Behaviorism after the founding

behaviourism as the third force in psychological science baffle started out as a theoretical proposition of John B. Watson when he came out with Psychology as The Behaviorist Views It and have been known as the conductist gayifesto (Benjamin, 1997). Watson proposed that psychology is the regard of demeanour and have ready forth four major self-reliances that form the tenets of deportmentism as a school of thought. The first surmise is that of evolutionary continuity which means that the laws of behavior are applicable to all living organisms. This assumption has substantiated the behaviouristics use of animal(prenominal)s in the study of benevolent behavior.The second assumption is that of reductionism, this refers to the behaviorists belief that all behaviors have a physiological buttocks and that behavior is the bodys reaction to a stimulus. The third assumption is determinism, behaviorists support the appraisal that animals respond to external stimuli in specific sl ipway and are inherently programmed into ones brain from birth. The last assumption is empiricism which is one of the cornerstones of behaviorism and that it is the contention that provided overt actions or behavior are measurable and observable and lend itself to the scientific method.Thus, to the behaviorist, psychology should be the study of overt behavior. B. F. mule skinner was a self-confessed exchange to behaviorism after reading Watsons monograph he was similarly influenced by the experimental studies of Ivan Pavlov (Bjork, 1997). Skinner developed a theory that was based on the classical conditioning paradigm of Pavlov and integrated it with his own definition of behaviorism. Skinners major work is his theory of operant conditioning, wherein he verbalise that behavior coffin nail be conditioned done reinforcement and behavior diminishes when it is not reinforced.He borrowed from Pavlov the basic idea of conditioning, but instead of limiting it to a stimulus-response p aradigm, he incorporated the importance of rewards and punishment, which means that behavior is not only represented as a response to a stimulus but also as a form of association between the reinforcement disposed(p) after the behavior. Skinners theoretical position do it perspicuous that he deviated from Watsons native behaviorism, because conditioning a she defined it involves intelligence which Watson has strongly eradicated from his propositions.Moreover, the emphasis given to reinforcements and punishments hint at the need to intromit mental processes in the study of behavior. Skinners work was headspring received by the academic community much even that Watsons initial paper was and this have spurned the interest of like mind psychologists who did support the methodological implications of behaviorism but was not receptive of the radical arguments of Watson. Skinners ideas made more sense because it did not advocated the idea that men are not thinking beings and were more able to acquire how man behaves.Skinners kind of behaviorism somehow married the opponent views of mind and behavior and also gave importance to how environmental experiences and influences shape adult male behavior. Moreover, operant conditioning was applicable in a number of areas more or less notably education, child rearing and animal training (Skinner, 1966). Skinners behaviorism has also influenced other psychologists to study and conceptualize psychological phenomena use the principles of operant conditioning and indeed was the kind of behaviorism that has flourished for the last degree Celsius or so in the field of psychology.Contemporary behaviorism have been determine as the study of social nurture, wherein a behavior is learned through socialization and socialization is the process by which behavior is rewarded or penalize by society (Smith & Woodward, 1996). The evolution of behaviorism from Watson to Skinner and to the present has been made possible by the vast research and theoretical models developed by psychologists who adhere to contemporary behaviorism. One of the hallmarks of behaviorism is the use of animals to study human behavior. fauna research has proven to be useful in understanding how man learns or can be trained to exhibit a accredited type of behavior (Benjamin, 1997). Although animal behavior is limited, it nonetheless becomes requisite for behavioural scientists because ethical considerations in using a human subject in risky experiments are not permitted. For example, doing a research on the answer of crystalize illumination to sleep deprivation is probably unethical to do on humans.Although animals are not exactly anatomically similar to humans, animal physiology and anatomy have been well studied and documented that tracing the reactions of mice to light will be easier and scientifically sound. The generalizations made based on this study is however limited but is an acceptable margin of error. Moreover, anima ls can be easily manipulated and subjected to experiments than humans because they operate on an instinctual level and do not have to process the information given to them.The knowledge gained in examine animals is numerous but especially have been concentrated on learning and behavior and to some extent how drugs affect the brain or the body. Animal research can help us understand human behavior better because to some degree we share with them basic drives that are necessary for our existence and hence, learning how animals react to stress or hunger can give us the information needed to adequately explain behavior. Animals exhibit simple behaviors which humans share and have grown in complexity over the years but if analyzed is based still on simple behaviors.References Benjamin, L. (1997) A History of Psychology Original Sources and Contemporary research 2nd ed. New York McGraw Hill. Bjork, D. (1997) B. F. Skinner A Life. Washington American mental Association. Skinner, B. F. (1966). The Behavior of Organisms An Experimental Analysis. 7th printing. New York Appleton-Century-Crofts. Smith, L. & Woodward, W. (1996). B. F Skinner and Behaviorism in American Culture. London Lehigh University Press