On what grounds did McDougall criticize Watson’s form of behaviorism?
McDougall and Watson had met to debate their disparity. McDougall started positively. He had an earlier advantage than Watson, the advantage that he felt was so big to be anything but unfair. He believed that anybody with common-sense should be on his side.
McDougall settled with Watson that the behavioral data is an appropriate target for research of psychology, however, he contended that the consciousness data were also fundamental.
McDougall questioned that if psychologists did not make use of introspection, how they found the meaning of response of subject or the certainty of behavior of speech. With no self-report, how one could know about fantasies and daydreams.
How could one appreciate or understand experiences which were aesthetic. McDougall disputed Watson to demonstrate how any behaviorist will affirm for the enjoyable experiences like guitar concert.
McDougall then argued assumption of Watson that behavior of human is completely determined, that anything one does is the direct consequence of experiences in the past and could be anticipated the moment such events in the past are known.
Such a kind of psychology would leave no space for freedom of choosing or free will. If such position of determination was true- that humans are not free and thereby are not help responsible for things they do, then there will be no initiatives by humans, no efforts which are creative, no wish to better oneself or society.