A school of thought in psychology which appeared in the 1920s and 1930s. The American psychologist John B. Watson is one of its well-known representatives. It emphasizes objective, observable, and measurable characteristics and excludes emotions, feelings, experience. Organisms are considered to respond to stimuli from the external environment and from their biological functions. In the 1940s and 1950s, the new behaviorism relaxed the deterministic stance of the previous period and attempted to build an empirically-grounded theory of adaptive behavior which allowed room for intervening psychical factors, perception and verbal (nonmeasurable) expressions. B.F. Skinner is among the well-known newer behavioral psychologists. (Adapted from Encyclopedia Brittanica).

A psychological theory that claims all mental states can be reduced to statements of observable behaviors. In learning theory, the claim is all learning is based on a stimulus-response relationship.

a psychological theory that limits the scope of psychology to the scientific study of publicly observable behaviors and their causes while rejecting any explanations that refer to interior mental states or processes

(see also textbook glossary) An approach to psychology that restricts theories to statements that contain only reference to observable events.

Learning theory that emphasizes the study of observable behaviors and events and the predictable role of environment in causing behavior.

A theoretical outlook that emphasizes the role of environment and of learning and insists that people must be studied objectively and from the outside.

the early school of psychology that rejected the study of mental processes in favor of the study of overt behavior. 11

the restriction of psychology to the objective study of stimulus and response.

The doctrine that psychology should restrict itself exclusively to observations and concepts relating to behavior.

A psychological approach that emphasizes the role of environmental forces in producing behavior. go to glossary index

An approach that emphasizes the study of objectively observable behavior rather than inner mental experiences. Behaviorism emphasizes the the role of environment as the cause of behavior. From our environment, we learn to do certain behaviors and learn not to do others. Sometimes called learning theory.

Movement in psychology that advocates the use of strict experimental procedures to study observable behavior (or responses) in relation to the environment (or stimuli). Behaviorism deals with learning or memory under strictly controlled conditions; Related Terms: Ethology

an area of psychology that believes humans and animals are the most important area of study.

the contemporary American philosophy which abandons the concepts of mind and consciousness and restricts both animal and human psychology to the study of behavior; an ethical system by which ethical behavior is predetermined by either genetic or conditional factors.

a psychological theory that stresses the importance of studying overt behavior and denies the legitimacy of introspective reports of consciousness. Behaviorists see mental activities (emotions, dreams, pains) as having no scientific value.

A school of psychology that limits itself to studying only observable and measurable behavior, rather than subjective factors such as emotion.

A school of psychological thought that advocates the study of observable behavior rather than unobservable mental processes.

Belief that learning results in a change in the learner's behavior. The focus of behaviorists is on the outputs of the learning process. The study of learning only through the examination and analysis of objectively observable and quantifiable behavioral events, in contrast with subjective mental states.

An empirical scientific approach which suggests that all knowledge is build up over time via processes of association and stimulus and response.

The dominant sub-field of psychology until the 1950's. Behaviorists denied that there was anything called "the mind." Because only "behavior" was important in human psychology, psychologists focused exclusively on people's actions. They rewarded behavior to encourage it and punished behavior to discourage it. "Behavioral objectives" are based on this philosophy.

A theory suggesting that learning occurs when an environmental stimulus triggers a response or behavior. Based on classical conditioning theory, behaviorism applies to educational practices that reward performance behaviors to encourage repetition of those behaviors. Rote memorization and drill-and-practice instruction are supported by behaviorist theory.

Theory of learning that stresses the importance of having a particular form of behavior reinforced by someone, other than the student, to shape or control what is learned.

The study of behavior, especially using operant conditioning.

The psychology of B.F. Skinner. Examines the effect of environment on the behavior of living creatures.

The science founded by John B. Watson and popularized by B.F. Skinner, wherein "psychology" is defined as the study of observ­able activities (i.e., behavior). (Contrasts with "depth psychology".)

School of psychology that limits itself to the objectively observable and to measurable behavior, dispensing with any description of the contents of consciousness which emerge only by way of introspection.

A school or system of psychology associated with the name of John B. Watson; it defined psychology as the study of behavior and limited the data of psychology to observable activities. In its classical form it was more restrictive than the contemporary behavioral viewpoint in psychology.

Theory that human behavior and learning are guided and controlled by external stimuli (from the environment) as opposed to internal psychological processes (in the mind). Learning occurs when students are given a stimulus (such as a question or request) that results in a response. Positive reinforcements, or rewards, follow appropriate responses; punishments or negative reinforcements follow inappropriate responses. ( learn more)

(or behaviourism, not to be confused with behavioralism in political science) An approach to psychology based on the proposition that behavior can be researched scientifically without recourse to inner mental states. It is a form of materialism, denying any independent significance for the mind. One of the assumptions of many behaviorists is that free will is illusory, and that all behaviour is determined by a combination of forces comprised of genetic factors and the environment, either through association or reinforcement.

Behaviorism is an approach to psychology based on the proposition that behavior can be studied and explained scientifically without recourse to internal mental states. A similar approach to political science may be found in Behavioralism.