Behaviorism is a psychological approach to analyzing the demeanor of animals or humans. Although this science appeared around the beginning of the 20th century with the works of John Watson, there are several antecedent influences on behaviorism. Edward Thorndike developed the theory of connectionism to explain mental phenomena. The scientist set up experiments with puzzle boxes, requiring the animals placed there to perform particular actions to free themselves. In addition, he developed several rules, including the law of effect and exercise, explaining the links between associations and behavior.
In addition, the formation of behaviorism was significantly influenced by Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning. The meaning of his research was to analyze the stimulus-response (S-R). As Pavlov’s experiments with animals showed, the combination of the neutral and unconditioned stimulus (NS and US) in the presence of an unconditioned response (UR) in the latter will turn NS into a conditioned stimulus (CS) with a conditioned response (CR) similar to UR. While studying this theory, Watson suggested its implementation in humans through explicit and implicit responses. He conducted the Little Albert experiment, which confirmed the researcher’s assumptions. Although this research allowed him to achieve the desired results, it included unacceptable by modern standards behaviorist methods. This has led to criticism of Watson’s ideas, which other researchers believe were primarily based on his personal beliefs.
Other supporters of behaviorism include B. F. Skinner, who studied operant conditioning through laboratory experiments. Although his work became the basis for modern behaviorism, many scientists have criticized his views, which copy the assumptions of Freud. Tolman and Lashley focused on learning theories and used similar rat maze methods. In addition, Tolman first introduced the concept of an intervening variable, which made it possible to analyze relationships between other variables. The American physicist Bridgman contributed to psychology by introducing the concept of operationalism, while Clark Hull worked on drive theory. The work of these behaviorists can be attributed to the second of the three stages of behaviorism, neo-behaviorism, which followed the original Watsonian behaviorism. The development of this movement was completed by socio-behaviorists, such as Bandura and Rotter, who applied the developed practices to the community.