Behaviourism and Mentalism schools

Behaviourists believe that our minds are like a "blank slate" - when we are born. Emotional
states such as thoughts and feelings do not influence our behavior because we do not inherit it.
Language learning, according to the behaviorist school ( Skinner and his colleagues) , is merely
the establishment of a system of habits which children acquire by imitation and association. A
toddler, for example, hears the phrase "water" every time he wants to drink. He quickly identifies
the word 'water' with the substance itself. He next imitates what he has heard by making this
sound himself. His reaction is reinforced since his parents are thrilled that he has learned another
word.

Strengths
Its use of proven, experimental research
procedures boosts science's reputation as a
scientific profession.
It makes a compelling case for the nurture
side of the nature vs. nurture debate.
The method has resulted in a variety of
practical applications and techniques for
influencing behavior, such as the use of
prizes in education
Several of behaviorism's practical uses
demonstrate its contribution.
Behavior therapy and behavior
modification are widely utilized in clinical
psychology and are one of the most
common techniques to the treatment of
abnormal behavior.
Weaknesses
it dismisses the importance of the mental process
in learning. People can only learn as a result of
their experiences.
Animals have been criticized for being used to
apply learning laws to people because humans
are more complicated than animals.
Humans' spontaneous behavior is not explained
by operant and classical training principles
In contrast to the biological approach, which
views nature to be a significant element in human
behavior, it rejects the possibility of biological
factors playing a role in human behavior.
People are seen as passive learners by
behaviorists, however humans are seen as active
agents by humanistic psychologists, who see
humans as capable of controlling and determining
their own development

Mentalism, on the other hand, is a doctrine based on the perceived power of mind processes that
may be learnt by experience or an apprenticeship with a skilled mentalist. Individuals are born
with an innate knowledge of language, as said by Noam Chomsky. He addressed the notion of an
innate structure called a 'Language Acquisition Device.' Learning, according to the mentalists, is
linked to intellect, invention, and innate talent. Moreover, Language employs 'structure-
dependent operation,'. Chomsky implies that language has a double structure, a Surface structure
and a Deep structure, by doing so. The listener must comprehend both the structure and the
content of the discourse in order to fully understand it.
Nada Naji Bazina
22100134
Group A
 Strengths
It makes sense, at least to
someone who isn't familiar with
physiological psychology.
it is supported by the majority
of theologies and philosophies.
Weaknesses
The meaning of something varies from person to person;
this meaning tends to be a broad concept about one specific
object, yet in reality, this thing is only a category of many
other things.
a person's usage of a word in relation to the societal norms
that govern the use of the terminology in question. Also the
idea that meaning emerges through social rules has a long
history.

The contrast between Chomsky's and Skinner's philosophies can be summarized as follows:
Chomsky argues that language is innate and is simply developed, whereas Skinner believes that
language is learned. Personally speaking, after observing both of my 2 years old child and
comparing him to my oldest child, I tend to semi- agree with the behaviourist theory. My oldest
child lacks the ability to imitate and this led to a language delay situation. After taking him to
speech therapist, one of the first things they started working on is supporting his ability to imitate
and explained that this is one of the first stages of intelligence. Also the speech therapist
explained that my son has no language or vocabulary stock. So he is literally a blank slate
because he lacks interest with people and communicating and has not acquire any language
element.

References
McLeod, S. A. (2017, Febuary 05). Behaviorist approach. Simply Psychology.
www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html
Mimi. (2013, Mars, 03). McLeod, S. A. (2017, Febuary 05). Behaviorist approach. Simply
Psychology. https://getrevising.co.uk/grids/the_behaviourist_approach
Bunge M., Ardila R. (1987) Mentalism. In: Philosophy of Psychology. Springer, New York, NY.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4696-1_5

Nada Naji Bazina

22100134
Group A