Ch15 Behaviorism | Test Bank – 6th Edition

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Chapter 15

Early Behaviorism

Chapter Objectives:

• Behaviorism as a product of the environmental determinism derived from the mental passivity of the British tradition; as an extension of nineteenth-century advances in brain physiology; as significant in Evolution by Natural Selection.
• Review of Russian reflexology.
• Watson's definition of psychology as the behaviorist views it.
• Immediate reaction of Watson's formulation.
• Review of post-Pavlovian, Russian, and Eastern European reflexology.
• Survey of the learning theorists: Guthrie, Hull, Tolman, and Skinner.
• An evaluation of the role of theory within an empirically based, positive science.
• An outline of the applications of behavioral principles in applied and clinical contexts.

Chapter Summary:

The shift in American psychology from the essentially German emphasis on the study of consciousness to a primary focus on behavior was initiated by J. B. Watson in 1913. However, behavioristic psychology had received expression in both the French sensationalistic and British empiricistic traditions. The immediate predecessors of behaviorism were the reflexology of Russian physiology and the associationism of Thorndike. Physiological reflexology received a sound foundation with the works of Sechenov and Bekhterev, but it was Pavlov who refined the reduction of psychological events to behavioral and physiological processes within a comprehensive theory of conditioning. Watson's formulation of psychology was essentially defined in terms of stimulus and response elements. However, in attempting to rid psychology of residual mentalistic constructs, Watson's definition of psychology as solely peripheral events was too confining, and Watson's contemporaries began the process of evolving behaviorism into a more complete system. Such researchers as Holt, Weiss, Hunter, and Lashley restored critical psychological activities to behaviorism. However, it was probably the logical positivist movement, expressing an operational spirit in the unity of science, that insured the initial success of the behaviorist model.

Behavioristic psychology expanded beyond the original formulations of Pavlov and Watson. Russian reflexology continued in the tradition of Pavlov, and one of the more significant developments was found in the work of the Polish scientist Jerzy Konorski, whose goal was to integrate Pavlov's conditioning physiology with Sherrington's neurophysiology. Konorski's early work first drew a sharp distinction between the two paradigms of conditioning, and his career culminated with an insightful discussion of brain physiology supporting a cybernetic system of behavior. Contemporary reflexology in Russia and in nearby countries has greatly expanded to include a wide range of psychological and physiological problems, led by such eminent scientists as Luria, Asratyan, Voronin, and Beritashvili.

In the United States behaviorism has moved through several intellectual stages. In a theory-building phase during the 1930s and 1940s, psychologists such as Guthrie, Tolman, and Hull attempted comprehensive theories of learning. While receiving their most complete articulation under Hull, comprehensive theories were not adequate, prompting the radical positivism of Skinner. A return to data gathering followed, characterized by the development of models or mini-theories with an applied flavor. Information-processing and mathematical models of learning, neo-Hullian research models, cognitive models, and operant approaches are all examples of recent groupings of behaviorists. A major use of behaviorism has been the behavior modification model of clinical application. Contemporary behaviorism is a dominant force in psychology, but the behaviorism that has evolved is widely based, admitting a wide diversity of assumptions, methodologies, and applications.

Suggested topics and issues for class discussion and/or short essay examination questions:

1. Briefly outline the forces of the British empiricists and French sensationalistic tradition which were conducive to the views expressed by Watson.

2. Which aspects of American functionalism paved the way for the emergence of Watson's behaviorism?

3. Contrast the views on the place of psychology within science between the Russian reflexologists and the American behaviorists.

4. Describe Sechenov's materialism in light of his views on psychology.

5. What were Bekhterev's major contributions to the link between reflexology and psychology?

6. After his discovery of the principles of conditioning, what did Pavlov assert about the bases of psychological processes?

7. Describe Pavlov's basic conditioning paradigm and his principles underlying "mental" associations.

8. What was the relationship between environmental stimuli and cortical mediation for Pavlov?

1. What were the major findings of Thorndike's problem-solving experiments, and how did they differ from the conditioning principles of Pavlov?

10. What is the problem with Thorndike's "law of effect"? Was his solution an example of circular reasoning?

11. Why was Watson's definition of psychology in terms of behavior considered radical? What contemporary force was Watson addressing?

12. What was the methodological approach advocated by Watson? Was his methodological proposal as radical as his definition of the substance of psychology?

