Behavioral Theory

Behavioral Theory : Understanding Human Behavior Behavioral Theory

Behaviorism is an approach in psychology based on the proposition that behavior can be studied and explained scientifically without resorting to internal mental states . Behavioral theorists argue that observation of behavior is the best and most convenient way of investigating psychological and mental processes

Theorists of the behavioral theory suggest that personality develops as people learn from their environment . They assert that all behavior can be managed (Lefton and Valvatne , 1985 :48

The basic assumption made by behavioral theories is that human behavior

is determined mainly by what a person has learned in life , especially by what one has learned from interacting with other people (Bernstein , Roy Srull and Wickens , 1988

Ivan Pavlov 's experiments emphasized careful observation of overt behavior following precise manipulation of the environment . He trained a hungry dog to salivate at the sound of a bell , which was previously associated with the sight of food . With this , Pavlov developed the concept of conditional reflex , which is a type of associative learning This principle of Pavlov states that behavior can be conditioned to respond to a formerly neutral stimulus . According to this principle therefore , human behavior may also be conditioned to respond to a certain stimulus . When a person is subjected to this stimulus , that person is expected to always respond a certain way

Influenced by the experiments of Pavlov , J .B . Watson or John B . Watson was convinced that emotions such as fear can be conditioned in a human being . He believed that behavior is influenced by environmental conditions that are experienced or are continuously experienced

He believed that such a task can be completed by supplying a stimulus which causes an unconditioned response . Watson 's approach emphasized physiology and the role of stimuli in producing conditioned responses - assimilating most or all function to reflex . His goal was to prove that behavior is learned and that Freudian thinking was wrong since Freudians believed that behavior comes from the unconscious . He concluded , based on his experiment that conditioned emotions can last over an individual 's lifetime . Recent studies have shown , however , that if an individual is not properly conditioned to , let 's say fear , then that person 's fear may not last as long as a lifetime . This is because the results of conditioned emotions can be shaped and changed through experiences

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was interested in modifying and rearranging environmental experiences to determine their effects on the organism . He developed a behavioral approach that analyzes how the observable behavior is learned in relation to observable environmental events . He referred to the interaction between behavior and the environment as functional relationships and he sought to understand these relationships by employing what he called the functional analysis of behavior (Bernstein , et al , 1988

Bernstein , et al (1988 ) illustrates Skinner 's functional analysis of behavior through a school boy . Suppose a schoolboy causes trouble by hitting other children . Skinner argues that it would be pointless to speculate about the motivation or...