Where is behaviorism manifested? ARe there advantages as well as disadvantages of being a behaviorist?

Question

Where is behaviorism manifested? ARe there advantages as well as disadvantages of being a behaviorist?

Answer 1

Yes; often times if you want results, a behaviorist will deliver. In the field, they're often working with individuals with severe learning disabilities. The direct cause and effect approach is most effective there. Also animal training (homing pidgeons, police or drug dogs, etc) is also a very profitable line of work and requires a good understanding of behaviorism. The disadvantages are that they're being limited by refusing to acknowledge cognitive processes.

Answer 2

First up, behaviorism,in social science anyhow, is the perspective of using behavior as the unit of analysis - which means no culture, no rational choice, no structuralism, no institutional theory etc...  It is all about the idea that behavior is a function of its consequence.  BF Skinner was completely unconcerned with interpretation or anything else that wasn't measured by behavior consequence.

  The advantages are that it has lead to the "Law of Behavior", which does work for shaping peoples' behaviors, at least until they realize that is what you are trying to do. If you've ever watched "Super Nanny" you will see many of the techniques she uses to remedy the familial problem are by using reinforcers, punishers and extinction.  Dr Phil occasionally dips into the behaviorist realm when he structures peoples' routines so that the employ reinforcers themselves to "poor choice" behaviors. Being a behaviorist researcher offers you easier empirical work since you don't have to rely on proxys for things like attitude, trust, self-efficacy and such which can always lead to some discussion whether you are really measuring what you think you are.

  The disadvantage is that behaviorists ignore cognitive interpretation, association and they assume that there is no such entity as free will.  Free will aside, the interpretation of the cues which cause the behaviors of what is studied are complex and offer explanatory potential for why people do things over and above simple cues - as - antecedents. So, behaviorist miss out on the importance of, again, cognition, culture, rational choice, structure and so on.

  As far as where it has manifested, outside of erverywhere in western culture, you can find easy examples in industry. An employee working on a piece-rate system, or a sales rep on commission could be viewed as driven by a behavioral theoretic system. Although, if the employee does not respond to the incentive system, a true behaviorist would focus on redesigning the system and reshaping the employees' cues for behavior, whereas the typical employer would blame the employee for lack of motivation, comittment or aptitude. Behaviorists make excellent animal trainers.

Answer 3

I think behaviors manifested with the dawn of human beings. we had to learn to communicate with oneonather there for certain behaviors came about. as time has gone by our behaviors have evolved. some for the better, some for the worse. now by behaviorist, i am having trouble understanding what you mean by that term. is it common to find annoyances in mis behaving children and idiocracy? why are people the way they are?  does it make me a behaviorist to think that people need to be more responsible for their actions? is that a bad thing?