Behavioral Psychology: Fundamentals, Goals, History Facts

Many people have a stereotype that the goal of any psychologist is to reveal the insides of the soul, get to the bottom of problems, find out the root causes of suffering that goes back to childhood, and work with them. In fact, this is far from the case. For example, one of the directions - behaviorism - studies primarily behavior. In their opinion, the most important things are reflexes, acquired skills, reactions to external stimuli and motivation. This is what determines the essence of a person’s mental organization. Based on this concept, behavioral psychotherapy was created and successfully applied in practice.

Basics of Behavioral Psychology

Behavioral psychology was born in the United States and dominated other fields of psychology in the first half of the 20th century.

J.B. Watson is considered the founder of behavioral psychology. In his report published in 1913, he writes that from the point of view of behaviorism, psychology is an objective experimental branch of the natural sciences, and the goal of behaviorism is to predict and control human behavior.

Behavioral psychology

“Knowing how to achieve control through incentives, without resorting to yelling and coercion, makes life easier for everyone, educator and learner alike.”

Karen Pryor

Introspective psychology, which is considered biased, is rejected by behaviorism. Behavioral psychologists believe that objective conclusions can only be drawn by studying observable facts (behavior) that can be measured and quantified.

Purpose of Behavioral Psychology

The Behavioral Manifesto, published by J. B. Watson in 1913, marked a turning point in psychology. Behaviorism became its main direction due to its pragmatism.

The idea of ​​behavioral psychology is to guide and change people's behavior so that they can transform their lives. To implement this ambitious project, you need to know the laws of behavior, predict and control it.

That is, in order to be able to influence the result, you need to know what causes it.

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Behavioral psychotherapy
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Behaviorism and animal experimentation

To implement this concept and apply it to the study of human behavior, behavioral psychology uses a method first tested on animals.

E. L. Thorndike made enormous contributions to the study of animal behavior. His works still play a big role, including in the psychology of human behavior.

Thorndike discovered two main phenomena:

• Animals learn only by trial and error;
• During the course of research, a gradual reduction in unwanted behavior occurs in all animal species. Thorndike produced the same training schedule every time, regardless of which animal was studied.

Later, based on these studies, Watson came to the conclusion that using methods of studying animal psychology, it is possible to create laws that predict and control human behavior.

But the goal of behavioral psychology is not only to control behavior, but also to “create” it.

Pavlov's research

The most prominent studies on the formation of new behavior were and remain the works of I.P. Pavlov's dog conditioning.

Since 1914, Watson (the founder of behaviorism) began to be interested in the works of I.P. Pavlov on conditioning canine reflexes. Indeed, during his work, Pavlov established a whole set of laws about conditioning.

Conditioning is a form of relationship between a stimulus and a reflex (behavior).

It was Pavlov who discovered this phenomenon. In his research, he noticed that the smell of food, the sight of food, or even the sight of the person who usually brought the food was enough to cause dogs to salivate.

Pavlov called this phenomenon a conditioned reflex (or conditioned response), that is, a reflex that depends on environmental conditions.

Treatment

Despite the variety of methods, treatment in behavioral psychotherapy is carried out primarily according to one scheme:

Behavioral therapy is often used for children who are struggling in school. For example, the shaping method for speech therapy correction, when the main task is divided into a small chain of correct behavioral acts:

Repeat the syllable after the teacher → Read it correctly yourself → Read the whole word correctly → Read an unfamiliar word correctly → Read the whole phrase correctly

At each stage, a method of systematic desensitization is used.

Behavioral therapy is incredibly effective for autistic people. She breaks down all the skills that are difficult for them into separate blocks: speech, contact, play, listening and looking into the eyes. Each of these actions is mastered gradually.

An example of one of the very first exercises in behavioral psychotherapy for autism, “Language - Understanding”:

1. Assignment: Raise your hand when asked.
2. Hint: the specialist himself takes the child by the hand and raises it, pronouncing the task.
3. Stimulus: encouragement in the form of praise or sweets.
4. Independent completion of the task.

Autistic children perform this exercise only 5 or even 10 times.

Human conditioning

After studying Pavlov's work, J. B. Watson concluded that studies of animal conditioning provided the key to the study of human behavior.

