behaviorism
Stimulus-response psychology
Behaviorism is a school of psychology that focuses exclusively on observable behavior rather than internal mental states.
It holds that all behavior can be explained through conditioning—responses to environmental stimuli—without reference to thoughts, feelings, or consciousness.
The approach dominated American psychology for much of the 20th century, associated especially with B.F.
Skinner and his work on reinforcement.
Strict behaviorism treats the mind as a black box.
The term extends to any approach emphasizing measurable actions over subjective experience.
Common English surname
Adding support or encouragement
- operantProducing an effect
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
- PavlovConditioning reflex discoverer
- SkinnerBehaviorism's leading theorist
stimulus-response · extinction · generalization · discrimination · shaping · desensitization · contingency · schedule
Knowledge through observation
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- positivismPhilosophy demanding verifiable evidence
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
- reductionismExplaining wholes through parts
mechanism · functionalism · environmentalism · tabula rasa · black box · observable · objective · scientific method
Rewards exchanged for privileges
- ABALawyers' professional body
- classroom managementMaintaining order while teaching
- biofeedbackTraining via physiological monitoring
- aversion therapyTreatment pairing unwanted behavior with discomfort
Theory prioritizing mental processes
- mentalismDoctrine of primacy of thought
- innateExisting since birth
- nativismPreference for native-born citizens
- language acquisitionDeveloping communication ability
Chomsky · consciousness · free will · reductionist · oversimplified · mechanistic · mind · intentionality
Based on direct perception
- modelingSimulating or demonstrating form
- imitationCopy of the original
- social learningAcquiring behavior through observation
- trial-and-errorSolving by successive approximation
habit formation · rote · drill · repetition · skill acquisition · vicarious
Watson
Common English surname
reinforcement
Adding support or encouragement
Skinner · stimulus-response · extinction · generalization · discrimination · shaping · desensitization · contingency · schedule · positive
empiricism
Knowledge through observation
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- positivismPhilosophy demanding verifiable evidence
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
reductionism · mechanism · functionalism · environmentalism · tabula rasa · black box · observable · objective · scientific method · physicalism
token economy
Rewards exchanged for privileges
- ABALawyers' professional body
- classroom managementMaintaining order while teaching
- biofeedbackTraining via physiological monitoring
cognitivism
Theory prioritizing mental processes
- mentalismDoctrine of primacy of thought
- innateExisting since birth
- nativismPreference for native-born citizens
Chomsky · language acquisition · consciousness · free will · reductionist · oversimplified · mechanistic · mind · intentionality · creativity
observational
Based on direct perception
- modelingSimulating or demonstrating form
- imitationCopy of the original
- social learningAcquiring behavior through observation
trial-and-error · habit formation · rote · drill · repetition · skill acquisition · vicarious
- child developmentbaby, toddler, newborn, infancy, milestones
- mental healthpsychiatry, psychotherapy, mental illness, psychiatrist, therapist
- psychologypsychology, psychologist, therapist, psychiatrist, clinical psychology
- ismscapitalism, socialism, communism, anarchism, racism
- behavioral scienceconditioning, reinforcement, stimulus, response, learning theory
- behavioral sciencespsychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology
behaviorismpsychoanalysis
Treatment via unconscious exploration
mentalism · cognitive psychology · depth psychology · nativism · folk psychology
behaviorismnativism
Preference for native-born citizens
free will · rationalism · subjectivism · intuitionism · spiritualism
behaviorismmentalism
Doctrine of primacy of thought
dualism · idealism · rationalism · cognitivism · subjectivism
behave, behavior, misbehave, misbehavior, behaving, behaved, behaves, behavioral, misbehaving