Title: John, Adam, Ben
1John Broadus Watson
2CHILDHOOD
Watsons Father
On January 9, 1878, John Broadus Watson was born
into a poor family in Travelers Rest, SC. He
lived among five other children in a house, still
in existence, off of SC highway 276. Watsons
mother, Emma Kesiah Watson, wanted him to become
a minister. His father, however, left when
Watson was very young.
Watsons Mother
Watsons House During Childhood
3Education
- Started his education at GHS.
- Enrolled in Furman University in 1894, at age 16.
- Originally he was not interested in Psychology
because he received some of his lowest scores in
this subject. - He failed one of his classes for turning in his
final paper backward and had to attend a fifth
year at Furman.
Greenville High when Watson was a student
4Education (cont.)
- When Watson arrived at the University of Chicago
in 1900, he became immersed in a highly
intellectual setting. - At this time Chicago was home to the orientation
of Americas own version of Psychology. - Watsons educational years at UC included classes
with many esteemed professors such as James
Hayden Tufts (1862-1942), and Edward Scribner
Ames (1870-1958). - His free time was spent in a lab observing the
behavior of rats and monkeys.
5Teaching
- After graduating from the University of Chicago,
Watson decided to stay for five years as an
assistant/instructor in psychology. - It was in this highly influential period of
Watsons life that he began to formulate his work
on behaviorism. - "More and more the thought presented itself
Can't I find out by watching...animal behavior
everything that the other students are finding
out by using human Observers? - John B.
Watson - When Watson was 30 years old, he was offered a
job as a full professor in Baltimore, it was here
that he fully formulated his views on behaviorism.
6Behaviorism
- After many years of influence from some of the
most prominent psychological figures of his time,
combined with his own theories, Watson formulated
his theory of Behaviorism. This form of
psychology became the widely accepted view from
the 1920s to the 1960s. This theory strongly
contrasted with the previous theory of the
Eugenics movement. This movement emphasized
heredity where behaviorism was in stark contrast
to that. Behaviorism was popular with the public
as well as the scientific community because it
fit in well with the American Dream fever that
was sweeping the country.
7Psychological Influences
- While at the University of Chicago, Watson had
the opportunity to discuss his psychological
views with several esteemed leaders in the field
of psychology. - James Mark Baldwin, who actually hired Watson at
UC, helped him to prosper in his new and
intellectual environment.
8"Little Albert" Experiment
- In this 1920 experiment, John B. Watson along
with other psychologists attempted to determine
to source of unnatural fears. - The subject of this experiment, an infant named
Albert B, was given a white rat to play with it
was noted that Albert liked the rat, and was even
noted playing with the animal. - The next time Albert got the rat, the
psychologists made a loud noise that made Albert
cry. - They repeated this many times, until when Albert
was given the rat without the noise he would cry
anyway. - To verify their results, the psychologists gave
Albert a white rabbit and a Santa Claus mask,
both of which made Albert cry. - Albert was taught to be scared of anything that
was white and furry. - Despite its moral conflicts, this experiment was
a breakthrough in the workings of the human mind.
9Advertising Career
- After an unfortunate scandal that led to his
resignation at John Hopkins University, Watson
moved to New York to take a job working at J.
Walter Thompsons advertising agency. - Later, Watson changed jobs and started working at
the William Esty Company. - After working here for ten years Watson
eventually retired.
10On The Farm
- During Watsons successful career in advertising,
he and his family lived on a farm in Westport,
Connecticut. - Watson spent his days on the farm racing about
the lake in his speedboat. - He also enjoyed farming and riding horses.
- After living on this farm for many years, Watson
left his home at Whippoorwill Farm and moved to a
more serene establishment in Woodbury.
11Watson's Letter to Furman
- In 1950, Psychology students at Furman began the
publication of a Journal . - They dedicated the first issue to Watson.
- Here Watson writes about life at Furman, as well
as his past professors.
12- A symposium at Furman, honoring the 100th year of
Watsons birth, attracted more than 2000 people
from all over the nation. - Watson also has a series of psychology labs named
on his honor at Furman University. - In 1984, Watson was recognized as part of the SC
Hall of Science and Technology. - On U.S. Highway 26 near Travelers Rest, SC, an
honorary marker was set up in recognition of
Watson.
Commemoration
13Bibliography
- "John Broadus Watson."Dictionary of American
Biography, Supplement 6 1956-1960. American
Council of Learned Societies, 1980.
-Biographical essay on Johns life. - Reproduced in Biography Resource Center.
Farmington Hills, Mich. The Gale Group. 2003.
http//www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC
-Biographical essay on Johns Life. - http//alpha.furman.edu/einstein/watson/watson1.h
tm -Details his life and education in stages. - http//greenvillehigh.greenville.k12.sc.us/departs
/English/litperc/HallofFame/JohnWatson/2 -Sample
power point project of Watson. - http//www.betterlucktomorrow.com/character_sites/
steve/Little20Albert.htm -Info about the
Little Albert Experiment. - http//www.siop.org/tip/backissues/TipApril00/7Di
clemente.htm -Info about Watson, his education,
and psychology. - http//www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Psych/rwozniak/watso
n.html -Info about Watson, psychology, and
behaviorism.
14Group Members
- John- Research, Creating, and Typing Slides
- Ben- Research, Creating, and Typing Slides
- Adam- Typing, Bibliography, and Animation