Watson's idea, as well as all behavioral psychology, is that conditioned reflexes are the basis of human behavior in all life situations.

Examples of human conditioning

To confirm his hypothesis, Watson, together with R. Rayner, conducted one of the most unethical experiments in the history of psychology in 1920 (details here). Researchers tried to instill a fear of rats in an 11-month-old baby named Albert.

They did research: before the experiment, Albert was a fairly calm child. Early on, Watson and Rayner gave him a white rat to play with. Albert looked delighted and showed no fear.

After making sure that little Albert was not afraid of rats, the researchers began making loud noises every time they gave a rat to the child. The surprised Albert began to cry at such moments.

Then Albert began to cry and tremble even at the sight of the rat. Thus, the rat, which was a neutral stimulus, became a conditioned fear stimulus.

Additionally, the fear of the white rat has spread to other furry and white objects such as white rabbits, Santa's beard, cotton, etc.

Indications

Behavioral psychotherapy does not treat all mental disorders, but only those that are based on a clear and persistent violation of acquired skills and incorrectly developed methods of action. Indications for contacting such a specialist:

• panic attacks;
• phobias;
• obsessive-compulsive disorder;
• depression, dysthymia, bipolar affective disorder, cyclothymia, manic syndrome;
• eating disorders: bulimia, anorexia, psychogenic overeating, allotriophagia;
• sexual psychogenic problems based on psychopathy, endogenous psychoses and character accentuations;
• schizophrenia;
• antisocial, deviant behavior;
• insomnia, nightmares;
• hyperactivity;
• autism;
• poor performance at school, speech therapy problems in children.

As practice shows, therapy is effective in the treatment of many physiological diseases: hypertension, migraine, bronchial asthma, stomach problems.

Operant conditioning theory (conditioned operations)

In operant conditioning, behavior is determined not only by antecedent stimuli, but also by the various outcomes that accompany it.

The foundations of operant conditioning were laid by the behaviorist B.F. Skinner, who also tried to apply them to complex forms of behavior.

Operant conditioning takes into account the consequences of actions. This raises a fundamental question: how can behavior be influenced by its outcome?

The first answer is that a person or animal understands what their behavior can lead to and acts based on their values. That is, there is a direct connection between the result and behavior.

However, this concept is completely opposed to the position of behaviorism, which holds that any assumptions about internal states of mind, values, or intentions are unscientific.

The second option is that the result influences behavior, but indirectly. To know how, you just need to describe the external conditions that cause the behavior and the consequences associated with it.

It is this answer that Skinner takes as the basis for his research.

Differences between conditional response and conditional operation

There are two main points that clarify the difference between conditioning and operant conditioning:

• When conditioned by an external stimulus, the behavior of animals or people is not accompanied by specific consequences for the environment.

• In operant conditioning, the behavior of humans or animals has an effect on the environment that determines whether the behavior will be repeated.

In a conditioned response, behavior is associated with reflexes: it represents a reaction to a specific stimulus. In operant conditioning, responses to stimuli are viewed not as reflexes, but as complex behavior.

Operant conditioning in education

Having laid the foundations of operant conditioning, behaviorist B.F. Skinner began using them in education and therapy in the 1960s.

According to Skinner, the goal of any learning is to create new forms of behavior in the student. Thus, teaching is nothing more than creating the conditions in which students find themselves. This principle is called “ programmed learning ”.

Programmed instruction requires setting an educational goal (desired behavior) and defining steps to follow (pedagogical development) to achieve it.

Skinner advocated an education system that met the following criteria:

• Continuous interaction between the student and the taught discipline;
• Teaching only that part of the discipline that is closest to the student’s current capabilities;
• Training must correspond to the student’s capabilities and must necessarily lead to an increase in knowledge;
• The student must be actively interested in the discipline and see his results in its study;
• The possibility of errors in training should be minimized.

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To strictly adhere to these criteria, Skinner developed a "teaching machine", which in some ways is the ancestor of educational software used today.

However, Skinner's enthusiasm for creating a new educational system met cultural resistance, and his program was challenged.

Operant conditioning in therapy

In addition to the educational sphere, B.F. Skinner developed conditioning programs in the field of therapy.

