Watson's behaviorist theory focused not on the internal emotional and psychological conditions of

people, but rather on their external and outward behaviors. He believed that a person's physical
responses provided the only insight into internal actions.

John Watson's theory of behaviorism asserts that all behavior is predominantly influenced by external
stimuli rather than internal mental processes. Key Terms: Stimulus: something that provokes a
behavioral response. Antecedent: a stimulus that invokes a learned behavior in an organism.

First discovered by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), classical conditioning is a learning
process governed by associations between an environmental stimulus and another stimulus which
occurs naturally. All classical conditioned learning involves environmental interaction.

Skinner proposed that human behavior is shaped by a variety of consequences. These consequences, or
contingencies, may be administered by another person (a parent, teacher, spouse, or boss), or may be
naturally occurring in the environment.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages
of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge,
but also on understanding the nature of intelligence.

Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7

Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11

Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

Social learning theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, emphasizes the importance of observing, modelling,
and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Social learning theory
considers how both environmental and cognitive factors interact to influence human learning and
behavior.

The four steps in the Social Learning Theory of Bandura are attention, retention, reproduction, and
motivation.

merits

Watson believed that psychology should primarily be scientific observable behavior. He is remembered
for his research on the conditioning process. Watson is also known for the Little Albert experiment, in
which he demonstrated that a child could be conditioned to fear a previously neutral stimulus.

Criticisms of Behaviorism
Many critics argue that behaviorism is a one-dimensional approach to understanding human behavior
and that behavioral theories do not account for free will and internal influences such as moods,
thoughts and feelings.

Skinner's theory of operant conditioning played a key role in helping psychologists to understand how
behavior is learnt. It explains why reinforcements can be used so effectively in the learning process, and
how schedules of reinforcement can affect the outcome of conditioning.

The person could be pretending they have stopped the behavior just to receive the reward.

Operant conditioning does not take cognitive factors into account.

Once the reward is done being given, they could go back to their bad behavior.

Pavlov taught us that principles of learning apply across species and that classical conditioning is one
way that virtually all organisms learn to adapt to their environment. Pavlov also demonstrated that
significant psychological phenomena can be studied objectively.

Does not allow for free will in individual

Underestimates uniqueness of human beings

May lack validity

Limiting in describing behavior in terms of stimulus-response units of behavior nature or

nurture

One of the primary strengths of social learning theory is its flexibility in explaining the differences in a
person's behavior or learning, i.e., when there is a change in a person's environment, the person's
behavior may change.

Some criticisms of social learning theory arise from their commitment to the environment as the chief
influence on behavior. It is limiting to describe behavior solely in terms of either nature or nurture and
attempts to do this underestimate the complexity of human behavior.

In recent years, Kohlberg's theory has been criticized as being Western-centric with a bias toward men
(he primarily used male research subjects) and with having a narrow worldview based on upper-middle-
class value systems and perspectives.

The evidence for distinct stages to moral development looks very weak and some would argue that
behind the theory is a culturally biased belief in the superiority of American values over those of other
cultures and societies.