Behaviorists
Definition
Behaviorists are psychologists who believe that human behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings. They consider observable behaviors rather than internal mental states.
Analogy
Imagine behaviorists as coaches training athletes for a specific sport. The coach doesn't focus on what's going on inside an athlete's mind but instead focuses on improving performance through practice and repetition (conditioning).
Related terms
Classical Conditioning: A learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that was initially elicited by one stimulus comes to be elicited by another associated stimulus.
Operant Conditioning: A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences such as rewards or punishments.
Reinforcement Theory: A theory suggesting that individuals are motivated to perform certain actions because these actions have been reinforced during previous situations.
"Behaviorists" appears in:
Study guides (1)
Practice Questions (2)
"Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes," commonly defines psychology. In their definition of psychology behaviorists would like to eliminate I. science II. behavior III. mental processes
Which critique would behaviorists most likely have against the constructivist theory of visual perception?
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