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Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it. John B. Watson (1913).

Psychology as the Behaviourist Vies it - J.B. Watson

Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it.
John B. Watson (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of itsmethods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist's total scheme ofinvestigation. It has been maintained by its followers generally that psychology is a study of the science of the phenomena of consciousness. It has taken as its problem, on the one hand, the analysis of complex mental states (or processes) into simple elementary constituents, and on the other the construction of
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Psychology as the Behaviourist Vies it - J.B. Watson

complex states when theelementary constituents are given. The world of physical objects (stimuli, including here anything which may excite activity in a receptor), which forms the total phenomena of the natural scientist, is looked upon merely as means to an end. That end is the production of mental states that may be 'inspected' or 'observed'. The psychological object of observation in the case of an emotion, forexample, is the mental state itself. The problem in emotion is the determination of the number and kind of elementary constituents present, their loci, intensity, order of appearance, etc. It is agreed that introspection is the method par excellence by means of which mental states may be manipulated for purposes of psychology. On this assumption, behavior data (including under this term everythingwhich goes under the name of comparative psychology) have no value per se. They possess significance only in so far as they may throw light upon conscious states.1Such data must have at least an analogical or indirect reference to
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Psychology as the Behaviourist Vies it - J.B. Watson

belong to the realm of psychology. Indeed, at times, one finds psychologists who are sceptical of even thisanalogical reference. Such scepticism is often shown by the question which is put to the student of behavior, 'what is the bearing of animal work upon human psychology?' I used to have to study over this question. Indeed it always embarrassed me somewhat. I was interested in my own work and felt that it was important, and yet I could not trace any close connection between it and psychology as myquestioner understood psychology. I hope that such a confession will clear the atmosphere to such an extent that we will no longer have to work under false pretences. We must frankly admit that the facts so important to us which we have been able to glean from extended work upon the senses of animals by the behavior method have contributed only in a fragmentary way to the general theory of humansense organ processes, nor have they suggested new points of experimental attack. The enormous number of experiments which
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Psychology as the Behaviourist Vies it - J.B. Watson

we have carried out upon learning have likewise contributed little to human psychology. It seems reasonably clear that some kind of compromise must be affected: either psychology must change its viewpoint so as totake in facts of behavior, whether or not they have bearings upon the problems of 'consciousness'; or else behavior must stand alone as a wholly separate and independent science. Should human psychologists fail to look with favor upon our overtures and refuse to modify their position, the behaviorists will be driven to using human beings as subjects and to employ methods of investigation which are...