Arthur W. Staats’ Psychological Behaviorism

Psychological behaviorism believes that personality can be explained by observation of behavior. Watson developed a general theory of behaviorism, encompassing psychological behaviorism, in 1912. Skinner later expanded this theory with his own radical behaviorism. The statutes ’subsequent procedures focus on discussing psychological behaviorism that emphasizes an individual’s personality and inner world.

Arthur W. Staats ’psychological behaviorism extends the scope of behaviorism to psychology. For this reason, it is popularly assumed that we can explain psychology by observing visible human behavior. Psychology encompasses a person’s personality, learning, and emotional world.

Staats was the first to suggest in this regard that personality consist of a repertoire of learned behaviors. These behaviors stem from an individual’s interaction with the environment, biology, cognition, and emotions. This theory of personality is a basic component of psychological behaviorism, and distinguishes it from earlier theories of behaviorism.

Psychological behaviorism and personality

According to Staats, personality theory consists of three patterns of behavior:

• Sensor-motor behavior model that includes sensor-motor as well as attention and social skills.
• Cognitive-linguistic behavior model.
• Emotion-based and influential behavior model.

The newborn lacks all three patterns of behavior. As you grow, your child learns these and is better able to deal with and face different situations. The individual perceives his life through his emotional life and mental trauma, and develops patterns of basic behaviors for himself.

The repertoire and basic life experiences of basic human behaviors influence behavior and, consequently, personality as well. According to this theory, biology itself interacts with the environment and influences the formation of the human personality.

On the other hand, psychological behaviorism takes into account the importance of personality research. Personality tests are at the heart of the model and should include allowing professionals to make predictions about how different people behave and what potential risk groups they belong to.

Personality tests also help verify how different environments and contexts favor certain patterns of behavior. This in turn helps to create an environment that produces the intended use. In the same way, the development of unwanted patterns of behavior can also be prevented.

Psychological behaviorism and learning

According to psychological behaviorism, as a child develops, he learns basic patterns of behavior that can be used to learn more complex patterns of behavior. This development is called cumulative learning. According to psychological behaviorism, this type of learning is only possible for humans.

According to this cumulative learning model, when a child learns a pattern of behavior, such as his or her mother tongue, he or she is able to use this in learning other behavioral repertoires, such as reading his or her mother tongue and grammar.  Behavior patterns in reading and grammar, in turn, lead to the learning of other more complex behaviors.

Static research emphasizes the importance of education. He testified that it was the language teaching of children as well as cognitive development at a young age that led to more advanced language development. This also led to higher intelligence in intelligence tests. Many other studies have supported these conclusions.

Psychological behaviorism and language

Staats refers to how many different words can provoke a positive or negative emotional response. According to psychological behaviorism, tunneled words have two additional functions. First, they help learn other patterns of behavior. Second, they provoke evaluative or evasive patterns of behavior.

Psychological behaviorism explores many different features and aspects of language. For example, this article by Staats, published in the journal Behavior Therapy in 1972, helped introduce the language of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to the realm of Behavioral Sciences.

Behavioral disorders

Psychological behaviorism does not accept mental health problems or illnesses. Instead, the abnormal patterns of behavior learned according to this theory lead to behavioral disorders. The absence of important patterns of behavior that could help an individual handle situations better can also lead to behavioral disorders.

Psychological behaviorism combats mental illness and instead states that behavioral disorders are due to a lack of assimilation of the necessary basic patterns of behavior.

Because of this, psychological behaviorism suggests that behavioral associations can be used to treat behavioral disorders. The theory also refers to the identification and prevention of conditions associated with behavioral disorders in the prevention of behavioral disorders.