Behaviourist Perspective

Dominant school of thought during the 1950's
Concentrated ONLY directly observable & dismissed research into workings of mind as unscientific (like Psychoanalysis & Cognitive)
Focuses on the way objects or events in the environment come to control behaviour through learning.
B. F. Skinner observed that behaviour can be controlled by environmental circumstances that either increase (reinforce) or decrease (punish) their likelihood of occurring.
John B Watson
Ivan Pavlov
Behaviourism suggests that all behaviour can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces.
Behaviourism is focused on observable behaviour.
Theories of learning including classical conditioning and operant conditioning were the focus of a great deal of research.
Basic Principle - Behaviour is learned and selected by its environmental consequences.
Metaphor - Humans & other animals are like machines; the mind is like a black box
Method - Experimentation with humans & other animals

Resource summary

	Created by Nicola Jellard about 9 years ago

	Copied by Martha Alexandra about 9 years ago