... four basic principles. First, psychology was to be a science of behavior and not consciousness. Second, both human and animal behavior would be investigated. Third, mentalistic ideas would be discarded and replaced with the behavioristic concepts of stimulus and response. Fourth, the goal of psychology would be the prediction and control of behavior. Support for Watson's program ... earlier twentieth century included: the prediction and control of behavior, the reduction of behavior to stimulus-response units, creating psychology as a science of behavior and not consciousness, creating...

• Word Count: 2077
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and founded his own approach to psychology. He felt that it was impossible to study consciousness because only outward behavior could be scientifically understood(Lahey, 1983). Watson's field was animal psychology; he tells us himself that he preferred to work with animals rather than human subjects, and disliked serving as an introspective subject(Leahey, 1980). He was deeply impressed ... behavior, modeled on physics. In all, he was largely successful. Classical behaviorism is empiricist, atomist, peripheralist, associationist, materialist, and determinist. All problems are to be def...

• Word Count: 1847
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to three theses: "(a) The identification thesis: Mind is identified as nothing more than physical states and processes of the brain and central nervous system. (b) The explanation thesis: All human and animal behavior is best and more fully explained by physicalistic interpretations "that is, through neurochemistry and neurophysiology. (c) The exclusion thesis: There are no powers or properties of the mind that ... affected by the material forces that constitute the flux of environmental events."" Basically the physical causes all metal events. And certain environmental conditions cause...

• Word Count: 1640
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate