What is Behavioral Perspective in Psychology Essay?

Behavioral Perspective in Psychology Essay; Behavioral psychology exists thought to be a perspective that mainly focuses on behaviors that have stood learned. While psychology existed mainly dominated by behaviorism in the early 20th century; it quickly started to diminish in the 1950s. Nowadays, the behavioral perspective still deals with how behaviors have existed learned, and reinforced. Behavioral principles have many times existed applied in settings of mental health; where some therapists/ counselors have used these certain techniques to try to explain and treat a lot of illnesses.

Here is the article to explain, Behavioral Perspective Psychology Types and Essay!

Since Behavioral Perspective is the way people view the psychological aspect of behavior; then it is obvious that this perspective indicates the study of observable and measurable behavior. It does this in a way only in which the environment is the only this that determines this behavior. Also included in this perspective is the natural way of man, the belief that everything stands caused by something; and the fact that change is capable of happening.

Behaviorists tend to think that the nature of man is not good or evil. They also believe in the theory of “Tabula Rasa,” also known as the blank slate theory. This theory explains that when a baby is born with no reason or knowledge; then obviously their knowledge has to be drawn from their environment and experiences.

Behaviorist B.F. Skinner goes over the fact that he believes in this concept by always stating that as far as he knows, at any point in time; his behavior has not been anything more than the product of his personal history; his genetic endowment, and the current setting he is in then.

Ideas;

The Behavioral Perspective takes some ideas from the Tabula Rasa such as conditioning; and behavior modification to merge or combine the other valuable ideas inside of the Behavioral Perspective; such as the perspective which includes the natural way of man; the belief that everything exists caused by something, and the fact that change is capable of happening. The concept that we as humans have no free will call Determinism. Also with the Tabula Rasa theory, there has been one more aspect of determinism which call conditioning.

Conditioning considers being one of the simplest forms one can do to learn. In conditioning, a certain type of behavior exists learned by a person and or animal. This type of learning exists often considered to be a direct result of the reinforcement or the connection of an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus.

An interesting concept some behaviorists believe is that certain behaviors can counter or unlearn; through either positive or negative change in the actual reinforcement. The change in the reinforcement call behavior modification; and, the person can give an object or something that they can use to trade-in for something better every time they do the right thing.

Behavioral Approach;

The behavioral approach to understanding motivation deals with drives, both learned and unlearned, and with incentives. Drive theory involves the concepts of unlearned (or primary) drives, drive reduction, and learned (secondary) drives. It is based on the fact that all living organisms have physiological needs that must exist satisfied for survival (for example, the need for food, water, sleep, and so forth) to maintain a state of homeostasis, that is, a steady internal state.

Disruption of an organism’s homeostatic state causes a state of tension (arousal) called an unlearned, or primary, drive. If the aroused state has existed created by hunger; it calls a hunger drive, and the drive can reduce by food. Drive reduction moves toward the re-establishment of homeostasis. Drives, then, may exist thought of as the consequence of a physiological need; which an organism stands impelled to reduce or eliminate. Clark Hull, a learning theorist, developed an equation to show how learning and drive are related. Drives may also learn, or secondary. Fear (or anxiety), for example, exists often considered a secondary drive that can learn through either classical or operant conditioning.

Neal Miller’s Thories;

In Neal Miller’s well-known operant conditioning experiment, a rat existed placed in a black box and then given a mild electrical shock. Eventually, the rat learned to react to the experience of being put in a black box (with no shock given) with the response of turning a wheel to escape. In this case, the black box exists said to have elicited the learned drive of fear. Among other drives considered by some theorists to learn are the need for affiliation (that is, to belong, to have companionship), the need for security (money), and the need for achievement.

Theories of incentive motivation contend that external stimuli can motivate behavior. Humans and other animals can learn to value external stimuli (for example, the first prize in a track meet for a human and a pat on the head for a dog) and will work to get them. Incentive motivation stands sometimes called pull motivation because incentives exist said to pull in contrast with the push associated with drives. Kenneth Spence, well known for his work in incentive motivation, suggested that the incentive value of the reward strengthens the response”. The following two types of behavior from the behavioral perspective of psychology below are;

What is the Normal Behavior?

The common pattern of behavior found among the general majority stands said to be the behavior of the normal. Normal people exhibit satisfactory work capacity and earn an adequate income. They conform and adjust to their social surrounding. They are capable of establishing, satisfying, and acceptable relationships with other people; and their emotional reactions are appropriate to different situations.

Such people manage to control their emotions. Their emotional experiences do not affect their personality adjustment though they experience occasional frustrations and conflict. These people who adjust well with themselves, their surroundings, and their associates constitute the normal group. The normal group covers the great majority of people.

According to Coleman (1981), normal behavior will represent the optimal development and functioning of the individual consistent with the long-term well-being and progress of the group. Thus, people having an average amount of intelligence, personality stability, social adaptability consider normal.

What is the Abnormal Behavior?

The concept of abnormality stands defined as the simple exaggeration or perverted development of normal psychological behavior. In other words, it deals with the usual behavior of man. The unusual or maladapted behavior of many persons; which do not fit into our common forms of behavior stands known as abnormal behavior. Abnormality refers to maladjustment to one’s society and culture which surrounds him. It is the deviation from the normal unfavorably and pathologically.

According to Brown (1940), abnormal psychological phenomena are simple exaggerations (overdevelopment or under development) or disguised (i.e., perverted, developments) of the normal psychological phenomena.

It expects, for instance, that a normal human being would react to a snake by immediately withdrawing from it. But if the person, on the contrary, plays with the snake very happily, it is a sign of uncommon behavior; which may consider abnormal provided that experience or training does not play a part here.

Training;

A person who has been by profession trained from the very childhood to deal with snakes will not afraid of a snake and if he does not withdraw from a snake, will not consider abnormal. Coleman (1981) holds that deviant behaviors consider maladaptive because they are not only harmful to society but the individual. Maladaptive behavior impairs individual and group well being and it brings distress to the individual. It also leads to individual and group conflicts.

Page (1976) views that the abnormal group consists of individuals marked by limited intelligence, emotional instability, personality disorgani­zation, and character defects who in most part led wretched personal lives and were social misfits and liabilities. Thus, abnormality and normality can only define in terms of conformity to the will and welfare of the group and the capacity for self-management.

A close analysis of various types of abnormal behavior indicates that abnormal behavior circumscribes a wide range of maladaptive reactions like psychoneuroses, psychoses, delinquents, sexual deviants, drug addicts, etc.

Thus, some kind of biological, social, and psychological maladjustment affects the functioning of the individual in a society. The abnormal deviants who constitute about 10 percent of the general population are classified into four main categories; such as psychoneurotic, psychotic, menially defective, and antisocial.

Focused;

The behavioral perspective stands mainly focused on the idea that psychology should only exist concerned with the measurable physical responses one has to certain environmental stimuli. This certain perspective was first introduced to the world by John Broadus Watson who lived from 1878 to 1958. He was a great student at the University of Chicago and worked to get his doctorate at the same time.

He strongly believed that the science of psychology existed meant to be a hard science as the rest of the sciences were therefore psychology should seek out observable behavior. Watson thought that psychology existed not meant to deal with mental events because to him they are un-measurable in every way except to the actual organism experiencing them.