What does behaviorism mean?
Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that defines the discipline's subject matter as observable behavior rather than unobservable mental states such as thoughts, feelings, or consciousness. Emerging in the early twentieth century, most prominently with John B. Watson's 1913 manifesto, behaviorism held that psychology could become a truly objective natural science only by studying how organisms respond to environmental stimuli. Its most famous later exponent, B. F. Skinner, developed radical behaviorism, emphasizing how consequences—reinforcement and punishment—shape future action. Behaviorism dominated American psychology from roughly the 1920s to the 1950s, yielding practical successes in learning theory, animal training, and behavioral therapy, before being eclipsed by the 'cognitive revolution,' which restored the mind to center stage. Today the term is chiefly historical, though its legacy persists in applied behavior analysis and habit-formation techniques.
nounA school of psychology that holds that human and animal behavior can be studied scientifically through observable actions, rejecting introspection of internal mental states as a legitimate subject of study. More broadly, it refers to any doctrine or approach that treats behavior as the primary object of analysis.
- The psychological school holding that only observable behavior, not internal mental states, is a proper subject of scientific study.
- Any doctrine or methodology that analyzes conduct purely in terms of observable responses to stimuli, especially in philosophy of mind or social science.
"Watson's brand of behaviorism insisted that psychology should concern itself only with what could be observed and measured."
"Skinner's radical behaviorism rejected appeals to inner states entirely, explaining all conduct as shaped by reinforcement."
"Critics argued that behaviorism could not account for language acquisition without positing innate cognitive structures."
Rarely pluralized except when distinguishing among different schools or varieties of the doctrine (e.g., methodological vs. radical).
"Historians of psychology distinguish several competing behaviorisms that flourished between the world wars."
Behaviorists like B.F. Skinner were so committed to ignoring the mind that they treated it as an unknowable 'black box' — yet their training techniques live on in everything from dog obedience to your favorite apps' reward loops.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of behaviorism
Behaviorism derives from the English verb 'behave' (from Middle English, combining 'be-' with 'have'), combined with the noun-forming suffix '-ism', which denotes a doctrine or school of thought. It was coined in English in the early twentieth century, around the time John B. Watson formalized the school in 1913. Cognate forms include the adjective 'behavioral' and the agent noun 'behaviorist'.
Related word forms
How behaviorism is actually used
The spelling 'behaviourism' is standard in British English. The term is largely historical in contemporary psychology, where cognitive approaches dominate; it often carries a slightly dated or polemical flavor when used today.
Easily confused with behaviorism
'Behavioralism' usually refers to the political-science movement emphasizing empirical study of political behavior, while 'behaviorism' is the psychological school founded by Watson.