Unit 1 Early Historical Development of Applied Behavior Analysis
In 1913, John B. Watson was the first American psychologist to call himself a "behaviorist." From 1913 to 1974, a series of events and developments took place that helped to shape and contribute to the current approach to practice in applied behavior analysis. For this discussion, please review the assigned readings and the video in this unit.
Please respond to the following:
- What approaches were used to understand and study behavior prior to the introduction of behaviorism?
- What was John B. Watson's rationale for focusing on observable behavior and the environment rather than internal events?
- What were some important events and developments in behaviorism from Watson's (1913) declaration of the importance of a behavioral approach through Skinner's (1974) development of radical behaviorism? Be sure to refer to the important historical figures that drove these developments in applied behavior analysis.
Review two of your classmates' responses, using the following ideas as a guide and asking follow-up questions that promote further analysis and development:
- Are early (pre-behaviorism) approaches to understanding behavior described in thorough detail?
- How did John B. Watson's conceptualization of a behavioral approach differ from the earlier approaches to understanding behavior?
- What was the progression from Watson's original description of the behavioral approach to Skinner's introduction of radical behaviorism? 1st Reply to David Perez: Prior to Watson's creation of behaviorism (1913), Ivan Pavlov's discovery of "psychic secretions" set the foundation for what would become known as classical conditioning (Staddon 2021). As Howard (2020) stated, Watson would've never called himself a behaviorist. But the study of dogs salivating to a bell of tone, proved that stimulus in an environment can change behavior. Prior to Pavlov, Gustav Fechner studied how the intensity of a stimulus affects the range of mental response (Staddon 2021). Fechner introduced psychophysics, which reinforced the idea that there is a "mental realm" separate from the physical biology and physics that can be measured (Staddon 2021). This is a separate area of study from physiological psychologists, who believe that behavior comes from the brain and therefore the study of nerve endings can shine light on behavior. And that is where the historical viewpoint pre-behaviorism differs. ABA and Watson's behaviorism is the study of observable behavior, not metaphysical. He studied how stimuli in natural environments impacts behavior, because he experimented with the idea that you can condition behavior through it. Edward Thorndike studied how a preferred stimulus could impact behavior. He had animals do puzzle boxes to attain rewards (Howard 2020). This furthered Watson's ideas, but also discovered that "pleasant" consequences increase the likelihood of that behavior's reoccurrence. "Unpleasant" consequences, on the other hand, decrease the likelihood of it's reoccurrence. This is called Thorndike's law of effect. John Watson also conducted the Baby Albert study, where he came to the conclusion that emotions are a reaction and result of the environment around you, not private events (Howard 2020). Watson was a contentious figure, Howard claims his position on the non-impact of private events is an extreme position not widely accepted today. Nonetheless, however, Watson's embrace of behaviorism foretold of where the field would evolve. In 1943 Clark Hull wrote The Principles of Behavior, and created an experimental method where control groups were introduced to different conditions (Staddon 2021). The subjects were rats, and Hull studied how their behaviors differed coming from varied environments. He studied the rats individually, and took environmental experimentation into a new forum. Their behaviors changed based on what they experienced (Staddon 2021). B.F. Skinner, in the later part of the 20th century, however, took behaviorism into a broader landscape. He believed that psychological theory should not encompass any explanation of observed fact that takes place "in different dimensions" (Staddon 2021). This is a far cry from introspection, the examination of motives and thoughts from within. Staddon believes this went too far in simplifying psychology. Skinner finally ultimately became known as the father of modern behavior analysis (Howard 2020), and coined "Radical" behaviorism, which furthered the idea of environmental stimuli causing emotion. The journey from Watson to Skinner guided the landscape towards where we ultimately ended up in ABA. Each individual breakthrough ideated on the theory that changes in environmental stimuli ultimately condition behavior. That balance is what we seek to find in the future as behavior analysts, and push the field into through ethical and just means. 2nd Reply to Juan L Almeida Sosa: Before the rise of behaviorism, psychology was dominated by approaches that emphasized internal mental processes. Structuralism, led by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener, sought to analyze consciousness into its basic elements through introspection, while functionalism, influenced by William James, focused on the adaptive purposes of mental processes. Psychoanalysis, developed by Sigmund Freud, emphasized unconscious motives and internal conflicts as explanations for behavior. These approaches relied heavily on subjective reports and mentalistic constructs, which limited their ability to produce objective, measurable data (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2020). John B. Watson challenged these traditions in his seminal 1913 article, Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It. He argued that psychology should be a natural science concerned only with observable behavior and environmental stimuli. Watson rejected introspection because it lacked reliability and scientific rigor, insisting instead that prediction and control of behavior should be the discipline’s primary goals. His rationale was that observable behavior provided publicly verifiable data, allowing psychology to align with the empirical standards of other sciences (Watson, 1913). Following Watson’s declaration, several key developments shaped the trajectory of behaviorism. Ivan Pavlov’s research on classical conditioning demonstrated how environmental stimuli could elicit responses through associative learning. Edward Thorndike’s “law of effect” established that consequences influence the likelihood of future behavior, laying the groundwork for operant principles. B. F. Skinner advanced these ideas by developing the experimental analysis of behavior, introducing operant conditioning, and emphasizing reinforcement as the central mechanism for shaping complex behavior (Skinner, 1938). By 1974, Skinner’s About Behaviorism articulated radical behaviorism, which extended the analysis of behavior to include private events such as thoughts and feelings, treating them as behaviors subject to the same environmental principles. This philosophical expansion allowed ABA to acknowledge internal experiences without abandoning its commitment to observable, measurable science (Skinner, 1974). Together, these historical figures and developments, from Watson’s methodological behaviorism to Skinner’s radical behaviorism, established the foundation for applied behavior analysis. By grounding psychology in observable data and environmental contingencies, they created a science devoted to understanding and improving human behavior in socially meaningful ways. ReferencesCooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson. Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. Appleton-Century. Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. Knopf. Thorndike, E. L. (1911). Animal intelligence. Macmillan. Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20(2), 158–177. Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes: An investigation of the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex. Oxford University Press.