Who was John Watson AP Psychology?

The behavioral perspective is all about acting throughout life as a result of some form of motivation or incentive. It relates to the reasons that an individual will participate in any given act rather than the way that they react. This perspective seeks to better explain the physiological needs of any living organism, as well as the way motivation can impact behavior. It considers different types of motivation and how different levels of motivation can impact the amount or type of work or effort that an individual will be willing to put forth.

This AP® Psychology crash course will prep you for the free response questions that you will see on your AP® Psychology exam. It will look at why someone will work harder for a better outcome. Though it hasn’t been on the AP® Psychology exam’s free response section for some time, there have been questions on the differences between the behavioral perspective and other psychological perspectives.

Defining the Behavioral Perspective

Any living organism has certain needs that must be met in order to it to survive. These can include sleep, food and water. If these criteria are met, the organism will be able to sustain a level of homeostasis. According to the behavioral perspective, a desire for this homeostasis is what drives and motivates an individual.

The drive for homeostasis also affects the actions of an individual in another way. If, at any point, homeostasis is interrupted or changed, the individual will be motivated to act. This motivation will continue until they are able to achieve the same level of homeostasis again. This relates to feelings of hunger, for example, if an individual is hungry they will seek out food.

Another aspect of motivation is related to learned behaviors. An individual will learn certain behaviors such as anxiety because of conditioning. In fact, Neal Miller is best known for creating the theory of operant conditioning. This theory states that an individual can be taught to do something because they are working towards or against a specific action.

Finally, there is incentive motivation. This theory says that an individual can be motivated to action by something that is outside of themselves. For example, getting a new car will motivate a teenager to graduate high school. Getting money will motivate an adult to go to work every day.

Different types of motivation can be used in different ways. By combining each of these types of motivation it is possible to understand why a person will act the way that they do.

Who Founded the Behavioral Perspective?

This perspective was contributed to by a number of important and well known psychologists including; Ivan Pavlov, Edward Lee Thorndike, John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner.

Different aspects of the behavioral perspective have been founded by different psychologists. The unlearned drive, which states an individual will do what is necessary to regain homeostasis, was founded by Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson and Clark Hull. He created a specific equation to explain the relationship between learning and drive.

The learned drive, which states that an individual can be taught to participate in a specific action, was founded by B.F. Skinner. His theory of operant conditioning, based on studies conducted with rats, allowed him to begin research into types of behaviors that must be learned.

Incentive motivation was founded most for Kenneth Spence. He explained that the value of the incentive itself will also increase the type of response that is given. For example, an individual will work harder at their studies if they are getting a brand new car than they will if they are getting $50.

Examples of the Behavioral Perspective

Example 1:

Andrew is planning on taking the AP® Psychology exam. He knows that if he gets a 5 on the exam it will look good when he is applying to college. If this happens he will be more likely to get into any college he chooses. He decides to study in order to get the good grade, but when a friend wants him to go skiing he decides to stop studying for the weekend to leave town. He has studied for a week and has worked through his study materials. He believes he can get a good enough score without studying anymore.

According to the behavioral perspective, and more specifically incentive motivation, Andrew has a motivator to achieve a good grade, so that he can get into a good college. He wants to achieve this goal and therefore he will work towards it. But this motivator could be improved if, for example, his mother offers him a new car in exchange for a 5 on his exam. Because this incentive is larger than the one he would currently gain by achieving a 5, he would likely choose to spend more time studying in order to achieve it.

Example 2:

Eliza wants to be the star of the ballet recital next month. Her teacher has stated that not everyone will even be in the recital and everyone will have to practice hard in order to get a spot. If she practices once a week she will be able to be in the recital. If she practices three times a week she knows that she will get the star role. The star role may mean that she is signed to a ballet company. If she is only in the recital she will likely not be noticed and will not get into a ballet company. Because Eliza’s dream is to be in a ballet company, she decides to practice three times a week.

The behavioral perspective states that Eliza has a motivating factor sufficient to push her into working hard. The motivation for getting into the recital is not great enough to prompt her to work as hard as necessary because she will still not achieve her dream, but getting into a ballet company is enough of a motivation. Because getting signed to a ballet company is important to her, she decides to work harder to achieve that goal. This external motivation is sufficient for her.

Example 3:

When Mark comes home for school every day he is very hungry. His lunch is often at 10am and when he gets out of school at 2:30pm he has to go to soccer practice. By the time he gets home it is after 5pm and he hasn’t eaten in several hours. Usually his mother makes sure there are snacks in the cupboard or on the counter, waiting for him.

Today there are no snacks waiting but he is still very hungry. Usually Mark does not cook at home. He waits for his family to get there and his parents will cook. Today, however, there are no snacks and no one is home to make dinner. There are ingredients for a pizza in the fridge. Mark sets out to make a pizza for himself.

Because Mark is hungry, his body is not at a level of homeostasis. He is determined to reach that homeostasis (to not be hungry anymore) and therefore decides to make something to eat. The motivation of being hungry, an unlearned behavior, is enough to make him do something to reach a level of homeostasis again, even though he normally would not engage in the activity (i.e. cooking).

What Else to Know About the Behavioral Perspective

This perspective has several stages which make up different aspects of the human mind. By combining all of these types of motivation, an individual will continue to work towards bettering themselves as well as making themselves more happy and secure. In general, humans want to achieve homeostasis and they want to achieve a pleasant situation. As a result, they will continue to use motivators to achieve these goals.

The AP® Psychology exam will require you to understand the differences between the behavioral perspective and other perspectives which are similar. These include psychodynamic and biological perspectives. You will need to know the similarities and differences between these theories, the importance of each of them, and how they were founded.

Conclusion

The behavioral perspective is still used today. It has been studied further than it was at the original time of its inception in the 20th century. This theory emerged as the answer to psychoanalytic theory, which was based in a similar area of thought.

So here’s a quick AP® Psychology review for the behavioral perspective. It was founded by B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike and John B. Watson, the behavioral perspective has four different parts; drive theory, incentive motivation, unlearned drive and learned drive. It also relates to achieving a state of homeostasis and the intrinsic motivation of the individual.

This theory, though sometimes considered outdated, still has merits as a way of understanding the reasons that an individual will act the way that they do. It has been replaced in some instances by newer theories; however, it has still remained valid based on the studies and research done in the Little Albert case as well as through B.F. Skinner’s research with rats.

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