The Behaviorists Perspective

 Behaviorism became a dominant school of thought during the 1950s. It was based upon the
work of thinkers such as:
 John B. Watson- was a pioneering psychologist who played an important role in
developing behaviorism.
“Father of Behaviorism”.
Watson is also known for the “Little Albert” experiment.
 Ivan Pavlov- Was a Russian physiologist best known in psychology for his
discovery of classical conditioning.
 B.F. Skinner- Was an American psychologist best-known for his influence on
behaviorism. Skinner was named the most influential psychologist of the
twentieth-century.
Operant Conditioning
Schedules of Reinforcement
Skinner Box
Cumulative Recorder
Radical Behaviorism

 Behaviorism- Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning which

states all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment through a process
called conditioning. Thus, behavior is simply a response to environmental stimuli.
Focused on observable behaviors. Thus, if someone can’t show what he/ she has
learned then learning didn’t occur at all.
 Behaviorists believe that environment plays a vital role in influencing learning. Furthermore,
they believe that individuals are born with a Blank Slate.

 Two Types of Conditioning

1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
His Early Life Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was born on September 14, 1849, in the village of
Ryazan, Russia, where his father was the village priest. His earliest studies were focused on
theology but reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of the Species had a powerful influence
on his future interests.
He soon abandoned his religious studies and devoted himself to the study of science. In
1870, he began studying the natural sciences at St. Petersburg University.
Pavlov's Career
Pavlov's primary interests were the study of physiology and natural sciences. He helped
found the Department of Physiology at the Institute of Experimental Medicine
Classical Conditioning- Pavlovian conditioning named after its discoverer Ivan Petrovich
Pavlov, is simply the learning of a new behaviour by associating two stimulus.
They key concepts of classical conditioning are stimulus and responses. While stimulus is
defined as anything that elicits a response, Response is defined as a result of being
triggered by a stimulus.
1. Stimulus – something that exists in the surroundings or that is presented

2. Response –How the animal (or human) responds to the stimulus

 Types of Stimuli and Responses
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)
• Unconditioned response (UCR)
• Conditioned response (CR)
• Neutral stimulus (NS).
 The most famous example of classical conditioning was Pavlov's experiment with dogs, who
salivated in response to a bell tone. Pavlov showed that when a bell was sounded each time
the dog was fed, the dog learned to associate the sound with the Presentation of the food.
 Pavlov’s dogs, restrained in an experimental chamber, were presented with meat powder and
they had their saliva collected via a surgically implanted tube in their saliva glands.


2. OPERANT CONDITIONING