behaviorism

[ bih-heyv-yuh-riz-uh m ]
/ bɪˈheɪv yəˌrɪz əm /

noun Psychology.

the theory or doctrine that human or animal psychology can be accurately studied only through the examination and analysis of objectively observable and quantifiable behavioral events, in contrast with subjective mental states.

Origin of behaviorism

First recorded in 1910–15; behavior + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM behaviorism

be·hav·ior·ist, noun, adjective be·hav·ior·is·tic, adjective be·hav·ior·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby behaviorism

behavioral medicine, behavioral pathogen, behavioral psychology, behavioral psychophysics, behavioral science, behaviorism, behaviour, behaviour therapy, behavioural contagion, behavioural science, behavioural sink

Example sentences from the Web for behaviorist

  • No behaviorist can possibly show that the air waves set in motion by my vocalization were an indispensable stimulus.

    Creative Intelligence |John Dewey, Addison W. Moore, Harold Chapman Brown, George H. Mead, Boyd H. Bode, Henry Waldgrave, Stuart James, Hayden Tufts, Horace M. Kallen

  • The behaviorist would not seriously undertake to record everything that happens between stimulus and response.

    Creative Intelligence |John Dewey, Addison W. Moore, Harold Chapman Brown, George H. Mead, Boyd H. Bode, Henry Waldgrave, Stuart James, Hayden Tufts, Horace M. Kallen

  • Still, though a behaviorist, he upheld certain instinctual motivation theories.

    Strange Alliance |Bryce Walton

Medical definitions for behaviorist

behaviorism
[ bĭ-hāv′yə-rĭz′əm ]

n.

A school of psychology that confines itself to the study of observable and quantifiable aspects of behavior and excludes subjective phenomena, such as emotions or motives. behavioral psychology

Cultural definitions for behaviorist

behaviorism

A theory that psychology is essentially a study of external human behavior rather than internal consciousness and desires. (See B. F. Skinner)