Perception

Perception

Perspective Paper
Merissa Cochran
PSY 310
October 10, 2011
Dr. Eugene Finke PhD

Abstract
Behaviorism is a school of psychology that explains how each individual learns to behave in one way or another. Behavioral psychology is an approach through psychological views on the way a person behaves and why and how the learning takes place. Everyday an individual learns a new behavior and changes their already existing behavior. Throughout the paper B.F. Skinner, Edward C. Tolman, and John B. Watson will explain how they made this outbreak to the new school of psychology: Behaviorism.

Introduction
John B. Watson, Edward C. Tolman, and Burrhus Frederic Skinner all took up the same perspective with behaviorism. These three men were considered to be behaviorist but each had their way of theories on behaviorism. Behaviorism is an act of focusing on everything that can be described, measured, and observed through observable behavior. John Watson, Edward Tolman, and B.F. Skinner as most know had practices and experiments all around the same time. Each of them made contributions to psychology and the contributions these men have made can be seen in modern day psychology.
Discussion
John B. Watson born in 1878 grew up in South Carolina. John B. Watson was sometimes compared or overlooked to B.F. Skinner because of the similarity of work. Watson however; was the one who founded and coined the term behaviorism which caused behaviorism into the American Psychology. John B. Watson also believed in the nature versus nurture argument. He believed that a person’s environment and how they were nurtured contributed to the behavior of a person. His most famous experiment was known as the Little Albert experiment. This experiment help John Watson show fear could be classically conditioned. Through the experiment he presented a white rat to a boy named little albert. Along with presenting the white rat Watson also made a loud frightening noise at the same time. The...