Compare and Contrast Two Psychological Perspectives
Compare and contrast explanations from two psychological perspectives.
This essay aims to compare and contrast Behaviourist and Humanistic psychology by considering the differing theories these perspectives use about human thought, experiencing and behaviour.
Behavioural Psychology originated in the late 19th to early 20th century and was concerned with the prediction and control of the observable, measurable, external aspects of human experience. Behaviourist psychologists rejected the introspective method used by previous philosophers and psychologists and instead relied on using observation and data that was objective and empirical. This is known as an anti-mentalist approach; Behaviourists considered the workings of the mind to be of little consequence (Glassman, 2009).
One of the most influential individuals in Behaviourist psychology was Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936). In his experiments on saliva excretions in dogs he was able to train the animals to salivate at the sound of a bell; this was to become known as Classical Conditioning. Food was offered to them which would naturally make them salivate (an unconditioned response) and a bell sounding (a neutral stimulus) was introduced alongside their meal. After a period of time, the bell became so associated with feeding in the dog's brain that this alone was enough to initiate salivation and became a conditioned response. This type of behavioural conditioning and learning was discovered to be transferable to humans also. Behaviourists acknowledge that many of our responses to events and items are due to their association with other events or items that have specific responses (Stuart-Hamilton,1999). For example, a young child may become frightened of dogs because they make a loud, barking noise. They may then come to fear all small, furry animals; this is known as stimulus generalisation.
J.B Watson (1878-1958) produced a series of papers in 1913 including “Psychology as the Behaviourist views it”. He
This essay aims to compare and contrast Behaviourist and Humanistic psychology by considering the differing theories these perspectives use about human thought, experiencing and behaviour.
Behavioural Psychology originated in the late 19th to early 20th century and was concerned with the prediction and control of the observable, measurable, external aspects of human experience. Behaviourist psychologists rejected the introspective method used by previous philosophers and psychologists and instead relied on using observation and data that was objective and empirical. This is known as an anti-mentalist approach; Behaviourists considered the workings of the mind to be of little consequence (Glassman, 2009).
One of the most influential individuals in Behaviourist psychology was Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936). In his experiments on saliva excretions in dogs he was able to train the animals to salivate at the sound of a bell; this was to become known as Classical Conditioning. Food was offered to them which would naturally make them salivate (an unconditioned response) and a bell sounding (a neutral stimulus) was introduced alongside their meal. After a period of time, the bell became so associated with feeding in the dog's brain that this alone was enough to initiate salivation and became a conditioned response. This type of behavioural conditioning and learning was discovered to be transferable to humans also. Behaviourists acknowledge that many of our responses to events and items are due to their association with other events or items that have specific responses (Stuart-Hamilton,1999). For example, a young child may become frightened of dogs because they make a loud, barking noise. They may then come to fear all small, furry animals; this is known as stimulus generalisation.
J.B Watson (1878-1958) produced a series of papers in 1913 including “Psychology as the Behaviourist views it”. He
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