The Behaviorist and Cognitive Approaches to Psychology Essay

The Behaviorist and Cognitive Approaches to Psychology In this essay I am going to explore two of the major approaches to Psychology, Cognitive theories and Behaviorist theories. I will discuss in some detail the two approaches, state how they compare and illustrate the similarities and the differences between them. John Watson, one of the founders of Behaviorism, based his theories on the principles of learning outlined by Pavlov who suggested the theory known as Classical Conditioning; he trained dogs to salivate whenever he rang a bell. Dogs have a natural reflex response to salivate when they see food, Pavlov rang a bell when the dogs were given food and after several repetitions of this†¦show more content†¦The Behaviorist approach limits the content of Psychological study to be only observable behavior. Behaviorists make the assumption that nearly all behaviors are caused by learned relationships between a Stimulus that excites the senses and a Response, which is the reaction to the Stimulus, for example a child might see a Spider (Stimulus) and be frightened (Response to seeing the Stimulus). In contrast Cognitive Psychologists have criticized the Stimulus, Response theory for not considering the mental processes that occur between the Stimulus and Response, for example going back to the situation of a child seeing a Spider and being frightened, the Cognitive approach would say that to understand why the person who saw the Spider reacted in a frightened manner, we need to understand what the mediating Cognition was, it could be that the child has some memories on a parent or other person seeing a spider and behaving in a frightened way. Behaviorists believe that since very little behavior in human beings is inherited, the focus is on the role of experience, which is expressed through learning. It is easy toShow MoreRelatedBiological Psychology : The Brain And Nervous System Essay888 Words   |  4 Pages1. Biological psychology, of biopsychology, is the application of the principles of biology to the study of mental processes in terms of bodily mechanisms. The view that psychological processes have biological (or physiological) correlates, is the basic assumption of the whole field of biological psychology. Biological psychology is a hopeful domain, one that has much to offer in terms of improving the quality of life of the healthy as well as those suffering from disorders. It also contributed importantRead MoreSnapshot1702 Words   |  7 Pagesnot the content of his theories but his clinical innovations, such as the method of free association and a clinical interest in dreams. 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