13. What did Watson suggest for the concept of mind psychology?

14. What are the major criticisms of Watson's behaviorism?

15. How did Pavlov's conditioning principles fit into Watson's behaviorism?

16. What were the general contributions of Holt, Weiss, Hunter, and Lashley, relative to Watson's views.?

17. What was the basic difference between the goals of Lashley's physiological psychology and Pavlov's reflexology?

18. What is operationalism, and how is it an expression of positivism?

19. How were early behaviorism and logical positivism related?

20. What is the problem of reductionism for psychology? That is, do the reductionistic approaches of either the physiological principles of conditioning or the scientific approach of operationalism leave any room for the integrity of psychology?

21. Generally describe the stages in the evolution of behaviorism after Watson.

22. What was the fate of other, non-American movements in psychology from the 1920s on?

23. How was reflexology consolidated within Russian and Soviet science prior to World War II?

24. Briefly describe the addition to the conditioning principles of Pavlov proposed by Konorski and Miller.

25. Describe Konorski's later contributions in terms of the materialism and reductionism of reflexology.

26. What was Vygotski's proposal for an expansion of Pavlov's reflexology and how did his student Luria implement this proposal? Relate Vygotski's suggestions concerning the issues of reductionism and materialism in reflexology.

27. What is the general character of the approach to psychology and higher nervous activity in the successor states of the Soviet Union? How was this character expressed in the research of Beristashvili?

28. Describe the parsimony of Guthrie's theory. What was his explanation of reinforcement?

29. What are the major criticisms of Guthrie in terms of both substantive and methodological considerations?

30. What was the goal of Hull's theory? Did he succeed?

31. Describe Hull's approach to research in terms of deductive and inductive aspects of his theory.

32. What did Hull mean by intervening variables and how did he use them in his models of behavioral prediction?

33. In which aspects were Hull's efforts successful and in which aspects did he fail?

34. What was molar behavior for Tolman, and how is this proposal in contrast to the views of Guthrie and Hull?

35. Describe the Gestalt influence in Tolman's views, and why is his position termed "cognitive"?

36. Briefly outline the significant additions of Guthrie, Hull, and Tolman to Watson's initial formulation of behaviorism.

37. Why was Skinner considered a radical empiricist? Compare Skinner's view with that of Watson.

38. Was Skinner's position theoretical in any sense? What was the characteristic research approach of Skinner?

39. What is operant behavior and how is it related to Skinner's definition of reinforcement?

40. Citing an example, evaluate the benefits and shortcomings of Marx's (1963) description of theoretical dimensions.

41. What do the neobehavioristic models have in common?

42. Contrast the logical consequences of research evolving from mathematical models vs. cognitive models. Relate these consequences to earlier views that emphasized elementarism vs. holism in their interpretations of behavior.

43. Why may it be said that some of the neobehavioristic models have brought psychology full circle since Watson?

1. Compare the neo-Hullian and operant bases of behavior modification. What are the benefits for psychology of a behavioristic model of therapeutic treatment?

45. Evaluate later behavioristic positions in terms of the issues of determinacy, freedom, and control in the psychology of the individual.

Objective Questions:

1. One precursor of Watson's behaviorism may be found in the French philosophical tradition that

A. favored mental passivity. B. accepted cartesian dualism.

C. denied the existence of external matter.

D. rejected Descartes's unextended substance as unnecessary.

E. accepted the inherent structure of the mind.

2. One precursor of Watson's behaviorism may be found in the British philosophical tradition that

A dismissed the mind as unnecessary.

