Behavioral psychology

Behavioral psychology is one of the most important topics that are being taught in every opening psychology courses.

Behavioral psychology, also known as behaviorism, is a perspective that became prevailing during the early half of the 20th century. The merit goes to the prominent thinkers such as
B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson. The basis of behavioral psychology suggests that all behaviors are learned.

According to behavioral psychology all mental and physical actions can be explained in terms of reactions produced by glands and muscles to exterior factors (stimuli), and that mind (consciousness) is not present as far as the scientific research is concerned.

Some of the facts that are considered are:

• behavior is both habituated and strong-minded by its own outcomes or consequences (rewards and punishments),
• human behavior can be understood by investigating animal behavior,
• only the noticeable and assessable aspects of a behavior are valued in investigating,
• repetition alone brings mastery which is equal as understanding,
• knowledge is somewhat given by an mentor and taken (acquired) by a learner, and
• an instructor should center in altering the learner's behavior and not his or her thinking patterns.

Behavioral Psychology (behavioral approach): The behavioral approach was found by John B. Watson and at first rejected the study of mental processes in favor of the study of overt behavior (observable behavior) and external factors – study of observable events.

The behaviorists assumed that each and every one of the behavior was determined by stimuli in the environment. At present, this approach still stresses the significance of the environment on behavior, but also allows for the enclosure of cognitive processes and feelings (early behaviorists rejected cognition in the study of behavior).

Behaviorism also called the learning perspective (where any physical action is a behavior), is a philosophy of psychology based on the intention that all things, organisms do—including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be considered as behaviors.

The Behaviorism comprises the position that all theories should have observational correlates but philosophical differences are not there between the publicly observable processes (such as actions) and the privately observable processes (such as thinking and feeling).

Questions:

• What is Ivan Pavlov theory on classical conditioning?
• What is the importance of behavioral psychology in today’s world?