Psychology: An Analysis of the Behaviourism Approach and its Impact

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the behaviourist approach in psychology, also known as behaviourism. It delves into the core principles of learning theory, emphasizing the interaction between learners and their environment through conditioning processes. The essay explores the historical foundations of psychology, highlighting key areas such as cognitive, clinical, and biopsychology. It examines the strengths of behaviourism, including its focus on observable behaviour, scientific credibility, and real-life applications, particularly in treating phobias. Conversely, the essay addresses weaknesses, such as its mechanistic view of behaviour, neglect of internal influences like thoughts and feelings, and ethical considerations in animal experiments. The essay concludes by summarizing the key aspects of behaviourism, emphasizing its impact on understanding human and animal behaviour and its contributions to mental health interventions, while acknowledging its limitations in accounting for the full complexity of human behaviour. The essay is supported by references to academic books and journals.

Behaviourism in approach of
psychology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Behavioral psychology can also refers as a behaviourism which can work as a learning
theory which includes the learner behaviour through which they interact with the environment
which includes the conditioning processes which are also response towards the environmental
stimuli. Here, psychology refers to the science which include follow up of the empirical method
which include the determination of investigation methods (Marks, (2019)).
MAIN BODY
It is essential to focus on the psychological method that can be effective and includes
different learning which are effective and ensure about taking care of effective response towards
the psychology. There is different foundation area of psychology which includes cognitive
psychology, clinical psychology, biopsychology and behavioural psychology. Applying
psychology requires the scientific method which are effective and evidence based and are
associated with including standardized way towards making observations, forming theories,
gathering data, testing predictions along with interpreting results (Van Bergen et. al., (2019)).
Historical foundation of psychology
Psychology includes the field of experiment which includes the first theory that was
associated with judgement related to the sensory experiences which were made to experiment on
them. This include the understanding and thinking about psychology where it was first beginning
with developing response toward the modern within politics, culture, economics along with
current events. There are four main area of psychology which includes the clinical psychology,
behavioural psychology, cognitive psychology along with biopsychology. Psychology includes
the behaviourist approach that includes behaviourism and are also known as behavioural
psychology. This refers to the theory of learning which are effective and state about all the
behaviour that can help in learning through interaction within environment through process that
are conditioning (Can et. al., (2019)).
Dominant psychological theory refers to the prediction towards people which are oppose
group based dominance which are in general and can support political and social policies along
with practices which can promote low-power groups. Social dominance orientation includes the
important measure that are associated with including different social inequalities which can

predict towards the belief in their own group which should be dominating towards other groups
(Illeris, (2018)).
Psychology refers to the study of mind and behaviour which are effective and help to
understand individual mind which are effective and help in learning about mental processes,
behaviour and brain function. This can help to understand the relationships between brain
function along with behaviour which are effective and help to applying and understand about
individual mind which are associated with including their learning and their mental
improvement. There is need to ensure about taking care of effective response towards dealing
with better and effective understanding about the psychology (Rhodes et. al., (2019)). This
include ethics where it is essential to ensure about taking care of effective response towards
psychology. Behavioural psychology includes behaviours that suggest about environmental
shapes human behaviour. This includes the observation behaviour that assist to include better and
effective understating about individual behaviour. There is impact on understanding about the
psychology which include the different theories including psychodynamic, cognitive,
behavioural, interpersonal and many more. These are effective and have different strength and
weaknesses of behaviourism approach to psychology.
Strength
Behaviourism includes the observational behaviour which can be easier to collecting data
and quantify the information which includes research. Which includes understanding about the
clear prediction which are related with human psychology. This also includes the real life
application where behaviourism include to focus on goal (Teo, (2020)).
It provides scientific credibility which are associated with different language that
includes method of natural sciences and have focus on measuring observable behaviour. There is
understanding about the scientific processes like replication and objectivity behaviourism which
can also influence the psychology which applies individual behaviour.
It also provides real-life application which includes conditioning which are applied in
broad range of real-world behaviour along with problems (Cooper et. al., (2020)). This includes
delivery of better and effective response towards the classical conditioning which can be applied
in treatment of phobias. This can be effective and provide better learning about effective
response towards providing better psychological effect. This can also help to use the scientific
research which are effective and help to provide better understand about the effective response

