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Article: Behaviorism
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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BEHAVIORISM
BEHAVIORISM.
Since the early twentieth century behaviorism has offered the public and the field of psychology a mix of applied technology and philosophical iconoclasm. In 1913 John B. Watson proclaimed himself a "behaviorist" and announced a new theoretical tendency within psychology. "Behaviorism," he promised, would be a "purely objective experimental branch of natural science," dedicated to the "prediction and control of behavior." Consciousness, thoughts, and feelings would no longer be studied, he explained, just the behavior of animals
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including humans. Purged of its metaphysical baggage, Watson claimed, psychology could be applied to various human problems ...