Behaviorism

I posted on psychoanalytic theory last time so its time for a blast from the past with a post on our favorite subject, behaviorism.

Behaviorism is concerned with the observable behaviors and actions of an individual. I found a cartoon with the picture of a rat with a sign that reads “Will press lever for food.” This obviously is a play on the homeless population and the signs they often hold with messages like “Will work for food” but the reference to the homeless population is not what I want to focus on. This is a great mention of behaviorism because it is completely about the observable behavior that the rat takes place in. If this were in reference to psychoanalytic theory it would say something like “Will release id for food” but instead it is completely focused on the behavior that the rat is displaying. BF Skinner was completely focused on training organisms to follow his will whether they be doves, rats, or humans.