Explaining Childrens Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Explaining Childrens Development - Essay ExampleHis commentary of this approach was highly practical. Thus, Watson believed psychology should be a purely objective field of knowledge utilize to accurately predict and control human behaviour and development. Introspection and self-analysis are useless if use to psychology and there is no difference between humans and animals. In fact, Watson neglected the concept of the informed and unconscious as such (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002).Formulating his views Watson relied primarily on the Ivan Pavlovs discovery of the mechanism of classical learn. Pavlovs studies of bounders digestion transformed the roughhewn understanding of learning and development. The scientist carried out a series of experiments in order to test his initial conclusions. He provided a sound or light signal that was immediately followed by some food rigid in the dogs moth. The dog started to perceive the signal in conjunction with the food and after seve ral repetitions the dog salivated immediately after the signal even without any food. This fact made Pavlov introduce a fresh psycho-physiological concept of a conditional stimulus in distinction to an unconditioned stimulus (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002 170-171). Although Pavlov revealed the phenomenon of classical conditioning during experimental studies, which involved animals, the key principle of this process proved valid in human behaviour too. Watson described an example of the classical conditioning in human beings. Albert, an infant with a pet rat, was not afraid of it until once Watson banged a metal plate while the boy was reaching for his pet. Subsequently, Albert started to demonstrate attention of the rat (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002 172). Another good example of the classical conditioning in human behaviour is the bell-and-pad proficiency that is often used to cope with bed-wetting in children. Two perforated metal sheets connected to a low-tension bomb ing are placed under the bed sheet. When a child moistens the bed urine short-circuits the sheets, and the battery produces a laud alarm making the child wake up. After several alarms the child is sufficient to wake up without the alarm the sensation of a full bladder is finally connected to the want of waking up (Lattal & Chase, 2003). skinner further elaborated on the behaviourist conception of behaviour by paying attention not only to stimuli resulting in certain patterns of behaviour, but also exploring the stimuli affecting the sham after performance. In a series of experiments involving rats and pigeons that were rewarded with food for pressing a lever in the muleteer box, the scientist observed that positive stimuli led to more frequent repetition of the act that caused them he called such stimuli reinforcers (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002 175-176). Skinner recognised situational influences as predominant factors that cause different reactions of children. The react ions largely depend upon the previous experience and genetic code of individual. Skinner also believed that analysis of specific mental states, which had been so popular in psychoanalytical