What does behaviorist mean?
A behaviorist is an adherent of behaviorism, the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson in the early twentieth century and later developed most influentially by B. F. Skinner. Behaviorists hold that psychology should be an objective science concerned only with observable behavior — what organisms do in response to stimuli — rather than with introspection or unobservable mental events such as consciousness. In practice, calling someone a behaviorist signals that they explain learning, language, or action through conditioning: rewards, punishments, and associations. The term also functions adjectivally, as in 'a behaviorist approach to therapy.' While behaviorism dominated American psychology from roughly the 1920s to the 1960s, the rise of cognitive science shifted attention back to the mind, leaving 'behaviorist' today largely as a historical or technical label. It remains useful shorthand in debates over nature versus nurture and in applied fields such as behavioral therapy and animal training.
A person who adheres to or works within behaviorism, especially a psychologist who explains behavior solely in terms of conditioning and observable responses to stimuli.
"The behaviorist measured nothing but the rat's lever presses, refusing to speculate about its intentions."
Mostly used in academic and historical discussions of psychology.
Relating to or characteristic of behaviorism or its methods of analysis.
"She took a strictly behaviorist view of language acquisition."
Often hyphenation-free in US usage; 'behavioristic' is a less common variant.
Standard plural; applies only to the noun sense referring to people.
"Early behaviorists rejected introspection as a scientific method."
The most famous behaviorist claim was so bold it sounded like science fiction: give me a dozen healthy infants and I'll turn any one of them into doctor, artist, or thief — regardless of talent or ancestry.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of behaviorist
Behaviorist derives from 'behavior,' which entered English via Middle English from the verb 'behave,' itself formed from 'be-' plus 'have.' The suffix '-ist' marks an adherent of a doctrine, giving 'one who follows behaviorism,' the term coined alongside the movement John B. Watson launched around 1913 with his manifesto 'Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It.' British English preserves the older spelling behaviourist, reflecting the French-derived spelling of 'behaviour.' Related forms include behaviorism, behavioristic, and behaviorally.
Related word forms
How behaviorist is actually used
In British English the spelling 'behaviourist' is standard. The word carries a slightly technical register and is mostly found in academic writing about psychology; in everyday speech it may sound jargonistic. Historically it can carry a mildly dismissive connotation among cognitive scientists, implying a rejection of mental states.
Easily confused with behaviorist
Behaviorism is the theory or doctrine itself, while a behaviorist is a person who holds or practices that theory.
As an adjective, 'behaviorist' describes things relating to the theory (a behaviorist approach), whereas as a noun it names a person.