John Watson
Definition
John Watson was an American psychologist who is often referred to as the father of behaviorism, a school of thought in psychology that emphasizes the importance of observable behaviors over internal mental processes.
Analogy
Think of John Watson as a movie director who's only interested in the actions and dialogues (observable behaviors) of his actors, not their thoughts or feelings (internal mental processes).
Related terms
Behaviorism: A theory in psychology that suggests all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment.
Classical Conditioning: A learning process where two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
Operant Conditioning: A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences. Key concepts in operant conditioning are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment.
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