Before Skinner, behavior therapy was based on classical decontamination procedures developed from the work of Pavlov.

Skinner proposed replacing these procedures with therapeutic methods based on operant conditioning. It is about replacing unwanted behavior with desirable behavior through the intervention of a therapist.

Modification of unwanted behavior can also be carried out by the patient himself. This type of behavior therapy requires good self-control. It involves teaching the patient to control the stimuli associated with the problem behavior.

Basic principles

The principles on which behavioral therapy works are constantly being updated and improved.

Patterns play a major role in disease

These are the very skills and patterns of behavior that are formed throughout a person’s life. They are the source and essence of a mental disorder, play a decisive role in its development and even cause reactions from the endocrine and autonomic systems.

Treatment methods are only proven

In behavioral psychotherapy, only those treatment methods are used that have been tested more than once in laboratory conditions and bring only positive results. No experiments on patients.

"Here and now"

As in Gestalt therapy, behavioral therapy does not use hypnosis with the goal of looking into childhood and finding there the psychological trauma that becomes the cause of all troubles in the present. The work is aimed at what is bothering a person at the moment and how to cope with this problem “here and now.”

Minimal Intrusion

The specialist does not meticulously delve into the soul, does not ask to bring out hidden thoughts and desires, does not look into the corners of the past. Maximum patient comfort and respect for his personal boundaries are one of the main principles of this direction.

Everything is relative

An alcoholic for society is a patient who requires long-term and compulsory treatment. For a psychotherapist working in the behavioral direction, this is the same person as everyone else, but he has formed an incorrect attitude towards alcohol, which can be corrected.

The opposite situation. Most members of society live the rest of their days with phobias and do not find it necessary to get rid of them (unless they take a pathological form). Nobody considers them sick. And in behavioral psychotherapy these are the main patients. So here they emphasize the relativity of such concepts as “norm-deviation” and “health-illness”.

Psychotherapist - dominant

When you come to see a psychotherapist, you don’t need to try to explain your experiences and formulate the problem. The “speaking out” technique is practically not used here. The main tool is dialogue, and the leading role in it is played by the specialist. He asks questions according to a certain pattern, and after making a diagnosis he gives tasks and exercises. So, if you want to cry into your vest, this is definitely not the place.

Using outside help

This cannot be called family psychotherapy, since it does not work with common problems. Sometimes people close to the patient can be invited to classes, but only for the purpose of helping him consolidate (or, conversely, “unfasten”) a skill.

Personality in behaviorism

One of the main misconceptions is that supposedly behavioral psychology denies the existence of human consciousness and opposes the study of thought.

But this is not true: although Watson (the founder of behaviorism) objected to the study of internal psychological phenomena, Skinner (by far the most famous behaviorist) argued that they could be studied and investigated. It's just that, according to Skinner, these internal processes are too difficult to observe, so he did not take them into account in his research.

Skinner assumed that people cannot control their behavior. He argued that behavior depends only on the environment.

Skinner clearly advocated determinism and refused to attribute people's achievements to their qualities or mental processes (although he recognized them), such as motivation, thinking, goal setting, etc.

Skinner himself writes about himself in his biography, published in 1983: “As far as I know, my behavior at any given time was nothing more than the result of my genetic background, personal history and environmental conditions.”

Behaviorism in everyday life

Conditioning can be seen in many areas of life: from schools to mental hospitals, from the world of sports to prisons.

When the ideas of behaviorism are used in a natural environment, we can talk about natural behavior change.

Examples of behavior change

The goal of behavior change is to replace destructive behavior with more productive behavior.

Below are several effects of using positive psychology methods. Behaviorism - examples from life:

Speech correction

Behavioral psychology allows children with autism who do not speak at all to develop a vocabulary of several hundred words. The same applies to people who have suffered brain damage.

Independence

Behavioral psychology helps adults with intellectual disabilities communicate with others and be more independent. This allows them to develop social skills, perform daily tasks, and even hold down a good job.

Teaching children

The principle of behavior change is very often used when raising children. Potty training is a good example.

Music or sports training

The acquisition of new skills is achieved through repetition of certain actions.

Getting rid of unwanted behavior

Behavioral psychology effectively helps to get rid of bad habits.

