Approaches of psychology - 1. Behavioral Perspective

Approaches of psychology - 1. Behavioral Perspective - Psychology, as framed by behaviorism, is the science of behavior, not of some “inner mind” separated from action. Behaviorists argue that behavior can be fully described and explained without referring to mental events or internal psychological processes. The sources of behavior are environmental, not located within the mind. If mental terms are used, they must either be eliminated or redefined in behavioral terms.

Behaviorism, which dominated the first half of the 20th century, sought to establish psychology as a discipline grounded in observable and measurable laws. Classical behaviorism rejected introspection and the study of inner experiences, emotions, and mental activity. Organisms were viewed as responding to external stimuli and internal biological processes, without the need for mental constructs. Although the field has evolved, and contemporary psychology values internal processes like emotion and thought, behaviorist methods still underpin certain therapeutic techniques—especially in developmental psychology and behavioral modification.

This theoretical framework laid the foundation for understanding learning and has influenced practices from animal training to parenting and education. In contrast to structuralism, which focused on consciousness and introspection, behaviorism emerged in the early 1900s as a reaction to both structuralist and Freudian psychology. The latter emphasized unconscious processes, which early behaviorists rejected in their mission to create a more objective science akin to biology or chemistry.

John B. Watson, a central figure in this movement, formalized behaviorism in 1913 with his paper Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It. He believed that given complete environmental control, one could train any healthy infant to become any type of adult specialist—regardless of inherent talents or background. In 1924, Watson dismissed consciousness as an undefined and useless concept, equating it with the soul—a vestige of religious philosophy. He advocated for a psychology stripped of introspection and grounded in observable data, much like the physical sciences.

By 1929, Watson asserted that psychology should be purely objective and experimental, allowing only those observations that could be independently verified. This radical shift had a lasting impact on the development of modern psychology and on the broader social sciences.

Behaviorism is not just a methodology but an epistemological stance: it frames how hypotheses about psychological events must be confirmed—through behavioral evidence. Wilfrid Sellars, a philosopher, defined behaviorism as both an attitude and a doctrine. A person qualifies as a behaviorist (loosely) if they demand behavioral verification for psychological claims.

There are three primary types of behaviorism:

1. Methodological Behaviorism: A normative claim about how psychology should be conducted scientifically. It holds that psychology should focus solely on observable behavior and not internal mental states or computational models of cognition.

2. Psychological Behaviorism: A research program that explains human and animal behavior in terms of stimuli, responses, learning histories, and reinforcements. Foundational figures include Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, and Watson, with B.F. Skinner developing its most influential form through his work on reinforcement schedules.

3. Analytical (or Logical) Behaviorism: A philosophical theory about the meaning of mental concepts. It asserts that to attribute mental states (like beliefs or desires) is to describe behavioral dispositions. That is, we explain mental states not by referencing internal conditions, but by predicting behavior across different situations. Prominent advocates include Gilbert Ryle and the later Ludwig Wittgenstein.