Slave resistance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Slave resistance - Essay Example the behaviors exhibited by individuals are observable and does not necessarily require the observation of their mental states in order to explain their behaviors in the environments that they live in (New & Cochran, 2007). However, Watson indicated that observable behaviors are the only ones that can be included in the observation rather than those that include subjective emotions. Drawing on this, this essay will delve into the concept of behaviorism with a focus on learning behavior based on the research findings of Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s rats. Essentially, behaviorists deem that people can receive training in order for them to execute various tasks irrespective of their genetic composition or their personalities as long as the conditioning is the right one. In this regard, the two types of conditioning are classical and operant conditioning in which most of the adherents of behaviorism abide by. In essence, operant conditioning is a learning method that involves the inclusion of rewards or punishments depending on the behavior exhibited. On the other hand, classical conditioning is another form of behavioral training method whereby there is a natural response in terms of behavior to the stimulating factor applied (New & Cochran, 2007). The terms used to define the two factors applied in this form of conditioning are conditioned stimulus and response. Based on this school of thought, Russian Psychologist Pavlov applied the conditioned response drawing from the behavior that his dogs portrayed when it came to them salivatin g whether or not their master brought food during his entry into the room that they were in. Through research, Pavlov discovered the salivating behavioral trait that dogs tend to have is not a trainable behavior, meaning that the response is unconditioned indicating food is not the only stimulant that provokes this response. In the course of Pavlov’s research, this psychologist unearthed that dogs salivated or exhibited the same