Formation of new behavior

Most of the examples mentioned above relate to the learning of “complex” behavior, that is, actions that cannot occur spontaneously (playing the piano, speaking, etc.) For this type of behavior, learning occurs through the formation of new skills and habits.

The results of such training are excellent and sometimes very surprising. For example, B.F. Skinner, the initiator of this method, managed to teach pigeons to play ping-pong with their beaks!

More seriously: behavioral psychology is usually used to train guide dogs, to teach children cleanliness and socializing with peers, etc.

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What it is

Behavioral psychotherapy is one of the most effective and popular areas in psychology and psychotherapy. Considers some mental illnesses as a consequence of incorrectly formed skills during life.

The scientific basis for it was behaviorism, so its alternative names are behavioral-behavioral therapy or simply behavioral therapy. It is considered one of the newest methods, although in fact it has been used for a long time: its features can be seen in the combination-reflex therapy of Bekhterev, the practical application of Pavlov’s conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, the systematic desensitization of M. K. Jones - all this was actively introduced already in the 20s gg. XX century. Even the term itself was born in 1911 (it was first used by Thorndike in his writings).

The goal of behavioral therapy is to eliminate incorrect behavior strategies and instill useful skills in the patient. Typically, treatment follows a well-established scheme:

Behavior analysis → Identification of an incorrectly formed way of activity → Step-by-step correction by instilling a new skill → Practicing, training → Checking how successfully it can be applied in real life

Everyone is so accustomed to the fact that the root of any evil (be it physical or mental illness) lies in the causes and without eliminating them, recovery is impossible, that the behavioral direction in psychotherapy at first was often criticized and even ridiculed. However, soon his opponents and ill-wishers were defeated, since this method has no equal when working with phobias, eating disorders, autism and alcohol addiction. Patients are completely freed from them. Other concepts cannot boast of such results.

Through the pages of history. Despite the fact that behavioral psychotherapy took shape as an independent direction only in the 50s of the 20th century, its methods have been used in the USSR since the 20s. In the Soviet scientific literature of those times it was referred to as “conditioned reflex psychotherapy.”

Punishment and behavioral psychology

If conditioning can be effective in changing or creating new behavior, can it also be used to aggressively suppress unwanted behavior?

Sometimes it happens that depending on the circumstances, support alone is not enough, and punishment is also necessary. For example, if a child hits one of his friends, or if he climbs into something he doesn’t want (gas stove, washing machine).

In these cases, punishment can be effective. However, the reprimand must be given immediately (sometimes a simple “no!” may be enough).

When can punishment be harmful?

A harsh reprimand can have negative consequences if it is too harsh or unjustified. Here are the main risks associated with punishment:

• There is no connection with good behavior.

Punishment makes the punished person understand that his behavior is inappropriate. But if there are no clear rules on how to behave, then punishment does not lead to the formation of better behavior.

• Temporary effect.

The consequences of a reprimand are often short-lived and highly dependent on the person imposing the punishment.

• Negative emotions of a person being punished.

The person who has been reprimanded may react with fear or anger. He may begin to fear or even hate the person who punished him or the place where he was punished.

• Delay between action and reprimand.

If punishment does not immediately follow reprehensible behavior, it will not be beneficial. In everyday life it is often difficult to react instantly.

Thus, the distinction between the positive and negative effects of punishment is quite fragile.

This fuels a debate about child-rearing practices: Should we punish them?

Methods

Imitative (observational, vicarious) learning through observation (modeled)

Basis: A. Bandura's theory of social learning.

Essence: The patient is taught a new skill through the process of imitating another person (a psychotherapist, a movie or book character).

Example: Diagnosis - Aichmophobia. During the sessions, the specialist gradually accustoms the person to the idea that nothing bad will happen to him if he uses a needle, knife, fork, razor, or nails in everyday life, demonstrating his skillful use of them.

Basic techniques: self-modeling (replaying successful moments in the patient’s behavior), prompting (encouragement), fading (reducing rewards as the desired form of behavior is consolidated).

Role-playing training (role play)

Basis: imagotherapy, play therapy.

