Psychology Is The Science Of Natural Science - 1080 Words

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 -John B. Watson There are five main approaches to psychology known as â€Å"schools of thought† that make assumptions about the nature of mankind. One of those five, the behavioral school of thought, refers to the relationship between a person’s behavior and the environment surrounding them. Behaviorism, one of these five schools was created by John B. Watson around 1913. According†¦show more content†¦Although John Watson had many accomplishments throughout his career, one that is most popular is his experiment on little Albert, a nine-month old boy. The experiment was conditioned to fear something, like a white rat for example, when the boy had no fear existing initially. Watson combined a loud noise with the appearance of the rat to make the little boy scared. Little Albert was not the only test subject. John had decided to go through the following tests with several children. He placed a box in front of the child that could only be opened by doing a certain action or actio ns. Before giving the box to the child, Watson opened the box to show the candy inside, and then proceeds to give the box to the child. The child then does everything it can, drags the box around, pound it on the floor a few times, and whatever else it feels like it can do to get the candy. The child does everything he or she has learned in past similar situations. The child continues to do this, and then eventually figures out how to open the box in a very short time. This way of learning is known as a function of frequency and recency. Watson soon coined the phrase â€Å"dozen healthy infants† and went on to state this: â€Å"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select -- doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and,