toward the psychology. These are effective and help to use those for improving high impact on
providing better psychological help in improving individual health through evaluation. This can
also include better impact on ensuring about providing solution to mental health problems
(Surasmi et. al., (2020)). This include talking therapy which are associated with ensuring about
delivery of therapy that can help to provide better health impact on individual. Through applying
behavioural theory, it can help to understand individual behaviour which can help therapist to
deliver better therapy accordingly. Applying behaviourism can be effective and help in providing
better impact to therapist to understand individual behaviour which can help them in performing
well and provide better psychological help to improve mental health.
Weaknesses
There are some of the weaknesses of behavioural approach within psychology which can
influence mechanistic view of behaviour. There are many critics argues about the behaviourism
which are one dimensional approach and can help to understand about the human behaviour.
This do not account for free will along with internal influence like thoughts, mood and feelings.
Behaviourism also does not account for other learning types this include those learning
which are not associated with punishment or any type of reinforcement (Schell et. al., (2020)).
Through using the behavioural approach, it emphasis about the human behaviour and their
learning abilities which can affect external factor which are punisher or reinforces. Here, theories
include that sense of conditioning history which are effective and influence towards the
determination of outcomes.
It also has mechanistic view of behaviour which are influence human and animal towards
their behaviour which are associated with conscious insight within their behaviour. Through
introducing the social learning theory along with cognitive approach which can emphasised
about the importance of cognitive approach are effective and help to improve individual mental
health. Here, processes include the response and stimulus which are suggested by people as
active role within own learning (Taves et. al., (2018)). This type of learning is applying more on
animal than human.
There are ethical practical issues within the animal experiments which are associated with taking
of effective understand about the behaviourism approach which can help to maintain the degree
of control over the experimental subjects. When experimental animal gets exposed towards the
stressful and aversive condition that can influences and affected the experimental situation.

There are ethical issues where animal is not able to provide consent towards the experiment no
even about withdraw (Rader, (2018)).
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can have concluded that psychology is effective which can
help to understand individual and human behaviour and enable to perform well. This can be
effective and allow to improve mental health. In this, there is need to ensure about taking care of
effective response towards the understanding individual response. There are various strength and
weaknesses which are include the behaviourism which is an approach that include individual
behaviour and help to understand the psychology. In this, there is discussion about the strength
and weaknesses of behaviourism approach to psychology. There is also discussion about
foundation of psychology along with historical foundations. This also includes the knowledge
and ethics in psychological research.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Can, I., & Can, I. (2019). The psychology of behaviour management (part 1). Behaviour.
Cooper, L. D., Bertagnolli, A., Botanov, Y., Jun, J. J., Valenstein-Mah, H., Washburn, J. J., &
Teisler, D. (2020). Training competencies for master’s programs in health service
psychology. The Behavior Therapist.
Illeris, K. (2018). An overview of the history of learning theory. European Journal of
Education, 53(1), 86-101.
Marks, D. F. (2019). The Hans Eysenck affair: Time to correct the scientific record. Journal of
health psychology, 24(4), 409-420.
Rader, N. D. V. (2018). Uniting Jimmy and Jackie: foundation for a research program in
developmental ecological psychology. Ecological Psychology, 30(2), 129-145.
Rhodes, R. E., McEwan, D., & Rebar, A. L. (2019). Theories of physical activity behaviour
change: A history and synthesis of approaches. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 42,
100-109.
Schell, D. E., Banks, D. E., & Liutkaite, N. (2020). Adapting Open Educational Course Materials
in Undergraduate General Psychology: A Faculty-Librarian-Student Partnership. Open
Pedagogy Approaches.
Surasmi, W. A., Ali, A. F., & Rachman, A. (2020). Students’ instructional success: A foundation
of psychology perspective. In Emerging Perspectives and Trends in Innovative
Technology for Quality Education 4.0 (pp. 145-147). Routledge.
Taves, A., Asprem, E., & Ihm, E. (2018). Psychology, meaning making, and the study of
worldviews: Beyond religion and non-religion. Psychology of Religion and
Spirituality, 10(3), 207.
Teo, T. (2020). Theorizing in psychology: From the critique of a hyper-science to
conceptualizing subjectivity. Theory & Psychology, 30(6), 759-767.
Van Bergen, P., & Parsell, M. (2019). Comparing radical, social and psychological
constructivism in Australian higher education: a psycho-philosophical perspective. The
Australian Educational Researcher, 46(1), 41-58.