If you’re a Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner it’s useful to understand who the thought influencers in psychology are. The more we can understand the thinking behind these techniques, the more effectively we can use them.
By the 1890s, we accepted psychology as a separate scientific subject from philosophy. Behavioural scientists began to observe the behaviour of animals to infer theories about how humans interact with their environment. Furthermore, these studies also investigated learning, memory and conditioning.
Essentially, behavioural psychology is the study of the connection between our minds and our behaviour. It is sometimes called behaviourism.
Effectively, it studies the causes of our behaviour and the patterns existing within it. Accordingly, the purpose of behavioural psychology is to build better habits as individuals. Subsequently, we hope to create better products as companies and develop better living spaces in our communities.
Indeed, Ivan Pavlov is probably one of the most famous influencers in behavioural psychology. Essentially, he ran experiments with dogs to prove that conditioning dictates much of our behaviour.
Prior to Pavlov, Edward Thorndike produced evidence showing that responses which produce satisfying effects are more likely to be repeated. Following that, John B. Watson published his “conditioned emotional response” theorem. In 1929 Karl Lashley demonstrated that “the whole brain engages in learning”. Soon after that, B.F Skinner used his pigeon experiment to demonstrate the effects of “operant conditioning”.
By the mid-20th century, behaviourists questioned the behaviourist approach. In fact, Edward Tolman, Noam Chomsky and Neal Miller all played key roles in this cognitive revolution.
To some degree, behavioural psychology has now run its course. Cognitive psychology now supersedes behaviourism. Nevertheless, it’s important to acknowledge the role played by behaviourist theories in today’s cognitive-behavioural therapy.
Disconnection From Others Absolves Us From Responsibility and Facing Our Emotions Facing our emotions can often be disconcerting and frightening, until we practice. Melvin Lerner was a Social Psychologist and pioneer in the study of Social Justice, who developed the “Just World” hypothesis. He suggested that people are most comfortable when they have a sense … Read more
If you’re interested in all things health, wellness, spirituality, prosperity, relationships and general self-improvement and expansion, you’re in for a treat this week. On May 6th the Hay House World Summit begins – you can explore your spiritual side from anywhere because it’s online – and it’s FREE to join! You can REGISTER NOW to … Read more
Sigmund Freud’s ‘frosty mind’ view of how the mind works overall and this is summarised in his famous quote below. “The Mind is like an iceberg; it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” Sigmund Freud According to Freud, our psyche is like an iceberg. The id (or areas of primitive drives) lies hidden … Read more
“To be human is to feel inferior.” Alfred Adler Alfred Adler And Self-Esteem Alfred Adler was one of the first psychoanalysts suggesting that a person’s psychology is influenced by present and conscious forces. Additionally, he was curious about the influence of the social realm and environment as equally important to an individual’s past. So, where … Read more
The Birth of Behavioural Psychology Did you think Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with some dogs, a steak and an auditory anchor (or tuning fork) was interesting? Indeed, if the answer is yes, you might be curious to learn that another Behavioural Psychologist, B. F. Skinner studied the laws of behaviour using pigeons. In fact, Skinner thought … Read more
