What is behavioral psychology? How to use it

1
WHAT IS BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY? HOW TO USE IT

• https//drvinodmune.com

2
INTRODUCTIONS
Behavioural psychology also referred to as
behaviourism in some quarters, attempts to
establish links between human behaviour and the
external world. It is based on the assumption
that all human behaviour is a direct consequence
of external stimuli. In other words, the
discipline holds that there can be no behaviour
without external stimuli. Indeed, advocates of
this approach prefer "behaviour" to the more
purposeful "action." Understandably, this view
has come under some criticism, mainly because it
seems to suggest that human behaviour is a mere
reaction. Behaviourism, moreover, is rigidly
scientific and mainly aims to predict humans.
behaviour, given a situation. The approach is
also widely employed to study, document, and
predict the behaviour of nonhuman animals as
well. Advocates argue that the best way to
predict human behaviour is by modifying and
conditioning it. Therefore, it is not surprising
that behaviourist principles have been widely
applied in the corporate sector to boost
productivity or reduce workplace stress
disciplines such as Management and Industrial
Psychology draw heavily from behaviourism.
Notably, behaviourism has also been widely
applied in classrooms to condition student
behaviour.
3
WHAT DOES BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY FOCUS ON?
Behavioural psychology focuses on human
behaviours rather than thought processes,
emotions or motivations. This involves measuring
external behaviours, analysing how they
correspond to environmental stimuli, and then
using conditioning to shape or reshape those
reactions. Behavioural psychology can be a
useful approach for psychological research
because researchers can apply it to conditions
and measure the changes in external behaviour
more easily than they can measure internal
states. Behavioural psychologists work with two
types of conditioning, classical and operant
conditioning. Here is what each involves
4
1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Classical conditioning starts by recognizing that
the patient responds with a certain behavior to a
natural stimulus. In Pavlov's study on classical
conditioning, the natural stimulus was feeding a
dog, and the behavior was the dog producing
saliva. The psychologist adds a stimulus to the
situation, bringing in this new action along with
the natural stimulus each time. Pavlov rang a
bell every time he fed the dog. Finally, the
patient responds to the additional stimulus in
the same way they responded to the natural
stimulus. When the bell rang, the dog would
salivate.
5
2. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning involves more complex
reinforcements but still operates on the idea
that reinforcements can encourage or discourage
behaviours. Operant conditioning uses two
distinct kinds of reinforcements Positive
reinforcement Positive reinforcement encourages
positive behaviour by presenting somebody with a
reward, such as praise, money or food when they
perform the desired behaviour.
6
Negative reinforcement Negative reinforcement
involves presenting a person with something
unpleasant, such as a noise or source of pain
that is removed when they perform the desired
behaviour. Behavioural psychology that uses
operant conditioning rarely involves any use of
punishment, since punishment discourages negative
behaviours rather than teaching new, positive
behaviours.
7
What Does a Behavioural Psychologist Do?
Like all psychologists, behavioral psychologists
will have a variety of job duties that include
publishing findings, performing research, and
treating patients. However, a behavioral
psychologist helps people by suggesting new
actions that can have a positive effect on
patients' mental states. Other psychologists may
prefer using talk therapy. Also, several
psychologist-medical doctors with specialization
and expertise in psychology often prescribe
medication before trying other treatment methods.
8
Use of Behavioural Psychology
Behavioural psychology is used in therapeutic
applications in many situations. The most common
way for behaviourism to be used is in the
treatment of children with autism the behavioural
analysis combined with conditioning can help
children with mental health conditions, such as
autism, to learn new techniques.  
9
THANKS!
Does anyone have any questions?
hhfnagpur_at_gmail.com
91 9890478286, 9371884908
www.drvinodmune.com