Development and Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Development and Diversity - Essay Example According to Watson’s Behaviorism, behaviors can be measured, trained and changed. John B. Watson claims, â€Å"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take anyone at random and train him to become any specialist I might select†¦doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.† This idea of behaviorism was advanced further through the publication of Watson’s classic paper Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It (1913). Miller (1983) adds that behaviorism, or behavioral psychology is based on the argument that all behavior is acquired through conditioning which takes place through contact and interaction with the environment, and therefore, it is the responses to our environmental conditions that shape our behavior. Behavior is considered in a systematic and observable manner with no weight on internal mental states such as mood and emotions which are argued to be purely subjective. It takes only conditioning for any person to be trained to perform any function completely independent of things such as genetic background, personality or thoughts. There are two main types of conditioning in behaviorism. The first type is the classical conditioning which is a method of conditioning in which a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a response then a previously neutral stimulus paired with a naturally occurring stimulus. It is seen that, in the end, the previously neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus) elicits the response (conditioned response) in the absence of naturally occurring stimulus. The second type of conditioning called the operant conditioning or the instrumental conditioning takes place via rewards and punishments for behavior and therefore a relationship is drawn between a behavior and a consequence for that particular behavior. As

Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Response Paper - Essay Example The arguments presented by the defense about the murderer are mere excuses. If the argument is to hold true for this man, what would be the explanation for the same situation if an all-round nurtured individual is involved? There are individuals who are brought up by loving parents, provided with anything they desire, well educated, and in good careers who still engage in similar or worse crimes. In the event that the argument is considered viable, then individuals who are brought up in favorable environments should never commit crimes. However, this is not the case. People who engage in crime exhibit all kinds of backgrounds; good and bad. In this regard, this man is much less of an environmental product. Wallowing and self-pity best describes the personality and character of this man. The man has totally accepted that the state he is in is the best life can offer. He, therefore, views every other thing that happened to his life in the past as a complementing factor to the situation. The society cannot be accused of neglect when the defendant has not been said to have tried to get some help from charitable agencies. The situation is more of a choice than a result of the unfolding events. As a result, this man is fully responsible for his actions. While the fact that the man has had a difficult past cannot be disputed, there are other alternative choices available to him than taking his past as an excuse in the situation. It is openly evident that all persons that have been previously charged with the crimes outlined in the situation did not necessarily share the same experiences with this man. For instance, drugs are expensive, and even the rich and wealthy engage in drug use and end up addicted to these drugs. There are others who have realized their wealth from robbing and related actions. In other words, the experiences of this man