John Broadus Watson

Introduction

John Broadus Watson is known as a 'Founder of Behaviorism'. He was a vigorous writer and his writings give additional insight into his 'Behaviorism'.

The major contribution of John B. Watson is his redefinition of psychology from the science of the mind to the science of behavior. He became famous for his views on behaviorism. He was a man of change. He constantly modified and revised his perspective of himself. Though J. B. Watson's research and theoretical contributions are controversial, his study of behaviorism laid foundation for today's psychology and its application to the world of advertising.

Childhood

John Watson was born in Greenville, South Carolina on January 9, 1878. His mother was Emma. His father was Pickens Watson. They lost their riches during the civil war. Watson was the fourth child of the six.

His Adolescence

Watson himself has admitted that he was lazy and rebellious. In his early adolescence, he had a fighting nature. He was even arrested twice, one of the reasons being firing a gun within the city limits of Greenville.

A Turning Point

After his father, Pickens, left home, John's school work slipped. His discipline or lack of it became a problem for his teachers and mother equally. His behavior worsened, which included mocking teachers, boxing with other children and also assaulting black children while he walked home from the school. He was also known as 'Infant Terror' among his teachers. After his short arrest, his violent behavior changed. There was a sudden turn in his life, when he was accepted by Furman University. This event affected his mind to great extent. As a result, he focused major portion of his time concentrating on academic career.

Education

Enrollment at Furman University was Watson's first exposure to academic environment. Here he was deeply affected by a teacher, Gordon Moore, who introduced him to psychology. It was ironic that Watson's first introduction to psychology was through introspective study. Later philosophy which was discounted, was through behaviorism. It is worth noting that initially he did not disregard this psychology but he contained it under the protection of his new-found mentor.

He continued his studies, and proved to be an intelligent student. He joined the University of Chicago for further studies. It was in this University, where Gordon Moore was also positioned. He focused himself on philosophy. John was persuaded to pay major attention to experimental psychology with philosophy as minor by the influence of Dr. Angell, who was Professor at Chicago. He became interested in the fields of animal study and comparative psychology, while studying at the University of Chicago. It is said that he disliked the use of human subjects in experiments, he was feeling 'at home' with animals. He was convinced that the man was only a biological mechanism. He studied this prospect intensively until he got the degree of M. A. at the age of 21.

Watson continued his studies on animal behavior. He wrote his dissertation on the "Relation Between Behavior in the White rat and the growth of its Nervous System".

He soon received his doctorate and became a professor of psychology of Johns Hopkins University. During this period of his career, he earned the title of "Founder of Behaviorism".