student
behavior is more complex.. At the same time,
there are elements of behaviorism that I have and
will continue to implement in my teachings.
I feel that as a teacher, if I can make a positive
experience for students, they will be motivated to
do well and have an overall positive educational
experience. They will attend class and make an
effort. Examples of my strategies include talking to
them with respect, providing positive incentives,
being available for them, incorporating fun into my
lessons, working with them, and acknowledging
their successes.
While I know that my students do come into my
classroom with a myriad of behavioral baggage, I
do try to de-condition any negative experiences
with school and try to make my classroom one that
is filled with learning and positive experiences. I
try to make class fun and applicable, continuously
reminding students how the curriculum will benefit
them in life.
Additionally, Watson and his subsequent
behaviorists, provide much content for my
business curriculum. In Business Management,
the Reinforcement Theory is a major theory for
motivation studied by our student. In Marketing,
the concepts, started by Watson, of market
http://www.democraticunderground.com research and emotional advertising are key
/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg& curricular points.
forum=105&topic_id=7071281&mesg_i
d=7071281
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http://www.todayinsci.com/W/Watson_J
ohn/WatsonJohn-Quotations.htm
So, the next time you see that tear-jerker
commercial or you receive a reward for a job well
done, you can thank John B. Watson as the father
of Behaviorism, whose controversial research laid
the foundation for over 50 years of behavior
research and theories in psychology and
commerce that are still used today.
References
Cherry, Kendra. “The Sad Tale of Little Albert.” Retrieed June 17, 2012.
http://psychology.about.com/od/classicalconditioning/a/sad-tale-of-little-albert.htm
Furnam Psychology Department. John B. Watson. Retrieved Jun 17, 2012.
http://eweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watson/watson1.htm
Gibson, David Vernon. (2007) “The study of human behavior played a prominent role in the success of
business in the early 20th century and continues to foster commercialized enterprises today.” Retrieved
June 17, 2012. http://suite101.com/article/john-b-watson-salesman-a24107
Hothersall, David. 1995. History of Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Introduction to Learning Theory and Behavioral Psychology. (2011). Retrieved June 17, 2012.
http://allpsych.com/psychology101/learning.html
John B. Watson Biography (2012). Retrieved June 17, 2012. http://www.definitionpsychology.com/john-bwatson-biography/
Murphy, G. (1930). An historical introduction to modern psychology. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace &
Company, Inc.
Watson, Emily (1999). “John B. Watson.” Retrieved June 17, 2012.
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/watson.htm
Watson, J. (1913). Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158-177.
Watson, J. (1928). The ways of behaviorism. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers Pub.