behavioralist
Studies observable actions
A behavioralist is someone who studies or emphasizes behavior—particularly observable actions rather than internal mental states.
The term appears most often in political science, where behavioralists analyze voting patterns, public opinion, and political participation through empirical data: The behavioralists transformed political science in the 1950s.
Also spelled behaviouralist in British English.
Behaviorism's leading theorist
- PavlovConditioning reflex discoverer
- WatsonCommon English surname
- stimulusWhat prompts a reaction
- responseAnswer to stimulus
reinforcement · operant · classical · unconditioned · conditioned · extinction · generalization · discrimination
Study of animal conduct
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- imprintingRapid early learning attachment
- territorialityDefense of claimed space
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
courtship · aggression · dominance · hierarchy · maze · rat · pigeon · primate
Systematic investigation procedure
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- laboratoryFacility for scientific investigation
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- dataFacts for analysis
empirical · quantitative · variable · measurement · protocol · systematic · recording · coding
Knowledge through observation
- positivismPhilosophy demanding verifiable evidence
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- environmentalismAdvocacy for nature protection
- observableCapable of being detected
measurable · stimulus-response · reductionism · mechanism · functionalism
Put into practice
- desensitizationReduced response over time
- exposureState of being unprotected
- biofeedbackTraining via physiological monitoring
- ABALawyers' professional body
shaping · prompting · fading · generalization · maintenance · self-monitoring
Skinner
Behaviorism's leading theorist
response · reinforcement · operant · classical · unconditioned · conditioned · extinction · generalization · discrimination · shaping
ethology
Study of animal conduct
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- imprintingRapid early learning attachment
- territorialityDefense of claimed space
foraging · courtship · aggression · dominance · hierarchy · maze · rat · pigeon · primate · conditioning
experiment
Systematic investigation procedure
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- laboratoryFacility for scientific investigation
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
data · empirical · quantitative · variable · measurement · protocol · systematic · recording · coding · sampling
empiricism
Knowledge through observation
- positivismPhilosophy demanding verifiable evidence
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- environmentalismAdvocacy for nature protection
observable · measurable · stimulus-response · reductionism · mechanism · functionalism
applied
Put into practice
- desensitizationReduced response over time
- exposureState of being unprotected
- biofeedbackTraining via physiological monitoring
ABA · shaping · prompting · fading · generalization · maintenance · self-monitoring
behavioralistpsychoanalyst
Unconscious mind specialist
Freudian · mentalist · cognitivist · cognitive psychologist · nativist
behavior, behaviorist, behavioral, behavioristic, behave, behaved, behaving, behaves, misbehave