B. favored empiricism and associationism.

C. denied the existence of external matter.

D. accepted the elements of consciousness.

E. accepted the inherent structure of the mind.

3. Functional psychology provided a transition to behaviorism from

A. structural psychology. B. act psychology.

C. Gestalt psychology. D. psychoanalysis.

E. reflexology.

4. The scientific goal of the Russian reflexologists was to

A. find the physiological correlates of psychological events.

B. seek the mechanisms of mental associations.

C. expand existing physiological knowledge to include issues termed "psychological."

D. find a new comprehensive science that relates physiological and psychological issues.

E. provide a sound basis for behavioristic psychology.

5. The philosophy of science underlying reflexology is

A. phenomenological. B. metaphysical.

C. experimental. D. materialistic. E. analytic.

6. With further research, Sechenov argued that the mental constructs of psychology would

A. be bolstered and given detailed description.

B. be fully elaborated through empirical definition.

C. be articulated into elements of consciousness.

D. provide better meaning to the study of field dynamics.

E. disappear.

7. Bekhterev applied reflexology to

A. abnormal behavior. B. personality.

C. perception. D. social relations.

E. mental testing.

8. Pavlov was above all else

A. a physiologist. B. a prolific writer.

C. a psychologist. D. an experimentalist.

E. an administrator.

9. Pavlov won a Nobel Prize for his work on

A. conditioned reflexes. B. cortical activity.

C. digestion. D. neural conduction.

E. psychopathology.

10. A conditioned stimulus is

A. an external event that naturally elicits a reflex.

B. an external event that is neutral with respect to a reflex before training.

C. a reaction elicited naturally by a stimulus.

D. a reaction elicited after pairings with a stimulus.

E. an association mediated by the cortex.

11. An unconditioned response is

A. an external event that naturally elicits a reflex.

B. an external event that is neutral with respect to a reflex before training.

C. a reaction elicited naturally by a stimulus.

D. a reaction elicited after pairings with a stimulus.

E. an association mediated by the cortex.

12. Pavlov believed that he quantified and objectified

A. sensations. B. consciousness.

C. associations. D. mental images.

E. neural impulses.

13. According to Pavlov, the principle underlying the acquisition of conditioned reflexes was

A. contiguity. B. similarity.

C. recency. D. reinforcement.

E. contingency.

14. Thorndike's problem-solving experiments showed

A. acquisition of conditioned responses.

B. insightful learning.

C. spontaneous recovery.

D. trial-and-error learning.

E. contiguity.

15. Thorndike suggested two basic principles of learning

A. contiguity and similarity.

B. contingency and reinforcement.

C. exercise and effect.

D. recency and meaning.

E. recency and repetition.

16. Thorndike's original law of effect stated

A. symmetrical punishment and reward effects.

B. asymmetrical punishment and reward effects.

C. punishment produces new responses while reward is reinforcing.

D. positive reinforcement is more effective than negative reinforcement.

E. negative reinforcement is better than positive reinforcement.

17. One problem with the law of effect concerns

A. its symmetry.

B. its asymmetry.

C. the mechanism that recognizes effects.

D. the role of sensory mediation of effects.

E. the role of reinforcement in learning.

18. Watson defined psychology as the study of

A. the elements of consciousness.

B. the organization of the mind.

C. stimulus-response bonds.

D. mind-environment interactions.

E. purposive behavior.

19. Watson's psychology was to employ the objective methods of

A. empiricism. B. introspection.

C. materialism. D. phenomenology.

E. deduction.

20. Individual psychology for Watson was dependent upon

A. mental passivity.

B. interactions with the environment.

C. the environment only.

D. physiological mediation.

E. higher thought processes.

21. Watson's behaviorism included

A. consciousness. B. mental elements.

C. central events. D. peripheral events.

E. physiological mediation.

22. Holt, Weiss, Hunter, and Lashley all

A. supported Watson.

B. refuted Watson.

C. accepted the physiological determinants of behaviorism.

D. moved away from Watson's extreme position.

E. favored the admission to psychology of the data of consciousness.

23. The logical positivists saw the unity of science expressed in the common language of

A. German. B. empiricism. C. positivism.

D. operationalism. E. materialism.

24. The logical positivism movement supported

A. the Gestalt movement.

B. an objective psychology.

C. the psychology of nonsensory consciousness.

D. a nonmaterialistic correlate of psychology.

E. the physiological correlate of psychology.

25. Watsonian behaviorism refuted the traditional study of

A. empiricism. B. sensations. C. consciousness.

D. thought processes. E. materialism.

26. After Watson, the initial phase of the behavioristic evolution consisted of

A. intensive experimental efforts.

B. acceptance of reflexology.

C. rivalry of other systems of dominance.

D. concerted theory-building.

