Summary: Chapter 9 dives into behaviorism. The early exploits of animal research, and its ability to be applied to humans. Experiments and analysis of animal behavior was widely discussed. This area drifted away from introspection and perception, and started to look at behaviors. How people/animals act/react in situations. Also the acquisition of a habit from reinforced behavior. Some contributors to these theories are Thorndike, Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner.
Elements of Thought:
Concept- One of the biggest concepts of this chapter was the focus on animal behavior. This gave way for psychologists to begin studying unconditioned stimulus as well as conditioning on humans. We have learned how animals react, what kind of stimulus can they interpret, and how fast they can learn from their mistakes. All of these discoveries began to be hypothesized amongst humans as well.
Implications and consequences- An implication I noted in this chapter was the little Albert experiment. This experiment was most likely a turning point for many other behavioral experiments. This taking place in the 30’s must have set the stage for some rather unethical tests. These other spin-off experiments probably called for ethical standards and guidelines when working with human participants. Debriefing became another part of experiments; explaining to the participant the stress of the examination.
Purpose- I believe the purpose of this chapter explicitly shows the connection between humans and animals but also clearly differentiates between our mental capacity. Humans can react to an unconditioned stimulus many ways. Depending on our cognitive process. In that case there may be instances in behaviorism that a response may not be expected, and certain things cannot be deconditioned. Since we are more complex mentally than our other animal counterparts, we may respond to stimuli unconsciously based on prior situations.
Intellectual Standards:
Depth- human behavior is ever changing which may not be consistent but it is still an area worthy of more research.
Accuracy- The proof has been shown in 100’s of tests done on animals as well as humans that behaviorism can be effective
Breadth- Something to think about is how some “unethical” tests from a behaviorist POV have turned out to be greatly telling and applicable in areas of psychology.
*List many of the experiments done on animals not limited to psychology*
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