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Chapter 1: “Definition and Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis”
Please read the following chapters in your text, The New Behaviorism: Foundations of behavioral science (Staddon, 2021):

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
The 2 following articles are uploaded files.
“The History of Behavior Analysis: Some Historiography and a Bibliography” (Morris et al., 1990)

“Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” (Watson, 1994)

Video below was given:
https://youtu.be/FcXD4SXkzB4 Citation (Howard, 2020)

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.

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Sample Answer

Prior to the introduction of behaviorism, the most common approaches to understanding and studying behavior were introspection and psychophysics. Introspection is the process of looking inward to examine one’s own thoughts and feelings. Psychophysics is the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and psychological sensations.

John B. Watson rejected introspection and psychophysics as methods for studying behavior. He argued that these methods were subjective and unreliable, and that they could not be used to develop a scientific understanding of behavior. Instead, Watson proposed that psychologists should focus on studying observable behavior and the environment.

Full Answer Section

Watson’s rationale for focusing on observable behavior and the environment was that these are the only things that can be objectively measured and studied. He argued that internal events, such as thoughts and feelings, are subjective and cannot be directly observed.

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 include:

  • 1916: Watson publishes his book Behavior: An Introduction to Comparative Psychology, which is considered to be the first book on behaviorism.
  • 1920: Ivan Pavlov publishes his work on classical conditioning, which shows that learned responses can be conditioned to new stimuli.
  • 1938: B.F. Skinner publishes his book The Behavior of Organisms, which outlines the principles of operant conditioning.
  • 1947: Skinner publishes his book Walden Two, which is a utopian novel that describes a society based on the principles of behaviorism.
  • 1959: Teodoro Ayllon and Jack Michael publish their article “The psychiatric nurse as a behavioral engineer,” which is considered to be one of the first articles on applied behavior analysis.
  • 1968: The journal Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis is first published.

Important historical figures that drove these developments in applied behavior analysis include:

  • John B. Watson (1878-1958)
  • Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
  • B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
  • Teodoro Ayllon (1921-2012)
  • Jack Michael (1938-)

The development of behaviorism had a profound impact on our understanding of behavior and on the development of new treatments for a variety of psychological disorders. Applied behavior analysis is now one of the most widely used approaches to treatment for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities.

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