Watson & Skinner Perspective Essay Example for Free

Watson Skinner Perspective Essay Psychological perspectives will always change as long as psychology continues to move forward. Not one perspective or approach would be considered wrong or incorrect. It just adds to our understanding of human and animal behavior. Most psychologists would agree that not one perspective is correct, although in the past, early days of psychology, the behaviorist would have said their perspective was the only truly scientific one (McLeod, 2007). Two Psychologists who are well known for their theories on behaviorism are John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. In this paper I will discuss their own perspectives on behaviorism. Behaviorism is an approach to psychology that combines elements of philosophy, methodology, and theory. It emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction to mentalistic psychology, which often had difficulty making predictions that could be tested using rigorous experimental methods. The primary tenet of behaviorism, as expressed in the writings of John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, and others, is that psychology should concern itself with the observable behavior of people and animals, not with unobservable events that take place in their minds. The behaviorist school of thought maintains that behaviors as such can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as thoughts and beliefs. John Boardus Watson(January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism. Watson promoted a change in psychology through his address, Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it, which was given at Columbia University in 1913. This is sometimes called The Behaviorist Manifesto(Watson, 1913). The first paragraph of the article concisely described Watsons behaviorist position: 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 its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. Watsons quote: â€Å"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and Ill guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it for many thousands of years† (Watson, 2012). The quotation often appears without context and with the last sentence omitted, making Watsons position appear more radical than it actually was. In Watsons book Behaviorism, the sentence is provided in the context of an extended argument against eugenics. That Watson did not hold a radical environmentalist position may be seen in his earlier writing in which his starting point for a science of behavior was the observable fact that organisms, man and animal alike, do adjust themselves to their environment by means of hereditary and habit equipments. (Watson, 2012). Nevertheless, Watson recognized the importance of nurture in the nature versus nurture discussion which was often neglected by his eugenic contemporaries. 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 behaviorists total scheme of investigation. With his behaviorism, Watson put the emphasis on external behavior of people and their reactions on given situations, rather than the internal, mental state of those people. In his opinion, the analysis of behaviors and reactions was the only objective method to get insight in the human actions. This outlook, combined with the complementary ideas of determinism, evolutionary continuism, and empiricism has contributed to what is now called radical behaviorism. It was this new outlook that Watson claimed would lead psychology into a new era. He claimed that before Wundt there was no psychology, and that after Wundt there was only confusion and anarchy. It was Watsons new behaviorism that would pave the way for further advancements in psychology (Watson, 2012). Burrhus Frederic B. F. Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American Psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher (Woodward, W. R. 1996). He Innovated his own philosophy of science called radical behaviorism, and founded his Own School of experimental research psychology—the experimental analysis of behavior. His Analysis of human behavior culminated in his work Verbal Behavior, as well as his Philosophical Manifesto Walden Two, both of which have which have recently seen enormous Increase in Interest experimentally and in applied settings. Contemporary academia considers Skinner a Pioneer of modern behaviorism along with John B. Watson and Ivan Pavlov. Skinner Called his particular brand of behaviorism Radical behaviorism (Skinner, 1984). Radical Behaviorism is the Philosophy of the science of behavior. It seeks to understand behavior as a Function of Environmental histories of reinforcing consequences. Such a functional analysis Makes it capable of producing technologies of behavior. This applied behaviorism lies on the Opposite side of the Ideological spectrum as the field of cognitive science. Unlike less austere Behaviorism, it does not accept private events such as thinking, perceptions, and unobservable Emotions in a causal account of an organism’s behavior. Skinner stood at the opposite position From humanistic Psychology for his whole career and denied humans possessing freedom and Dignity as well as Evidenced in his novel Beyond Freedom and Dignity (Skinner1984). Most of His theories were supposed to be Based on self-observation, which caused him to become a Supporter for behaviorism. Much of This self-observed theory stemmed from Thorndike’s Puzzle Box, a direct antecedent to Skinner’s Box (Skinner, 1984). The psychologist further Expanded on Thorndike’s earlier work by introducing the concept of Reinforcement to Thorndike’s Law of Effect (Skinner, 1984). Skinner was an Advocate of behavioral engineering And he thought that people should be controlled through the Systematic allocation of external Rewards (Skinner, 1984). Skinner believed that behavior is maintained from one condition to Another through similar or same consequences across these Situations. In short, behaviors are Causal factors that are influenced by the consequences. His Contribution to the understanding of Behavior influenced many other scientists to explain social Behavior and contingencies (Skinner, 1984). Reinforcement is a central concept in Behaviorism, and was seen as a central Mechanism in the Shaping and control of behavior. A common Misconception is that negative Reinforcement is Synonymous with punishment. This Misconception is rather pervasive, and is Commonly found in even scholarly accounts of Skinner and his contributions. To be clear, while Positive reinforcement is the strengthening of behavior by the application of some event, Negative reinforcement is the strengthening of behavior by the Removal or avoidance of some Aversive event (e. g. , opening and rising an umbrella over your Head on a rainy day is reinforced By the cessation of rain falling on you). Both types of Reinforcement strengthen Behavior, or Increase the probability of a behavior reoccurring; the Difference is in whether the Reinforcing Event is something applied (positive reinforcement) or something removed or avoided (negative Reinforcement). Punishment and extinction have the Effect of weakening Behavior or decreasing The future probability of a behaviors occurrence, by the application of an aversive Stimulus/event (positive punishment or punishment by contingent Stimulation), Removal of a Desirable stimulus (negative punishment or punishment by contingent Withdrawal), or the Absence of a rewarding stimulus, which causes the behavior to Stop (Skinner, 1984). After researching endless research, what is really boils down to is Watson, a classical behaviorist, believed that there was a connection between response and Environment and Skinners theory was a bit different from Watsons in that behavior was a result of consequence. Watson and Skinner were all fathers in the field of psychology. Their ideas Contributed to the way that behavior is seen. Their theories have helped to create many forms of Behavior modification as well as the processes that occur during thought. Although psychologys Theories grow and change daily; these two psychologists theories will maintain their values in Modern psychology.

