According to Watson, what was the goal of psychology? How did this differ from psychology’s traditional goal?
Watson believed in the school of behaviorism. Other than Watson, Sechenov, Pavlov among other psychologists, all made their contributions towards the same. He while investigating the developmental and learning processes, pondered more on this psychological process.
Finally, he stated and expressed his views on behaviorism. Watson stressed and very much emphasized that behavior is caused by conditioning. He was certain on his view after analyzing the results from his studies carried out on white rats. He stated that the responses can be ascertained, once we know the kind of stimulus given.
While Watson was studying the developmental process in white rats, he expressed his wish to work on human subjects with his seniors. They discouraged him on the grounds that his purpose of study is an aberration from the traditional goal of psychology.
According to the psychologists, the traditional goal of psychology was the study of consciousness and all of them should focus solely on this only. But Watson went against this traditional goal and came out with flying colors, explaining a whole different behavioristic approach.