Question

Choose one of the theories (e.g., behaviorism, cognitivism, social learning theory, Gestalt). Briefly describe the central concepts of the theory. Then, describe one strength and one weakness of the theory. When explaining the strength and weakness, specifically state how that theory is stronger or weaker than another theory in a specific way.

Answer 1

• Behaviorism is a learning theory that only focuses on objectively observable behaviors and discounts any independent activities of the mind. Behavior theorists define learning as nothing more than the acquisition of new behavior based on environmental conditions.
• The behaviorist movement began in 1913 when John Watson wrote an article entitled 'Psychology as the behaviorist views it,' which set out a number of underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioral analysis:
• All behavior is learned from the environment:-Behaviorism emphasizes the role of environmental factors in influencing behavior, to the near exclusion of innate or inherited factors. This amounts essentially to a focus on learning.
• We learn new behavior through classical or operant conditioning (collectively known as 'learning theory').Therefore, when born our mind is 'tabula rasa' (a blank slate).
• Psychology should be seen as a science:-Psychology as a behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is prediction and control.The components of a theory should be as simple as possible. Behaviorists propose the use of operational definitions (defining variables in terms of observable, measurable events).
• Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion:-While behaviorists often accept the existence of cognitions and emotions, they prefer not to study them as only observable (i.e., external) behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured.
• Therefore, internal events, such as thinking should be explained through behavioral terms (or eliminated altogether).
• Behavior is the result of stimulus-response:-All behavior, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus-response association). Watson described the purpose of psychology as'To predict, given the stimulus, what reaction will take place; or, given the reaction, state what the situation or stimulus is that has caused the reaction.
• An obvious advantage of behaviorism is its ability to define behavior clearly and to measure changes in behavior. According to the law of parsimony, the fewer assumptions a theory makes, the better and the more credible it is. Behaviorism, therefore, looks for simple explanations of human behavior from a very scientific standpoint.
• However, behaviorism only provides a partial account of human behavior, that which can be objectively viewed. Important factors like emotions, expectations, higher-level motivation are not considered or explained.
  
• A central strength of behaviorism is that results can be reliably reproduced experimentally such as in a Skinner box or similar apparatus. This evident advantage translates into several distinct counter-arguments.
• Firstly, behaviorism does not acknowledge active human agency, this is conscious self-awareness which is typically mediated via language. Key properties of human agency are intentionality, forethought and self-reactiveness, all of which play no role in behaviorism.
• Secondly, a behaviorist perspective can not explain how people make procedural decisions or negotiate between various types of potential rewards and goals. Most of human behavior is not based on conditioned, convergent reflexes on a single task, but correlates to preceding mental processes that are divergent and collaborative in nature.
  
• Since reflexes are strictly defined as physiological interactions, behaviorism cannot explain individual differences in human learning, variations in learning- styles and the influence of personality on learning .
• In summary;
• Strengths-
• The behaviorist approach provides clear predictions. This means that explanations can be scientifically tested and support with evidence.
• Real life applications (e.g., therapy)
• Emphasizes objective measurement
• Many experiments to support theories
• Identified comparisons between animals (Pavlov) and humans (Watson & Rayner - Little Albert)
• Limitations-
• Ignores mediational processes
• Ignores biology (e.g., testosterone)
• Too deterministic (little free-will)
• Experiments – low ecological validity
• Humanism – can’t compare animals to humans
• Reductionist
• Behaviorism precedes the cognitivist worldview. It rejects structuralism and is an extension of Logical Positivism.
• Accepting a behaviorist explanation could prevent further research from other perspective that could uncover important factors.
• In addition, humanism (e.g., Carl Rogers) rejects the scientific method of using experiments to measure and control variables because it creates an artificial environment and has low ecological validity.
• Humanistic psychology also assumes that humans have free will (personal agency) to make their own decisions in life and do not follow the deterministic laws of science.
• Humanism also rejects the nomothetic approach of behaviorism as they view humans as being unique and believe humans cannot be compared with animals (who aren’t susceptible to demand characteristics). This is known as an idiographic approach.
• The psychodynamic approach (Freud) criticizes behaviorism as it does not take into account the unconscious mind’s influence on behavior, and instead focuses on externally observable behavior. Freud also rejects the idea that people are born a blank slate (tabula rasa) and states that people are born with instincts (e.g., eros and thanatos).
• Despite these criticisms, behaviorism has made significant contributions to psychology. These include insights into learning, language development, and moral and gender development, which have all been explained in terms of conditioning.
• The contribution of behaviorism can be seen in some of its practical applications. Behavior therapy and behavior modification represent one of the major approaches to the treatment of abnormal behavior and are readily used in clinical psychology.