John, Adam, Ben

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John Broadus Watson

• John, Adam, Ben

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CHILDHOOD
Watsons Father
On January 9, 1878, John Broadus Watson was born
into a poor family in Travelers Rest, SC. He
lived among five other children in a house, still
in existence, off of SC highway 276. Watsons
mother, Emma Kesiah Watson, wanted him to become
a minister. His father, however, left when
Watson was very young.
Watsons Mother
Watsons House During Childhood
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Education

• Started his education at GHS.
• Enrolled in Furman University in 1894, at age 16.
• Originally he was not interested in Psychology
  because he received some of his lowest scores in
  this subject.
• He failed one of his classes for turning in his
  final paper backward and had to attend a fifth
  year at Furman.

Greenville High when Watson was a student
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Education (cont.)

• When Watson arrived at the University of Chicago
  in 1900, he became immersed in a highly
  intellectual setting.
• At this time Chicago was home to the orientation
  of Americas own version of Psychology.
• Watsons educational years at UC included classes
  with many esteemed professors such as James
  Hayden Tufts (1862-1942), and Edward Scribner
  Ames (1870-1958).
• His free time was spent in a lab observing the
  behavior of rats and monkeys.

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Teaching

• After graduating from the University of Chicago,
  Watson decided to stay for five years as an
  assistant/instructor in psychology.
• It was in this highly influential period of
  Watsons life that he began to formulate his work
  on behaviorism.
• "More and more the thought presented itself
  Can't I find out by watching...animal behavior
  everything that the other students are finding
  out by using human Observers? - John B.
  Watson
• When Watson was 30 years old, he was offered a
  job as a full professor in Baltimore, it was here
  that he fully formulated his views on behaviorism.

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Behaviorism

• After many years of influence from some of the
  most prominent psychological figures of his time,
  combined with his own theories, Watson formulated
  his theory of Behaviorism. This form of
  psychology became the widely accepted view from
  the 1920s to the 1960s. This theory strongly
  contrasted with the previous theory of the
  Eugenics movement. This movement emphasized
  heredity where behaviorism was in stark contrast
  to that. Behaviorism was popular with the public
  as well as the scientific community because it
  fit in well with the American Dream fever that
  was sweeping the country.

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Psychological Influences

• While at the University of Chicago, Watson had
  the opportunity to discuss his psychological
  views with several esteemed leaders in the field
  of psychology.
• James Mark Baldwin, who actually hired Watson at
  UC, helped him to prosper in his new and
  intellectual environment.

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"Little Albert" Experiment

• In this 1920 experiment, John B. Watson along
  with other psychologists attempted to determine
  to source of unnatural fears.
• The subject of this experiment, an infant named
  Albert B, was given a white rat to play with it
  was noted that Albert liked the rat, and was even
  noted playing with the animal.
• The next time Albert got the rat, the
  psychologists made a loud noise that made Albert
  cry.
• They repeated this many times, until when Albert
  was given the rat without the noise he would cry
  anyway.
• To verify their results, the psychologists gave
  Albert a white rabbit and a Santa Claus mask,
  both of which made Albert cry.
• Albert was taught to be scared of anything that
  was white and furry.
• Despite its moral conflicts, this experiment was
  a breakthrough in the workings of the human mind.

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Advertising Career

• After an unfortunate scandal that led to his
  resignation at John Hopkins University, Watson
  moved to New York to take a job working at J.
  Walter Thompsons advertising agency.
• Later, Watson changed jobs and started working at
  the William Esty Company.
• After working here for ten years Watson
  eventually retired.

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On The Farm

• During Watsons successful career in advertising,
  he and his family lived on a farm in Westport,
  Connecticut.
• Watson spent his days on the farm racing about
  the lake in his speedboat.
• He also enjoyed farming and riding horses.
• After living on this farm for many years, Watson
  left his home at Whippoorwill Farm and moved to a
  more serene establishment in Woodbury.

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Watson's Letter to Furman

• In 1950, Psychology students at Furman began the
  publication of a Journal .
• They dedicated the first issue to Watson.
• Here Watson writes about life at Furman, as well
  as his past professors.

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• A symposium at Furman, honoring the 100th year of
  Watsons birth, attracted more than 2000 people
  from all over the nation.
• Watson also has a series of psychology labs named
  on his honor at Furman University.
• In 1984, Watson was recognized as part of the SC
  Hall of Science and Technology.
• On U.S. Highway 26 near Travelers Rest, SC, an
  honorary marker was set up in recognition of
  Watson.

Commemoration
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Bibliography

• "John Broadus Watson."Dictionary of American
  Biography, Supplement 6 1956-1960. American
  Council of Learned Societies, 1980.
  -Biographical essay on Johns life.
• Reproduced in Biography Resource Center.
  Farmington Hills, Mich. The Gale Group. 2003.
  http//www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC
  -Biographical essay on Johns Life.
• http//alpha.furman.edu/einstein/watson/watson1.h
  tm -Details his life and education in stages.
• http//greenvillehigh.greenville.k12.sc.us/departs
  /English/litperc/HallofFame/JohnWatson/2 -Sample
  power point project of Watson.
• http//www.betterlucktomorrow.com/character_sites/
  steve/Little20Albert.htm -Info about the
  Little Albert Experiment.
•  http//www.siop.org/tip/backissues/TipApril00/7Di
  clemente.htm -Info about Watson, his education,
  and psychology.
• http//www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Psych/rwozniak/watso
  n.html -Info about Watson, psychology, and
  behaviorism.

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Group Members

• John- Research, Creating, and Typing Slides
• Ben- Research, Creating, and Typing Slides
• Adam- Typing, Bibliography, and Animation