Behaviourist Psychology
The main assumption of behaviourism is that we are born a blank slate and all behaviour is learnt from the environment. This concept looks at the notion of motivation and reviews the impact of system-wide factors on the individual.
Technique Overview
Behaviourist Psychology Definition
Behaviourist Psychology, or Behaviourism, is a branch of psychology based on the principles of John B. Watson. It espouses the belief that the study of human behaviour can be more scientific as "behaviours can be measured, trained and changed" (Watson, 1913). This school of thought puts forth the idea that learning leads to permanent behavioural change and that this change is largely determined by the environment. The term 'conditioning', therefore, is extensively used when applying these principles to real-life situations (Ormrod, 1999).
Behaviourist Psychology Description *
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Strengths, weaknesses and examples of Behaviourist Psychology *
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Implementation, success factors and measures of Behaviourist Psychology *
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Further Reading
Behaviourist Psychology web and print resources *
Behaviourist Psychology references (4 of up to 20) *
- Amabile, T.M. (1985) Motivation and Creativity: Effects of Motivational Orientation on Creative Writers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 48, pp. 393-399.
- Argyris, C. (2008) Teaching Smart People How to Learn. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
- Brown, P. (2009) Group Versus Individual Compensation Schemes for Senior Executives and Firm Performance. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Technology, Sydney.
- Chiang, F.F.T. and Birtch, T.A. (2006) An Empirical Examination of Reward Preferences within and across National Settings. Management International Review. Vol. 46(5), pp. 573-596.
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