PS558 Unit 1DB

PS 558 Unit 1DB Name Institutional Affiliation Course Name & Number Professor Date What approaches were used to understand and study behavior prior to the introduction of behaviorism? Before the introduction of behaviorism, several approaches were utilized to comprehend and study behavior. In rationalism, philosophers underscored the role of reason and logic in understanding people’s minds and behavior. Empiricism argued that knowledge and behavior occasioned from sensory experiences and observation. Structuralism concentrated on dissecting mental processes into simple components where subjects would express their opinions and feelings in reaction to stimuli (Morris et al., 1990, pp. 135-136). Functionalism utilized unconscious desires, childhood experiences, and conflicts to interpret one’s behavior. Psychoanalysis, developed by Freud, focused on how one’s unconscious mind shapes one’s behavior. Gestalt psychology focused on how people observe and experience objects as a fill pattern instead of separate entities. What was John B. Watson's rationale for focusing on observable behavior and the environment rather than internal events? According to J...