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Can Anticipatory Logistics Work In The Corporate World? I do not see any reason, based on the article provided, as to why anticipatory logistics cannot work in the corporate world. In my opinion both are significantly similar in function and operation. The basic aim of both the supply chain management that is frequently used in the corporate world and the anticipatory logistics used by the armed forces are same, and that Is to satisfy the customer better than the competitor. It is true that in each industry the requirements, needs and demands of customers are different, specifically in the corporate world where one company sells pharmaceutical products while other sells ready made clothes. However, in the industry, all the companies compete for a greater market share and that share is contributed by earning customers, loyal or not. When there is a question of winning customers, then there is a concern about the cost, the pricing of the product or service, the speed and ease of delive ry, the psychological acceptance, and many other such elements that make the organization ponder on efforts that would let them survive not just in the corporate world, but also in the war or preparations for war. Anticipatory logistics work in the similar fashion as the supply chain management works. Defining the supply chain management, Li et al (1999) writes that the supply chain management is the â€Å"management of materials and information flow both in and between facilities across SC†, where the SC or the supply chain is a â€Å"network of facilities and distribution options that performs the function of procurement of materials, transformation of these materials into intermediate and finished products, and distribution of these finished products to custo... ...n Empirical Comparison of Anticipatory and Response Based Supply chain Strategies.† The International Journal of Logistics Management. 9: 2; 21-33. Lair, Noor Ajian Mohd, Awaluddin Mohamed Shaharoun and Mohamed Shariff Nabi Baksh, â€Å"JIT Implementation across A Supply Chain and It effects on Inventory Distribution†, http://www.moste.gov.my/kstas/NSFWorkshop/NSF/nsf%5CAAI16.DOC Lenzini, Joshua M (2002) â€Å"The Army's answer to supply chain management Army Logistician†; Fort Lee; Sep/Oct 2002 Li, Yuan, Fan, Zhiping and Zhao, Xuan (1999). â€Å"An Integrated Framework of Supply chain Management System.† Software Engineering Conference 1999. Proceeding sixth Asia Pacific. 196 – 199 Pagh, Janus D and Martha C Cooper (1998) â€Å"Supply chain postponement and speculation strategies: How to choose the right strategy†, Journal of Business Logistics, Issue # 2, Volume 19, Pg. 13-33.

