History of Psychology

In his research conducted before, during, and after the Russian Revolution of 1917, Pavlov established the paradigms of classical (respondent) conditioning and reported results that are basic to an understanding of learning. Pavlov had wide research interests. He was an important influence on the historical development of psychology. In the United States, Watson too was involved in a revolution but in his case a revolution within psychology. While his career in psychology was relatively short, Watson’s behaviorist revolution was a major influence on the development of psychology, especially in the United States. How did the conditioned reflex model provide behaviorism with an alternative way of explaining human action? Why did it displace earlier schools of psychology (structuralism and functionalism), and cause psychologists to abandon (at least temporarily) explanations of behavior that were based in descriptions of conscious experiences? In this chapter we consider that transition.