behavioristic
Observable conduct only
Behavioristic describes an approach that focuses on observable behavior rather than internal mental states.
In psychology, behavioristic methods study what organisms do—their responses to stimuli—rather than speculating about thoughts or feelings: The experiment took a strictly behavioristic approach, measuring only reaction times.
The term often carries a dismissive edge when applied outside psychology, suggesting reductive or mechanistic thinking about human nature.
Learning via reinforcement
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- B.F. SkinnerBehaviorist psychologist, conditioning researcher
- punishmentPenalty for an offense
- shapingGiving something its form
extinction · positive reinforcement · negative reinforcement · contingency · token economy · chaining · tact
Learned stimulus-response association
- stimulusWhat prompts a reaction
- responseAnswer to stimulus
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
- salivationMouth producing digestive fluid
dogs · bell · unconditioned · conditioned · association · Ivan Pavlov · signal · innate
Doctrine of causal necessity
- environmentalismAdvocacy for nature protection
- blank slateUnmarked starting point
- mechanisticViewing systems as machines
- reductionismExplaining wholes through parts
John Watson · parsimony · prediction · control · mind-body · black box · stimulus-response · associationism
Determining size or amount
- empiricalBased on observation, not theory
- quantitativeConcerning measurable amounts
- objectivePurpose or goal
- replicabilityAbility to duplicate results
controlled experiment · data collection · baseline · variable · frequency · duration · latency · topography
operant conditioning
Learning via reinforcement
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- B.F. SkinnerBehaviorist psychologist, conditioning researcher
- punishmentPenalty for an offense
shaping · extinction · positive reinforcement · negative reinforcement · contingency · token economy · chaining · tact
classical conditioning
Learned stimulus-response association
salivation · dogs · bell · unconditioned · conditioned · association · Ivan Pavlov · signal · innate · adaptive
determinism
Doctrine of causal necessity
- environmentalismAdvocacy for nature protection
- blank slateUnmarked starting point
- mechanisticViewing systems as machines
John Watson · reductionism · parsimony · prediction · control · mind-body · black box · stimulus-response · associationism · materialism
measurement
Determining size or amount
- empiricalBased on observation, not theory
- quantitativeConcerning measurable amounts
- objectivePurpose or goal
replicability · controlled experiment · data collection · baseline · variable · frequency · duration · latency · topography
behavioristicpsychoanalytic
Of unconscious-focused therapy
Freudian · cognitive · humanistic · phenomenological · psychodynamic
behavioristicnativist
Anti-immigration advocate
rationalist · cognitivist · subjectivist · teleological · experiential
- animal behavioristsScientists studying fauna conduct