John Watson’s behaviorism significantly impacted the world of psychology. Watch the John Watson Little Albert video above from https://youtu.be/Xt0ucxOrPQE
Identify two areas in the practice of psychology where behaviorist treatment is valid. Support your opinion with at least two everyday examples for each area.
In your peer responses, please reflect on how your peer’s choices, examples, etc. are similar or different from your choices.
Minimum 300 words answer.
Classmate #1:
Behaviorism was established by American psychologist John B. Watson in 1913 after publishing his paper “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views Itâ€. His “Little Albert Experiment†is one of the most known in not only behaviorism but all of psychology. By the 1950’s behavior modification therapy became one of the most popular kinds of therapy; with different types such as cognitive behavioral therapy, system desensitization (exposure therapy) and aversion therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is commonly used to help treat depression, PTSD, eating disorders or to simply manage stressful life situations. CBT is mainly a talk-therapy, but there is also a form know as exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is used to help ease phobias, OCD and panic disorders (2020). It would be used in the case of agoraphobia, by gradually venturing outside for longer and longer amounts of time while using relaxation techniques to remind the patient that no panic is necessary. Aversion therapy is another type of popular behaviorism therapy that is used to rid people of problematic behaviors such as bad habits, addictions and violence or anger issues (Cherry, 2020). It involves repeatedly pairing unwanted behavior with discomfort, in the hopes that the unwanted behavior will decrease or stop entirely. For example, medically administered shock therapy has been used to stop smoking. The idea is that the brain will begin to associate smoking or the urge to smoke with discomfort.
References
What Is Exposure Therapy? . (2020). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/exposure-therapy
Cherry, K. (2020, January 15). How Does Aversion Therapy Work to Fix Unwanted Behaviors? Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-aversion-therapy-2796001
Classmate #2:
Hello class,
Hope you all are being safe out there with everything that is going on. This weeks topic is about John Watson and the study of behaviorism. The video briefly explained John Watson contribution to the field of psychology with the introduction of behaviorism. I have always been a believer of this method even before I knew what this method because of some of the behavioral difference that I have noticed between myself and other family members. Even as an adult I can see growth within me due to the different environments and people that I have been exposed to in comparison to my family members that only know Cleveland, Ohio. Looking into how behaviorism is practiced today I can look back at personal experiences to draw examples from. I am not stranger to my fair share of hardships through life, One of my biggest was my first marriage, I was a very complicated one and I found myself in counseling multiple time to find different ways to make it work. During these sessions the counselor would ask question the would get us to talk so he or she could identify behaviors that were causing the conflict and help us find ways to work through them. unfortunately it was not meant to be and we had to go our separate ways in the end. But in this I found how helpful counseling was and grew a lot as a person, so much so I continue to go during my divorce period because I found myself very angry during this period my life. I also because reckless and depressed and my usual outlet where not working so got myself back into counseling to help with what I was going through. This is why I am thinking of becoming a family counselor because I know what it feels like an how I can help. Well stay safe and have a good week.
Classmate #3:
Behaviorism is just a term for a variety of treatments that are geared towards mental health disorders. The idea behind behavior therapy is to help identify and change a specific behavior that could be viewed as negative and/ or self destructive. Behaviorism is based on the idea that every behavior is learned, as demonstrated in the video about Little Albert. Through behavioral therapy, most behaviors can be broken and replaced with more desirable behaviors. This is observed in everyday life in various ways from the habits people form, how they treat others, what they are afraid of, their daily routine, and many other behaviors that are performed daily. Treatment would be valid if a person’s behavior was non beneficial towards themselves or other people. Some examples include irrational feelings towards people of a different ethnicity, people from a different socioeconomic class, or gender. Another example where behavior treatment is applicable is when a person is suffering from substance abuse and require the help of a mental health professional. There are countless other examples in which the application of behavior therapy is applicable from a psychological standpoint. The video this week demonstrated that every behavior is learned, and therefore is able to be relearned in order to create a more desirable behavior. Children are generally fearless and learn what they are supposed to be afraid of, vice possessing an inherent fear of certain things. In severe cases, behavior therapy can help individuals learn to cope with irrational fears and place their focus in other areas. Little Albert learned to fear any animal with fur due to his experiences, and equally learned to fear fire. The fear of fire is seen as a rational fear, while the fear of any animal with fur is irrational and some behavior therapy would be beneficial for he child.
