Behavioral Perspective

             The Behavioral Perspective is the view of the psychological aspect of Behavior. This perspective points out the study of measurable, observable behavior and the way in which the environment determines behavior. Included in this perspective is the nature of man, determinism, and the possibility of change.
             Behaviorists believe that the nature of man is neither good nor evil. Behaviorists believe in the theory of "Tabula Rasa," or the blank slate theory. In this theory a baby is born with no knowledge and their knowledge draws from their environment and experience. Here, Behaviorist B.F. Skinner reiterates his believe in this concept by saying: " So far as I know, my behavior at any given moment has been nothing more than the product of my genetic endowment, my personal history, and the current setting." As Skinner puts it, this theory of "Tabula Rasa" is the belief that people are a product of their environments. This concept also brought forth the famous quote about conditioning from John Watson who said "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in, and I'll guarantee to take anyone at random and train him [her] to become any type of specialist I might select--doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant, chief, and yes, even beggerman and thief, regardless of his [her] talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and the race of his [her] ancestors."
             The idea that we have no "free-will" (Skinner) is called Determinism. In addition to the "Tabula Rasa" theory another aspect of Determinism is Conditioning. Conditioning is the most basic form of learning. In Conditioning a behavior is learned by a person and or animal. This learning is a result of reinforcement or the association of an unconditioned (not learned) stimulus with a conditioned (learned) stimulus.
             The first of the two types of Conditioning is Classical C...

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