Behaviorism Theory Comparison Paper

The two theories that are compared are behavioral and humanistic. Both theories, have served a purpose psychology in helping with understanding the human mind. By taking key principals from philosophers, other psychology movements or current events of the founder's era.

The founder of behaviorism was John B. Watson. He started to promote behaviorism at the age of 35. He also received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. The key principles of behaviorism were to be simple, bold and direct. Watson thought by following those simple terms it would be easier to deal with only observable acts that described objectively regarding stimulus or response. He also believed that the consciousness had no value for behavioral psychology Watson, wanted

P., & Schultz, S. E. 2011; p.127). Comet theories of mechanism also influenced the behavioral theory. Comet said the only valid knowledge is that which is social in nature and objectively observable. (Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. 2011; p.192). The historical development of behaviorism was put in place when Watson, made the connection between animal psychology and behaviorism. Behaviorism is the outcome of studies in animal behavior during the first decade of the twentieth century. (Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. 2011; p.192). This lead to the development of animal psychology, animal psychology which was the product of evolutionary theory. Evolution theorist tried to show the presence of mind in lower organisms and the similarity between animal and humans minds. Watson main objective of behaviorism was to create another branch of psychology that was practical and could be used in the real world or the lab. Watson way of thinking made the transition smooth when he had to pause his development of behaviorism to help in WWI where

During WWI, Watson served as a major in the U.S Army where he developed a perceptual and motor test to select pilots. This historical period influence behaviorism because it motivated Watson to remain focused on developing the behaviorist approach. His dedication led to his publication in 1919 psychology from the standpoint of a behaviorist, in the book he gave a detailed explanation of his behavior psychology and maintained that the methods and principles he suggested for animal psychology were also appropriate for the study of humans. B.F. Skinner is another well know figure in the behaviorist movement. Skinner suggested that thoughts and feelings should be exposed to the same controlling variables as observable behavior. While Watson investigated the stimulus-response procedures of classical conditioning, Skinner investigated the controlling nature of consequences also the antecedents that signal the response, this technique became known as operant conditioning. Changing maladaptive behavior is one of the many therapeutic significance of behaviorism, it was put into practice by Mary Cover Jones and has been described as the precursor of behavior therapy. Mary Cover, a student of Watson, focused on