E. readmitting the data of consciousness.

27. European psychology after 1930

A. prospered from governmental support.

B. withered in the political turmoil.

C. was absorbed into Soviet reflexology.

D. was dominated by psychoanalysis.

E. was dominated by behaviorism.

28. Pavlov's reflexology was acceptable to Marxist-Leninist ideology because of its

A. empiricism. B. dualism

C. idealism. D. physiology. E. materialism.

29. Konorski and Miller described what we today call

A. Pavlovian conditioning.

B. classical conditioning.

C. instrumental conditioning.

D. extinction.

E. spontaneous recovery.

30. Konorski's goal was to integrate within a single perspective the works of

A. Stumpf and Wertheimer.

B. Wundt and Fechner.

C. Helmholtz and Purkinje.

D. Pavlov and Sechenov.

E. Pavlov and Sherrington.

31. Konorski's final views on higher nervous activity accommodated

A. adaptability and variability.

B. sensations and consciousness.

C. reflexes and sensations.

D. mental passivity.

E. field dynamics and the unconsciousness.

32. Vygotski's views on reflexology

A. agreed with Pavlov's reductionistic materialism.

B. tried to preserve the holistic complexity of human activity.

C. asserted consciousness over reflexology.

D. accepted mind-body dualism.

E. rejected psychology as a valid area of study.

33. Sokolov summarized the importance of

A. consciousness. B. the conditioned reflex.

C. reinforcement. D. the orienting response.

E. dualism.

34. The basic physicalism of materialistic reflexology is reflected in contemporary Russian research on

A. hypnosis. B. reinforcement parameters.

C. electrophysiology. D. cognitive learning.

E. field organization.

35. Two of Pavlov's most famous students were

A. Luria and Vygotski.

B. Beristashvili and Sokolov.

C. Konorski and Asratyan.

D. Veronin and Beristashvili.

E. Konorski and Sherrington.

36. Guthrie's single principle of learning was

A. contiguity. B. similarity. C. exercise.

D. contingency. E. recency.

37. Guthrie viewed reinforcement in terms of

A. the law of effect. B. minimal importance.

C. associative shifting. D. positive reward.

E. an intervening variable.

38. A criticism of Guthrie concerns his

A. complicated explanations. B. theory.

C. molar interpretations. D. predictive equations.

E. lack of systematic empiricism.

39. Hull asserted his notion of habit formation as a means of

A. reinforcement. B. cognitive learning.

C. drive inhibition. D. observation.

E. adaptation.

40. Hull's research strategy may be described as

A. intuitive. B. hypothetical-deductive.

C. reductionistic. D. introspective.

E. molecular.

41. Hull's theory viewed the behaving organism in terms of

A. a homeostatic model. B. a reflexive model.

C. a cognitive model. D. a reactive model.

E. an interactive model.

42. Internal mediational explanations imposed between stimulus and response elements were termed by Hull

A. molecular events. B. molar units.

C. cortical effects. D. intervening variables.

E. unconscious elements.

43. Perhaps the major problem with Hull's theory was its

A. molar structure. B. reductionism.

C. materialism. D. habit formation.

E. comprehensiveness.

44. Tolman described behavior as

A. molar. B. molecular. C. consciousness.

D. habit formation. E. reflexes.

45. The basic premise of Tolman's psychology is that behavior is

A. determined. B. reflexive. C. purposive.

D. unconsciousness. E. molecular.

46. Tolman viewed acquisition as the accumulation of expectancies of

A. molar units. B. sign gestalts.

C. field vectors. D. unconsciousness.

E. conditioned reflexes.

47. Skinner believed that behavior is

A. environmentally determined.

B. unpredictable.

C. an intervening variable.

D. physiologically mediated.

E. individually determined.

48. Guthrie, Hull, and Tolman agreed

A. on the nature of reinforcement.

B. with a common definition of behavior.

C. with the cognitive approach to learning.

D. on the incremental character of acquisition.

E. on the need to expand Watsonian behaviorism.

49. Skinner developed the notion of reinforcement-controlled ongoing behavioral levels of

A. reflexes. B. operants. C. molar units.

D. instrumental responses. E. conditioned responses.

50. Skinner argued that to be truly human means to have

A. freedom. B. inner superiority.

C. control. D. social interactions.

E. understanding and insight.

51. Marx's (1963) description of the elements of theories is biased toward scientific approaches that are

A. intuitive. B. phenomenological.

C. empirical. D. idealistic.

E. analytical.

52. Information processing, mathematical models of learning are inherently

A. poor predictors. B. elementaristic.

C. holistic. D. reinforcement based.

E. random.

53. Many applications of neo-Hullian and operant research contributed to

A. cognitive psychology.

B. reinforcement theory.

C. reflexology.

D. physiological psychology.

E. behavior modification.

54. Cognitive psychology has brought the behavioral model back to a consideration of

A. consciousness. B. acts. C. sensations.

D. immediate experience. E. perceptual illusions.

55. Contemporary behaviorism is largely held together by a consensus on

A. the definition of behavior. B. empiricism.

B. the mechanics of behavior. D. reinforcement.

E. applications.