Essence: Playing out a problematic situation for the patient. Moreover, he can play himself, or a psychotherapist can take on his role so that he can see how his behavior looks from the outside.

Example: Diagnosis - alcohol addiction. A romantic dinner situation is being played out. First, the therapist demonstrates the incorrect (true) behavior of his client, how he gets drunk and ruins the date. Then it shows the successful outcome of the event - if you abstain from alcohol. The patient himself participates in the third act.

Basic techniques: group training, confrontation, systematic desensitization.

Biofeedback (BFB procedure)

Basis: theories of conditioned reflexes of Sechenov and Pavlov, cortico-visceral connections of Bykov, functional systems of Anokhin, stable pathological conditions of Bekhterev.

Essence: Equipment is connected to the patient, with the help of which his physical condition is monitored. Along the way, a session is carried out with exercises and tasks. For every successful decision there is a “reward” in the form of relaxing and pleasant sensations that are created by the same equipment.

Example: Diagnosis - depression. The devices record high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, heavy breathing, hand tremors and other reactions from the autonomic system. The psychotherapist gives the patient the task of relaxation and peace, liberation from heavy, obsessive thoughts. As soon as he succeeds, he hears pleasant music, sees a beautiful clip on the computer monitor, and is treated to something tasty.

Basic technique: physiological mirror.

These are the main treatment methods used in behavioral psychotherapy. Other techniques may also be used:

• aversive therapy (weaning off addictions);
• systematic desensitization (reducing sensitivity to what causes anxiety and phobias);
• implosion therapy (reintegration of suppressed emotions through immersion in traumatic memories);
• shaping (a multi-step process, practicing a new skill through positive and negative reinforcements);
• method of auto-instructions / self-instruction training (use of inner speech to regulate behavior);
• stress vaccination therapy / stress vaccination / stress vaccination training (learning self-control techniques to help cope with traumatic and stressful situations);
• applied behavior analysis;
• “thought stopping” method.

Treatment methods are selected depending on the diagnosis.

Perspectives on behavioral psychology

The behavioral approach in psychology assumes that all people have the same potential, and only differences in the environment contribute to the development of unique personality traits.

Although the idea that “we are the result of conditioning” seems rather pessimistic, for behaviorists this position offers promising educational and therapeutic prospects.

If a person depends solely on the environment, then by changing this environment, you can radically influence his life. Changes in the environment would make it possible to change human behavior and even prevent the formation of bad habits or the development of mental illness.

Behavioral psychology - books

We offer you a list of 4 books that reveal the phenomenon of human behavior.

1. “Coping behavior. Current state and prospects” – a team of authors.

The book is addressed to a wide range of specialists interested in the adaptive capabilities of a person faced with difficult life situations.

2. “How to find the key to solving any situation. 30 rules for effective communication, conflict resolution, behavior management” - Larisa Bolshakova.

This book contains thirty new psychological techniques. How to avoid a conflict situation and find a compromise? How to find a key to any person? What to do to overcome aggression? And much more!

3. “Organizational behavior” – Lyudmila Zgonnik.

The book examines the essence of organizational behavior, various aspects of managing the behavior of individuals and groups in an organization.

4. “The power of habit. Why we live and work this way and not otherwise” - Charles Duhig.

Duhigg's observations and discoveries largely complement and develop the ideas of Nobel Prize laureate in economics Daniel Kahneman, author of the best-selling book “Thinking Slow... Decide Fast.”

The book is recommended for reading to everyone who is working on themselves and wants to change their life!

Directions

Behavioral psychotherapy is evolving and has several branches.

Dialectical-behavioral psychotherapy

In 1987, the American psychologist M. Linehan gave birth to a new direction, which was called dialectical behavioral psychotherapy.

The goal is to treat borderline personality disorders.

Results:

• the risk of an emotional reaction to traumatic situations is reduced;
• the risk of suicide, aggression, and deviant behavior is reduced.

Dialectical psychotherapy received this name because the patient begins to realize that even the most hopeless situation has several ways of successful resolution. During the course of treatment, he learns to be calm, weigh the pros and cons, and choose the best outcome.

This is the eclectic movement of the “third wave”. Methods used: problem analysis, involvement in action, effective communication, non-judgment, meditative techniques, self-soothing, etc.