About My Interest in Psychology
Some topics that are included within the subfield of behavioral psychology are Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning. Classical Conditioning was first introduced to the world of psychology by a psychologist born in 1878 by the name of John Watson. Though Watson was a brilliant man, his discovery of conditioning is not attributed solely to him, as much of his findings were based on the work of a physiologist named Ivan Pavlov. Ivan Pavlov's field of expertise, in reality, had nothing to do with the mind, and, for a long while, none of his experiments had to do with it either. It was not until his famous canine salivation experiment that he became involved and sparked the emergence of a highly regarded and important psychology field. He was observing the increase in salivation of various canines when a bowl of food was placed in front of them when he decided to introduce a bell noise right before each presentation of the food bowl. After multiple combinations of the food and bell, Pavlov noticed that the canines would salivate, or expect food when only the bell noise was heard. The dogs had been conditioned to respond to a bell stimulus as if it were a food stimulus. Thus the era of Classical Conditioning, or the use of various stimuli combinations to produce the desired effect, commenced. The other type of behavioral psychology came much later in the form of B.F. Skinner. Skinner believed that a more accurate method to condition existed, and he proved it through the use of Skinner's Box. Skinner trapped mice in his own constructed puzzle box and had the mice engage in a series of steps in order to receive their food reward. He proved that behaviors can be learned or rejected by using rewards and punishments. Both Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning played a role in molding the way society viewed psychology.
The degree required for a job in behavioral psychology is a doctoral degree in psychology, but it is also common for those going into this field to already have obtained one to three years of supervised experience along with a state license to practice. Studying behavioral psychology opens the door for multiple career opportunities in many different areas of life. One could pursue a position as a social worker, which would entail counseling people through drug addiction or mental disorders by utilizes common conditioning methods. Another job possibility is working in private practice for children or adults who desire to condition out bad behavior or condition in good ones. Teaching would also always be available, either at the high school level or university, and even a law enforcement position could be sought as they may be hired to be condition inmates.
One of the most influential of all the psychologies is behavioral psychology. This is because behavioral psychology has to do with therapy, education, and many other areas. It affects all the other psychologies in one way or another. Some of the major benefactors of the behavioral psychology field are B.F. Skinner, Edward Thorndike, and John B. Watson. John B. Watson is known as the founder of behaviorism. Watson wrote an article called "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it." This book explained a number of underlying assumptions involving "methodology and behavioral analysis" (SimplyPsychology). Watson wrote the book and the rules that psychologist still follow today. B.F. Skinner proposed different rules and opinions on how minds work. He also proposed different forms of "classical conditioning." Skinner has added so many new ideas and techniques for Behavioral psychology. Finally, Edward Thorndike, a famous psychologist that is known for his work on a theory that helped develop the operant conditioning within behaviorism. Edward Thorndike added many theories and reformation that were and are helpful to psychologists in today's world. All of these men have either created or added to the behavioral psychology world.
Behavioral psychology first caught my eye because I myself have a paranoia that sometimes affects how I react in certain situations. Behavioral psychology is all about how the mind reacts to different things and how people behave. I, for one, am scared of dogs and react different ways depending on the dog. I know how this might sound, but I have a good reason for being scared of dogs. When I was little, about three or four, a big dog chased me down, knocked me over, held me down, and bit me. My dad came and pulled it off of me. After that, I have been scared of all dogs. Kind of like PTSD in a way. I have had this problem forever and I can not seem to do anything to get over this fear. No matter what people tell me or how many dogs I meet, it does not help. This experience helped me choose behavioral psychology because I was interested to find out why I behaved this way around dogs.
Sources:
Behaviorism | Simply Psychology
https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html
B. F. Skinner | Operant Conditioning | Simply Psychology
https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
Careers in Behavioral Psychology
https://www.allpsychologyschools.com/clinical-psychology/career-in-behavioral-psychology/
Edward Thorndike - Law of Effect | Simply Psychology
https://www.simplypsychology.org/edward-thorndike.html
The Major Branches of Psychology
https://www.verywell.com/major-branches-of-psychology-4139786
Loved reading your post. Informative and comprehensive. This is a great field of study. One of my favorites to teach and research on!
ReplyDeleteThank you Dr. Pris Selvaraj! It is great to know that we have something in common. I enjoyed learning about this field of study and I am excited to learning many others throughout the semster with you!
Delete