Editing John B. Watson (section)

== Behaviorism ==
In 1913, Watson published the article "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It" (also called "The Behaviorist Manifesto").<ref name="Watson" /><ref name=":6" /> In the "Manifesto", Watson outlines the major features of his new philosophy of psychology, ''behaviorism'', with the first paragraph of the article concisely describing Watson's behaviorist position:<ref name="Watson" />{{Rp|2}}<blockquote>Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist's total scheme of investigation.</blockquote>In 1913, Watson viewed Pavlov's [[Classical conditioning|conditioned reflex]] as primarily a physiological mechanism controlling glandular secretions. He had already rejected [[Edward Thorndike|Edward L. Thorndike]]'s '[[law of effect]]' (a precursor to [[B. F. Skinner]]'s principle of [[Reinforcement (psychology)|reinforcement]]) due to what Watson believed were unnecessary subjective elements. It was not until 1916 that he would recognize the more general significance of Pavlov's formulation, after which Watson would make such the subject of his presidential address to the [[American Psychological Association]]. The article is also notable for its strong defense of the objective scientific status of [[applied psychology]], which at the time was considered to be much inferior to the established [[Structuralism (psychology)|structuralist]] [[experimental psychology]].

With his notion of ''behaviorism'', Watson put the emphasis on external behavior of people and their reactions on given situations, rather than the internal, mental state of those people. In his opinion, the analysis of behaviors and reactions was the only objective method to get insight in the human actions. This outlook—combined with the complementary ideas of [[determinism]], evolutionary continuism, and [[empiricism]]—has contributed to what is sometimes called [[Methodological behaviorism|Methodological Behaviorism]] (not to be confused with the [[Radical behaviorism|Radical Behaviorism]] of Skinner). It was this new perspective that Watson claimed would lead psychology into a new era. He claimed that prior to [[Wilhelm Wundt]], there was no psychology, and that after Wundt there was only confusion and anarchy. It was Watson's new behaviorism that would pave the way for further advancements in psychology.

Watson's behaviorism rejected the studying of consciousness. He was convinced that it could not be studied, and that past attempts to do so have only been hindering the advancement of psychological theories. He felt that introspection was faulty at best and awarded researchers nothing but more issues. He pushed for psychology to no longer be considered the science of the 'mind'. Instead, he stated that psychology should focus on the 'behavior' of the individual, not their consciousness.

Meanwhile, Watson served as the president of the [[Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology]] in 1915.<ref name="southernsociety">{{cite web|title=Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology|url=http://southernsociety.org|website=Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology|access-date=August 14, 2015}}</ref>

===Language, speech, and memory===

Watson argued that mental activity could not be observed. In his book, ''Behaviorism'' (1924), Watson discussed his thoughts on what language really is, which leads to a discussion of what words really are, and finally to an explanation of what memory is.<ref name=":7">Watson, John B. 1924. ''Behaviorism''. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.</ref><ref name=":8">Watson, John B. 1958 [1924]. ''Behaviorism'' (revised ed.). Chicago: [[University of Chicago Press]]. {{OCLC|3124756}}.</ref> They are all manual devices used by humans that result in ''thinking''. By using anecdotes that illustrate the behaviors and activities of mammals, Watson outlined his [[behaviorist]] views on these topics.

Watson refers to ''language'' as a "manipulative habit," because when we speak language, the sound originates in our [[larynx]], which is a body instrument that we manipulate every time we talk in order to hear our "voice."<ref name="Watson, J.B. 1925">Watson, John B. 2009 [1924]. "Talking and Thinking." Ch. 10, pp. 180–200 in ''Behaviorism''. New Brunswick, NJ: [[Transaction Publishers]].</ref> As we change our throat shape and tongue position, different sounds are made. Watson explains that when a baby first cries, or first says "da" or "ma," that it is learning language. To further his theory, Watson and his wife conducted an experiment in which they conditioned a baby to say "da-da" when he wanted his bottle. Although the baby was conditioned and was a success for a short while, the conditioning was eventually lost. Watson argues, however, that as the child got older, he would imitate Watson as a result of Watson imitating him. By three years old, the child needed no help developing his vocabulary because he was learning from others. Thus, language is [[Imitative learning|imitative]].

Watson goes on to claim that, "words are but substitutes for objects and situations."<ref name="Watson, J.B. 1925" /> In his earlier baby experiment, the baby learned to say "da" when he wanted a bottle, or "mama" when he wanted his mom, or "shoe-da" when he pointed to his father's shoe. Watson then argues that "we watch our chances and build upon these,"<ref name="Watson, J.B. 1925" /> meaning human babies have to form their language by applying sounds they have already formed. This, Watson says, is why babies point to an object but call it a different word. Lastly, Watson explains how a child learns to read words: a mom points at each word and reads in a patterned manner, and eventually, because the child recognizes the word with the sound, he or she learns to read it back.

This, according to Watson, is the start of memory. All of the ideas previously mentioned are what Watson says make up our memory, and that we carry the memory we develop throughout our lives. Watson tells the tale of Mr. Addison Sims and his friend in order to illustrate these ideas. A friend of Mr. Sims' sees Mr. Sims on a street sidewalk and exclaims: "Upon my life! Addison Sims of Seattle! I haven't seen you since the World's Fair in Chicago. Do you remember the gay parties we used to have in the old Windermere Hotel?"<ref name="Watson, J.B. 1925"/> Even after all of this, Mr. Sims cannot remember the man's name, although they were old friends who used to encounter many of the same people, places, and experiences together. Watson argued that if the two men were to do some of their old shared activities and go to some of the old same places (the stimuli), then the response (or memory) would occur.

=== Study of emotions ===
Watson was interested in the conditioning of emotions. Of course behaviorism putting an emphasis on people's external behaviors, emotions were considered as mere physical responses. Watson thought that, at birth, there are three unlearned emotional reactions:<ref name="crain2010">Crain, W. (2010). ''Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications'' (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: [[Prentice Hall]].</ref>

* '''Fear''': evoked by only two stimuli that are unconditioned—a sudden noise or the loss of (physical) support. However, because older children are afraid of many things (e.g. different animals, strange people etc.), it must be that such fear-provoking stimuli are learned. Fear can be observed by the following reaction with infants: crying, rapid breathing, eyes closing, or sudden jumping.
* '''Rage''': an innate response to the body movement of the child being constrained. If a very young child is held in a way that she cannot move at all, then she will begin to scream and stiffen her body. Later this reaction is applied to different situations, e.g. children get angry when they are forced to take a bath or clean their room. These situations provoke rage because they are associated with [[physical restraint]].
* '''Love''': an automatic response from infants when tickled, patted, or stroked lightly. The infant responds with smiles, laughs, and other affectionate responses. According to Watson, infants do not love specific people, they are only conditioned to do so. Because the mother's face is progressively associated with the patting and stroking, it becomes the conditioned stimulus eliciting the affection towards her. Affectionate feelings, for people later, generate the same response because they are somehow associated with the mother.