John B. Watson was born near, South Carolina in 1878. His parents were Emma
and Pickens. Watson's family was a poor family. Emma was very religious and
insisted on a pious home which consisted of no drinking, dancing and no
smoking. John grew close to his father. During this period in John's live, his
father began a string of extra marital affairs which formed a wall between him
and his wife. In 1891 Pickens left his family when John was thirteen years old.
After John's dad left home, John's school work slipped and he quickly became a
discipline problem for his teachers and for his mother. At this point in John's live
he began a short career of violence which involved mocking teachers, boxing
other students, and assaulting black children as he walked home from school.
After a few arrests his violent streak seemed to stop and his first major turn in life
occurred when he enrolled in at Furman University at the age of sixteen. This is
were he was introduced in to psychology by Gordon Moore. He graduated five
years later with a basic introduction to psychology and an M.A. degree. After a
year as principle of a small private school, Watson obtained admission to the
university of Chicago. John Watson continued his education at the University of
Chicago where he received both his MA and Ph.D. in 1903. As an instructor at
the University of Chicago, Watson met Mary Iekes whom he wed June 1905, he
had his first child, Mary. He later became a father to a second child, John. He
quickly received his doctorate in 1903 and became a professor of psychology at
John's Hopkins University five years later. It was there that he earned the world
renowned title of the "Founder of Behaviorism". John studied the behavior of
animals. He was very interested in stimulus response reactions to various
situations, such as rats going through s maze. John Watson was cheating on hi...