Behaviorism

by John B. Watson

Preface: While this volume is written as a series of lectures and in a somewhat free and easy style, every effort has been made to present facts in unmutilated form and to state theoretical positions with accuracy. In approaching subjective psychology for the first time, the reader meets with one great difficulty. He comes in from the world of things-a world which he can manipulate, hold up, examine and change about. When he comes to subjective psychology, he leaves all this behind he has to face a world of intangibles, a world of definitions, and it takes him weeks to find out what this kind of psychology is about. Rare indeed is the individual who ever thoroughly awakens to the problems discussed in the general text books of introspective psychologies current today. . Because behavioristic psychology deals with tangibles, the reader sees no break between his physical, chemical, and biological world and his newly-faced behavioristic world. He may not like the simplicity and severity of behaviorism, but he cannot fail to understand Behaviorism if he but gives it a little honest reading. Therefore, the author hopes that this book will offer a happy approach to the whole field of psychology.....

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Philosophy, History, Classics, Linguistics

253 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1924

About the author

John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism. Watson promoted a change in psychology through his address, Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it, which was given at Columbia University in 1913. Through his behaviorist approach, Watson conducted research on animal behavior, child rearing, and advertising. In addition, he conducted the controversial "Little Albert" experiment.

Reviews

[bily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as a beginning of my reading more psychological material outside of the classroom. It is certainly a dated book with ideas that sound, frankly, ridiculous by now, but it is still an important part of psychological history and a documentation for certain beliefs at the time. It started to lose me in the last quarter. The rest of it was really quite and enjoyable to read and simply written.

[Ezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to the behaviourist ideology.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1924, this treatise contains some dated concepts and views. However, if you allow for these innocuous positions then this is an intersting and informative analysis of how behaviourism, as Watson explains it, relates to the psychology and psychoanalysis of the time.

In summary, as human beings, what we learn and how we behave is the result of the totality of the stimulus applied to us, as an organism, from birth until we mature. Covering topics such as the human body, emotions, words, language and thinking; Watson provides observational conculsions from formal experiments, to anchor behaviourism as a modern science.

[Masika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is great for undersatnding the importance of our behavior. I recommend it to anyone interested in psychology and human behavior in general.

[Michael Mcclanahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will make you mad, but want to read more.