PSYCH 111 Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Connectionism, Behaviorism
Document Summary
Psychology used to be consumed with strict stimulus-response learning theories that dismissed unobservable, internal mental activity as unknowable . Tolman did experiments showing that complex internal cognitive activity could be studied in rats. Mental processes can be studied without the necessity of observing them directly. The ability to produce a mental map that is learned. Back then, the best way to prove psychology"s scientific potential was through hard sciences (physics and chemistry) What went on inside the organism was not observable or measurable, so it could not be studied and was not important. Stimulus-response, connectionist view of all behavior was the core of behaviorism and dominated the first 50 years of behavioral psychology. Tolman had two main modifications to the views of psychology back then. True nature of learning is not fully understood without an examination of the internal mental processes that accompany the observable stimuli and responses.
