History: Unit 7 - Behaviorism: Modern Applications Chat until class starts

Unit 7 Assignments

• Reading: Chapter 11 in your text, A History of Modern Psychology.  Read the information on the Albert Bandura website.

• Seminar: Attend the seminar or complete the option 2 assignment

• Discussion: Read the case study and answer the discussion questions regarding this case. Provide 2 responses to other student posts

• Unit 7 Project: Complete the paper and submit to the Unit 7 project dropbox.

Three Stages of Behaviorism

1. Prior to 1930, Watson popularized Behaviorism. 2. Neobaviorism (1930-1960): The work of

Tolman, Hull, Skinner, and others. They agreed that psychologists should study learning, behavior can be explained by the laws of conditioning, and psychology should adopt the principle of “operationalism.” Basically, operationalism believed the science should use valid operations and precise measurements to measure different concepts.

3. Sociobehaviorism (1960-1990): The work of Bandura, Rotter, and others considered the role of cognitive processes and focused on observation.

Neobehaviorism & Edward Tolman (1886-1959)

Personal Ph.D from Harvard and in Germany under Gestalt

psychologist, Koffka. Became interested in Watson’s Behaviorism and rejected

Titchener’s introspection University of Berkeley professorResearch and Theories Purposive Behaviorism – He agreed with Watson that we

should objectively study behavior. He believed that goals and purpose determine behavior.

He believed intervening variables influenced behavior. Organisms develop “cognitive maps” (mental

representations) of the environment (Leahey, 2004). Behaviorists, such as Watson, didn’t agree with the role

of the mind influencing behavior.

Neobehaviorism & Clark Hull (1884-1952)

Personal Ph.D from University of Wisconsin Influenced by Pavlov’s theories University of Wisconsin and Yale professor Contracted polio at age 24 Invented a machine for calculating correlations

Research and Theories Embraced mechanism and viewed research participants as

machines Hypothetico-deductive method focused on experimental tests to

determine if your conclusions were correct Law of Primary Reinforcement – When a response to a stimulus

causes a reduction in that need, you will repeat this same stimulus-response association (See notes below for an example).

Neobehaviorism & B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Personal One of the most influential psychologists. Little success as a writer, so he pursued his interest in

psychology. He read about Watson and Pavlov. He earned a Ph.D. from Harvard and became a Professor at

Harvard He developed a program for behavioral control of society,

promoted behavioral modification techniques, and invented an automated crib for infants.

He was a celebrity and wrote 2 best selling novels about Behaviorism. The books were Walden Two (1948)and Freedom and Dignity (1971)

Research and Theories Skinner’s Behaviorism focused on investigating responses. He

was concerned with describing behavior, but not interested in explaining underlying drives or motives. He was not interested in mental events. He believed psychologists should focus on observable behavior.

B.F. Skinner, page 2

Research and Theories, cont. Operant conditioning – A behavior that occurs in response to a

stimulus. This is learning from your consequences. If you are reinforced, you will be more likely to repeat a behavior. If you are punished, you will be less likely to repeat the behavior.

Skinner noticed rats will increase their pressing of a bar if they are reinforced with food.

In the real world, we are reinforced at varying rates and times, which Skinner called “schedules of reinforcement.” For example, slot machines provide intermittent reinforcement. You keep playing because you don’t know when you will receive a reward. Pay checks are fixed reinforcement because you receive a check every two weeks.

Shaping involves rewarding closer and closer approximations of the behavior. This is used to teach complex behaviors. If you are teaching your child how to play baseball, you might reward him/her for holding the bat correctly. Once this is mastered, then you would focus on stance and holding the bat right. Eventually, the child will learn to put the behaviors together and learn how to swing at the ball.

B.F. Skinner, page 3

Research and Theories, cont. Behavior Modification – Using positive reinforcement to

encourage behavior. Skinner found that positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment. Currently, we use behavior modification techniques in prisons, schools, and many other places to encourage positive behaviors and discourage negative behaviors.

Walden 2- Book in which Skinner described a mechanistic society in which people’s behavior was shaped and guided by using positive reinforcement.

Criticisms: 1) He didn’t take into account cognitive factors (e.g., drives, motives); 2) he could not train some animals to do something contrary to their instincts; and 3) some behaviors are inherited.

Contributions: 1) Popularized Behaviorism and Psychology, 2) Many of his theories have been applied to different areas of society, and 3) his goal was to improve society.

Sociobehaviorism & Albert Bandura(1925 -)

Personal Canadian who became interested in psychopathology of every day life Ph.D from Iowa and Stanford professor Research and Theories After WW2, there was a renewed interest in cognitive factors. Bandura

addressed how cognitive factors influence behavior. Social Cognitive Theory – We learn without being directly reinforced. We

can learn from observing others. If others are reinforced for the behavior (vicarious reinforcement), we might try to replicate their behavior.

Self-efficacy – Feeling that you are competent to solve a problem. It’s a type of self-confidence. People with lower self-efficacy don’t feel like they can accomplish the task, so they may give up. People with higher self-efficacy tend to accomplish more because they are more confident in their abilities.

Bandura’s Behavior Modification: Believed undesirable behaviors can be removed by observing others. For example, if you are scared of a dogs, and watch a person pet a dog, then your fear would decrease, and you might pet the dog.

Applications of Bandura’s theory and behavior modification techniques in clinics, businesses, and classrooms

Sociobehaviorism, Julian Rotter (1916-) and Behaviorism Today

Julian Rotter Ph.D from Indiana University; worked as psychologist with the U.S.

Army; taught at Ohio State and University of Connecticut Developed the term “Social Learning Theory” to discuss a cognitive form

of Behaviorism, similar to Albert Bandura. Locus of Control – Individuals with an external locus of control believe

things are controlled by other people or outside factors. People with an internal locus of control believe they can control what happens. For example, if you have a job interview, a person with an internal locus of control believes their performance will determine if they get the job. Someone with an external locus of control believes they can’t control getting the job, but it depends on the interviewer, luck, or other external factors.

Behaviorism Today There are many applications of behaviorism in society today. In addition, most people agree that cognitive influences play a role in

shaping behavior.

References

Leahey, T.H. (2004). A history of psychology: Main currents in psychological thought (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Prentice Hall.

Schultz, D.P. & Schultz, S.E. (2008). A history of modern psychology (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.