John Brodes Watson is a figure firmly established in the history of psychological teachings. Not so long ago, at the beginning of the 20th century, the scientific world learned about the theory of behaviorism. Then she instantly caused a lot of controversy in relevant circles, but still continued to develop. Nowadays, its followers are unlikely to meet, but the influence of behaviorism has spread to almost all spheres of life, and its techniques continue to be applied everywhere.
Childhood
John Watson (1878–1958) was born in South Carolina, in the small town of Travelers Rest. His father, Pikens Watson, led a wild life, because of which the house constantly had disruptions and did not stop scandals. This led to the fact that 13 years after the birth of a son, his dad left the family. As a result, the boy left a deep emotional trauma. His mother Emma was very religious in nature, which led to strict methods of raising a child, as well as an almost complete lack of freedom to choose further guidelines. And if at the age of 22 John Watson had not lost his mother, it is quite possible that the world would not have heard of such an outstanding psychologist, since she longed for the son of a priest's career.
Youth
After graduating from the Baptist School at Ferman University in 1900, he leaves his hometown and goes to Chicago for his next education. John Watson enters the local branch of philosophy, but because of the specifics of teaching, he refuses the supervisor and turns his eyes to psychology. After only 3 years, he defends his doctoral dissertation on the topic of animal education, for which he conducted numerous experiments on rats. Besides the fact that he manages to become the youngest student in the history of the institution who received a degree, he is also the first to devote such a large-scale work to experiments on these rodents. This moment determined the directions of further activity of John and outlined the boundaries of future research.
Behaviorism
Two years after becoming a Ph.D., John Brodes Watson receives an invitation to head the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Baltimore. He willingly agrees, thereby opening up more and more opportunities for immersion in his own research and experiments. This period of his life is associated with the development of the concept, thanks to which the name of the scientist was included in the annals of history. He becomes an author and follower of the theory of behaviorism, which he describes in detail in his manifesto entitled "Psychology from the point of view of behaviorist." He read it out publicly on February 24, 1913, on the day that can rightfully be considered the birth of this trend. Watson declares to the whole world that psychology is rather an objective science related to the field of natural science. He criticizes its current position and significance, saying that its study erroneously relies on the inner world of a person, his thoughts and feelings. Whereas it would be correct to focus on external behavior, as well as data that can be confirmed experimentally.
Scientific career
Thanks to the novelty of the theory and its subsequent development, John Watson is at the top of greatness in the scientific community. His salary is doubled, the research laboratory is growing in size, and there is no end to students who want to attend lectures. In 1915, he was appointed president of the American Psychological Association. These years can be called the heyday of the direction of behaviorism. The publications of the famous scientist now and then appear in various publications, and 2 scientific journals are published under his editorship. In 1914, his bibliography was replenished with the very significant work “Behavior: an introduction to comparative psychology”, in which consciousness, as the subject of psychology, is completely rejected. His theories also receive practical application, and Watson himself masters the art of controlling human behavior.
Personal life
During university teaching, the founder of behaviorism married his student Mary Ickes. Despite the fact that the couple had two children, their marriage could not be called successful. In 1920, another scientist's passion for a young graduate student destroyed not only marriage, but also the entire successful career that he had been building for so many years. The spouse found evidence of her husband’s romantic correspondence and published them in the press, which caused a storm of scandal. From now on, no teaching can be considered. The divorce was very loud, but despite this, Rosalia Reiner and John Watson, whose photo is presented below, immediately got married. And as a result of this marriage, which turned out to be more successful than the previous one, two more Watsons, both boys, were born. Rosalia left this world early, 23 years earlier than her spouse. John suffered a heavy loss, but still continued to work. True, already in a slightly different direction.
Advertising
In his student years, he managed to be a laboratory assistant, a janitor, and even a waiter, but in the future, few people cared, because the world he became known as John Watson - a psychologist. The scandal with treason forced him to look for new directions for implementation, and he chooses the practical scope of application of the knowledge gained. To be more specific, he goes headlong into advertising. In those days, this relatively new area required a detailed study in order to elucidate mechanisms for controlling consumer behavior. But it was precisely this control that occupied a central position in the psychology of the industry, so John is immersed in his advertising career. He begins, like any other, from the bottom, in one of the agencies of New York under the control of Stanley Reesor. Together with other candidates, he goes through all stages of employment, even despite his extensive knowledge and scientific merits. Over time, he is liberated, acquires new skills and is completely immersed in the psychology of trade, applying the provisions of his theories in practice. So, he manages to rise to the vice president of the company and stay in this position for several years.
Watson's Legacy
While working in the advertising industry, John Watson continues to put his scientific theories into books. After his death, future generations of psychologists and theorists still have a few works left, including Behaviorism, Pathways of Behaviorism and Psychological Care of the Child. Among his most famous followers who worked on the theory further, one can single out Berres Skinner, who, along with other colleagues, managed to popularize behaviorism. However, the concept has been severely criticized several times, for the most part because it was more like a coercive tool. In subsequent years, her study began to decline, leaving behind only a set of some techniques that are still used in trade, politics and other areas.
The last years of life and death
A few years after the death of his wife, the former teacher decides to leave the advertising business and settle in a quiet farm. There, John Watson lives out his last days. The biography of his life ends in 1958. A few months earlier, the association in which he had once been president included him in his list of honorary members. However, this did not help to forget the insult for the fact that he was once deprived of his beloved job and the right to occupy certain positions, therefore, in the same year in which he left this world, he set fire to the courtyard, giving flame to numerous scientific works. This becomes the last echo of at least some of Watson’s activities, but this action did not affect his reputation, because Watson’s contribution to psychology made him one of the most outstanding scientists of the last century.