John B. Watson
John B. Watson was a prominent American psychologist known for founding the school of behaviorism. Born into a strict religious family, he pursued higher education at Furman University and later the University of Chicago, where he earned a PhD at a young age. Watson's career as an educator began at the University of Chicago, and he later became a professor at Johns Hopkins University. In 1913, he published a pivotal paper titled "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It," which argued for the study of observable behavior rather than introspective techniques and mentalistic concepts. His famous “Little Albert” experiment demonstrated how phobias could be conditioned, supporting his view that behavior is largely shaped by environmental factors rather than genetics. Despite his influential work, Watson's academic career ended abruptly due to personal scandal, leading him to transition into the advertising industry. Nevertheless, he continued to promote behaviorism through books and articles, significantly impacting American psychology and shaping its scientific approach throughout the twentieth century. B.F. Skinner, a notable psychologist, further advanced Watson's behaviorist principles, highlighting their lasting influence in the field.
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Subject Terms
John B. Watson
- Date of birth: January 9, 1878
- Place of birth: near Greenville, South Carolina
- Date of death: September 25, 1958
- Place of death: New York City
- TYPE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Learning; origin and definition of psychology; psychological methodologies
Watson founded a school of psychology known as behaviorism.
Life
John B. Watson was born into a strict religious family. At the age of sixteen, he entered Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and eventually received a master’s degree. He then enrolled at the University of Chicago, where he became the youngest student ever at the university to earn a PhD.
Watson was an instructor at the University of Chicago for four years before becoming a professor at Johns Hopkins University. When the department chairman resigned, Watson replaced him and also assumed editorship of Psychological Review, a respected journal. In 1913, he published “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” in the journal; this launched a new school of psychology. In the paper, Watson rejected the introspective techniques of the school of structuralism and declared that psychology must become the science of behavior by examining overt behavior in an objective fashion. Mentalistic concepts must be replaced by empirical study of observable behavior only. In 1915, Watson was elected president of the American Psychological Association, and he used this position to promote behaviorism.
Watson’s behaviorism incorporated a strong form of environmentalism; he argued that there were no genetic influences on behavior and that humans were simply a product of their environment. In one famous demonstration, he and his graduate assistant Rosalie Rayner used Pavlovian conditioning to instill a in a young boy. In “the Little Albert study,” as it is known, an eleven-month-old infant was conditioned to fear a rat after the animal’s appearance was paired with a loud noise. The boy also cried when shown other furry objects, such as a rabbit and fur coat, even though these objects had not been paired with the noise. The boy’s fear had generalized to objects similar to the rat. Watson argued, therefore, that phobias are simply learned behavior and not the result of sexual conflict, as Sigmund Freud had claimed.
Watson’s academic career ended unexpectedly in 1920. He was having an affair with Rayner and was forced to resign after his wife began divorce proceedings. Watson moved to New York and began a successful career in advertising. Throughout the 1920s, he continued to promulgate his ideas through several books, most notably Behaviorism (1924), and numerous articles. Many of these writings were read by general audiences and solidified behavioristic views in the United States.
By emphasizing the study of overt behavior, Watson’s behaviorism moved psychology away from its philosophic roots and helped fashion it into a science. In many areas, such as learning, behaviorism dominated American psychology throughout much of the twentieth century. B. F. Skinner, one of the most famous twentieth-century American psychologists, was a strong advocate of behaviorism.
In 1957, Watson was awarded a Gold medal from the American Psychological Association for his contributions to the field of psychology. He died in 1958 at the age of eighty.
Bibliography
Buckley, Kerry W. Mechanical Man: John Broadus Watson and the Beginnings of Behaviorism. Guilford, 1989.
Cherry, Kendra. "Biography of Psychologist John B. Waton." VeryWell Mind, 21 Mar. 2023, www.verywellmind.com/john-b-watson-biography-1878-1958-2795550. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Cohen, David. J. B. Watson, the Founder of Behaviourism: A Biography. Routledge, 1979.
Fancher, Raymond E. Pioneers of Psychology. 4th ed., Norton, 2012.
Fridlund, Alan J., et al. “Little Albert: A Neurologically Impaired Child.” History of Psychology, vol. 15, no. 4, 2012, pp. 302–27.
Malone, John. “Did John B. Watson Really ‘Found’ Behaviorism?” Behavior Analyst, vol. 37, no. 1, 2014, pp. 1–12.
McLeod, Saul. "John B. Watson." Simply Psychology, 3 Sept. 2024, www.simplypsychology.org/john-b-watson.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Rieber, R. W. Encyclopedia of the History of Psychological Theories. Springer, 2012.