Behaviorism – NeobehavioristsThree Stages of BehaviorismEdward Chace Tolman (1886-1959)E.C. TolmanPurposive BehaviorismSlide 6The Big 5Intervening VariablesAn ExampleLearning TheoryCognitive MapContributions to PsychologyContributions to MethodologyClark Leonard HullClark HullSlide 16Slide 17The Spirit of MechanismObjective Methodology and Quantification…the what?For example…Hypothetico-Deductive MethodDrives2 Kinds of DriveLearningSlide 26Critiques of HullSlide 28Discussion QuestionsSlide 30Slide 31Slide 32DISCUSSION QUESTIONSSlide 34FRIDAY, MARCH 20TH, 2015BEHAVIORISM – NEOBEHAVIORISTSTHREE STAGES OF BEHAVIORISM•Watson’s behaviorism was the first stage (1913-1930)•Second was neobehaviorism (1930-1960), favored by Tolman, Hull, and Skinner–Agreed that the core of psychology is the study of learning, that most behavior (no matter how complex) could be accounted for by conditioning–Still, Tolman and Hull were not as radical/extreme as Watson and Skinner•Third, sociobehaviorism (1960-1990), favored by Bandura and Rotter–Returned to the consideration of cognitive processes while maintaining a focus on the observation of overt behaviorEDWARD CHACE TOLMAN (1886-1959)E.C. TOLMAN•Started in engineering at MIT but switched to study psychology at Harvard in the tradition of structuralism•Studied in Germany with the Gestalt psychologist Kurt Koffka•Had begun to doubt the methods of introspection, and he treated Watson’s behaviorism as a “tremendous stimulus and relief” (Tolman, 1962, p. 326)•Later decided that Watson’s behaviorism wasn’t quite up to par and set out to develop his ownPURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM•Purposive behaviorism: Tolman’s system combining the objective study of behavior with the consideration of purposiveness or goal orientation in behavior–Wait…doesn’t purpose kind of imply consciousness? –Tolman argued that purposiveness can be explained behaviorally, without using terms like consciousness or introspection–He gave learning as an objective marker of purpose (e.g., a cat learning to escape a puzzle box)PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM•Watsonian behaviorists didn’t like this at all!•Still, Tolman thought that purpose, learning, and behavior still happened the same way, whether there was consciousness or not•He was only interested in overt responses to this purposeTHE BIG 5•According to Tolman, there were five independent stimuli that caused behavior:–Environmental stimuli–Physiological drives–Heredity–Previous training–Age•He believed these five stimuli combined to create all behaviors – which ones were just a matter of equationINTERVENING VARIABLES•Somewhere between these stimuli and responses were intervening variables–Intervening variables: unobserved and inferred factors within the organism that are the actual determinants of behavior–Instead of stimulus response, Tolman thought it should be stimulus intervening variable response•Unfortunately, because these were unobservable, they were unable to be studied in behavioral psychologyAN EXAMPLE•Hunger is a good example of an intervening variable•It cannot be seen, but it can be objectively and accurately related to the amount of time since last food•It can also be related to the corresponding response, such as how much or the speed of eating•With examples like these, Tolman operationalized intervening variablesLEARNING THEORY•Didn’t care for Thorndike’s law of effect•Preferred a more cognitive explanation, such that repeated performance of a task strengthens the learned relationship between environmental cues and the organism’s expectations•Learning is not about reinforcement, according to Tolman – it is just getting to know one’s environment using cues that Tolman called “Gestalts”•Because the learning is the goal, not the rewardCOGNITIVE MAP•Consider a rat in a maze – the rat establishes a cognitive map, or a comprehensive picture of the maze, which Tolman referred to as a pattern of Gestalts•Motivated by the intervening variable (again, NOT the reinforcement), this pattern is what the rat learnsCONTRIBUTIONS TO PSYCHOLOGY•Tolman’s purposive behaviorism, intervening variables, and learning theory would inspire a lot of great work in cognitive psychologyCONTRIBUTIONS TO METHODOLOGY•Tolman really hated rats at first–“I don’t like them. They make me feel creepy” (Tolman, 1919, quoted in Innis, 1992, p. 191)•But he came around–“They are marvelous, pure, and delightful” (Tolman, 1945, p. 166)•This inspired the use of the lab rat throughout all of science – they were considered generalizable–“Everything important in psychology can be investigated in essence through the continued experimental and theoretical analysis of the determiners of rat behavior at a choice point in a maze” (quoted in Innis, 2000, p. 92)CLARK LEONARD HULLCLARK HULL•A gifted mathematician and brilliant with applying logic to the scientific method•Brought a complexity to behaviorism that was much more thought-out than Watson’s behaviorism•“Watson is too naïve. His behaviorism is too simple and crude” (quoted in Gengerelli, 1976, p. 686)CLARK HULL•Plagued by illness for his entire life•Had to interrupt his schooling multiple times in order to work and pay for medical bills•I mean, he had: typhoid and resulting memory impairments, polio, a disabled leg that required a brace, the list goes on!•Initially studied mining and engineering•Finally got his PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1908 at age 34CLARK HULL•Some early research interests of his included:•The effects of tobacco on behavioral efficiency•Tests and measurements•Statistical analysis •Calculating correlations•Also did work on more subjective subject matter:•Concept formation•Hypnosis and suggestibility•Read Pavlov and became an authority on conditioning and behaviorist theory•He was the man to cite if you were studying learning or motivationTHE SPIRIT OF MECHANISM•Hull was definitely a mechanist•Thought all human behavior, even language, could be reduced to the laws of the physical universe•Regarded humans as “extraordinary machines,” but machines nonetheless that would likely be recreated in true machine form (quoted in Amsel & Rashotte, 1984, pp. 2-3)OBJECTIVE METHODOLOGY AND QUANTIFICATION•Drawing from his background in mechanism, he wanted his methods to be objective•Drawing from
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