Behavioral Psychology and Educational Counseling:
An Overview of Selected Origins, Current Research and the Application Implications for the Academic and Career Counseling of College Students
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
This objectivity was honed with decades of experimentation on animal test subjects and Watson (1924) later worked diligently to also apply his rigorous experimentation methodology to human test subjects in controlled laboratory settings. Watson synthesized this with, “Our studies on the formation of habits in both the human and animal realms have lacked theoretical guidance, nevertheless much information valuable for psychology has been obtained from them” (p. 25). The basis of Watson’s “behaviorism” (p. 3) rested primarily upon two talking points: that behavior was empirical data for psychological study; and, that there was a lack of the existence of ‘consciousness.’ The third of four principal points, concerning the platform of the behaviorist’s position, was that, given a pronounced, effective stimulus, there would instantly be a response and that given a response, there would regularly be some sort of stimulus. Watson (1924) was very clear about this when he definitively stated that, “It is the business of behavioristic psychology to be able to predict and to control human activity.” In order to be able to accomplish this feat, he maintained that researchers needed to obtain raw, empirical data through scientific experimentation. Through the use of this methodology, he confirmed that it was indeed possible for the experienced, schooled, behavioral researcher to forecast a given response, relating to a given stimulus, and that the researcher could determine and state the precipitating stimulus for a given response. So, not only did behaviorism seek to scientifically determine that there was a stimulus-response relationship involved with observable behavior, but also, Watson contended that the purpose of behaviorism and behavioristic psychology was to predict and to control human activity (p. 11)!
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Of the various schools of psychology that have evolved in the twentieth century, the behavioral school has made contributions to an evolving framework of how behavior could be more empirically and critically studied (Watson, 1924) and how the resultant learning could be used to foster improvements in teaching and learning (and as a by-product, counseling) in the public school system (Thorndike, 1932). Although Thorndike started his work earlier than Watson, they both performed critical research into behavior simultaneously at different locations and under different assumptions and circumstances. Edward L. Thorndike's theory of connectionism laid the foundations for what later became John B. Watson's theory of behaviorism. Although Watson (much later) attempted to refute Thorndike's connectionism, the primary sources indicated that both theories did overlap and that both Thorndike and Watson provided a conceptual basis for behavioral theory. The two theories shared a commonality and mutually reinforced one another's theoretical groundwork upon which the other theorists in the behavioral school later researched and published.
About the Author
Nicholas Jewczyn (pronounced JEFF’ - sin) was graduated from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in remedial front-line management of health care environments. He earned this degree while working full-time on active duty in the military as a result of the G.I. Bill. After working in business for over twenty years, his Master of Business Administration was taken at the New York Institute of Technology where he was graduated at the top of his class with a cumulative 3.95 GPA and a 4.0 GPA in his specializations. Mr. Jewczyn’s major specialization was in Finance and his minor was in Economics. While at N.Y.I.T., he was inducted into Omicron Delta Epsilon for outstanding achievement in the Field of Economics as a graduate student (2007). After a stint of several terms as a college professor, teaching 7 courses per term at three college campuses onsite in the disciplines of Accounting, Business, Finance, and Economics, Mr. Jewczyn was inducted into Phi Delta Kappa for excellence in teaching at the collegiate level (2009). Mr. Jewczyn designed his own Ph.D. program in Business with a specialization in International Economics, a field composed of the component specialties of International Finance and International Trade. This book on Psychology and Counseling grew out of a research paper, that was foundational research in his doctoral program, to help establish the learning gleaned from the rational expectations of economic agents in aggregate economies. His cumulative Ph.D. program GPA is a 4.0 and Mr. Jewczyn looks forward to completing his dissertation next year. His Prospectus for Dissertation Research has been accepted and is on the subjects of Corporate Valuation and Profit Generation. Mr. Jewczyn looks forward to teaching more college classes (onsite and online) and has performed a variety of Business Consulting roles nationwide.