How to Develop Leadership Skills Essay

Malaysia is one of the countries that practice democratic system. Many countries around the world practice democratic system such as United States, India, South Africa, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Japan and United Kingdom. In â€Å"Democratic Style,† (2008), the democratic leadership style means encouraging people to share their ideas, and then collect all the available information into the best possible decision. This leadership style consists of the leader sharing the decision-making with the group members. This style of leadership includes discussion and sharing of ideas and encouragement of people to feel good about their involvement. The democratic leadership style is very open and collegial style of running a team. Leaders who practices democratic style can organize company effectively. To be a good leader, there are three ways to develop leadership skills in an organization through democratic style such as a leader should practice positive attitude, listen to other pe ople’s opinions and always motivate the subordinates. Firstly, a leader should practice positive attitude in the workplace. According to Robert & Christopher (2007), there are some positive attitudes that someone should practice as a leader. For example, he has to have an open mind. As an example, he would not easily punish the employees for their mistakes until he knows the reason. To explain more, one staff who comes late due to emergency care would not be punished. Therefore, a good leader should investigate first before make a decision. Another point is a good leader should also have a wisdom and confidence. Thus, he can make a good decision to lead the organization without doubts. For example, he must select which type of investment the company should choose. Therefore, he must be confidence to make this important decision to ensure the company’s success. In addition, a good leader should be a positive role model to subordinates. Besides, a leader as a role model in an organization can affect the attitude and give a positive impact to subordinates. The subordinates will follow the attitude that their leader shows to them. Secondly, in â€Å"3C’s of Exemplary Leadership,† (2012), a leader should listen to other people’s opinions because it is one of the criteria of a democratic leadership. In that case, a thoughtful leader should listen and accept the opinions of subordinates in order to share ideas. When the leader listens to employees’ opinion, they will appreciate more and feel like they are parts of team. In this way, a leader would gain more respect by subordinates. A good leader should not ignore and must respect the subordinates’ ideas because they will be hurt and think a leader is selfless. In addition, a leader should accept the opinions from subordinates and evaluate it with the committee members. In that case, having a committee member is important in order to make justful decision. This can be done through an evaluation form, suggestion box, and doing informal meeting every week. Moreover, a leader should not be too sensitive and he needs not only to listen to other people’s ideas but also their complaints. Therefore, a problem may be solved through their complaints. He must not be emotional; instead he should be wise to make a decision. Therefore, to be democratic leaders, they must to accept any opinion of subordinates to improve their leadership skills. Finally, to be a good motivator through the democratic style, a leader should motivate the subordinates. All employees must be motivated to work for a company or organization in doing daily tasks. If no motivation is present in an employee, their quality of work will deteriorate. According to Robert & Christopher (2007), a leader should provide motivation to encourage the subordinates to get into action. For example, a leader has to act professionally to help employees complete the task given by carefully organize and sequence the components of each task to be assigned for employees. One main responsibility in educating employees is to make instructions as clear and precise as possible. A leader should not get angry easily because employees need to train. Therefore, a leader must understand employees situation. Besides that, a good leader should reward their subordinates for their outstanding performances for they may establish certain reward. Rewards can be in the form of token or gift, be one-time bonuses or pay increments. In this way, employees will be appreciated and feel more motivated to work better. So, if good leaders want their employees to be good in all work, they must motivate their employees to achieve organizational excellence through the democratic leadership style. In conclusion, democratic style is one of the ways for an organization to succeed. The democratic style will enable the leader to maintain relationship with the subordinates. This leadership style is one of the most effective and it has created advanced productivity, better contributions from subordinates and boost group morale (Woods, 2010). It can also lead to betters ideas and creative solutions to certain problems. The democratic style train all staff in the company to communicate with each other, play a part and participate in the group’s discussion chaired by the leader. In short, a leader will be more responsible to perform his duty and lead the organization to succeed in the future through democratic style. Reference Cherry, Kendra. (Ed.). (n.d.).What is democratic leadership?.Retrieved August 1, 2012, fromhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/democratic-leadership.htm Gill, Roger. (2006). Theory and practice of leadership. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Leadership styles: democratic leadership style. (n.d.). Retrieved August 1, 2012, fromhttp://www.leadership-toolbox.com/democratic-leadership-style.html Lussier, N. Robert, &Achua, F. Christopher. (2007). Effective leadership. United States: South-Western. Transformation Academy.(n.d.).3 C’s of exemplary leadership (even if you’re not the boss!).Retrieved August 1, 2012, from http://www.transformationacademy.com/?p=1651

The Dark Ages And Its Effect On Society - 1613 Words

Since the existence of mankind, people always have had their instinct to create society. Society is a group of people getting together and sharing an environment to live more comfortable and safe. In the dark ages, a society had a variance of people with different duties, such as hunting, cooking or managing and etc. Because every single person had a different set of skills that can be useful for their societies in a different way. Each duty had its importance and creates an expectation for its society. Those duties can be entitled as first professions of the history of mankind. Let’s think about the times when mankind use rocks to hunt down animals. Because of deficiency of required materials hunting was hard, and dangerous. One day a man decides to sharpen his rock with another rock. Years later another person develops his/her sharpening rock technique becomes perfect at it and hunting becomes effortless for him and his society. Then someone else decides to use this techniqu e for sharpening other people’s rock for food and clothes. By doing that he set off to make his sharpening rock act to be a profession. 21st century societies are complicated versions of the societies back in dark ages. Societies still need people with a set of skills, and any person can have a profession with specified education and field practice. Nowadays there are different varies of professions such as law, medicine, engineering and etc. Also professions has different fields too. Today if aShow MoreRelatedComparison Of Brent Staple s Just Walk On By And Richard Rodriguez s Complexion879 Words   |  4 Pagesstate the scarring effects of racism on the mind juveniles by the use of personal experiences from their youth. Staples and Rodriguez portray in their articles that even at very young ages juveniles can be victims of racism. 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