Jon B. Watson
Jon B. Watson
- Born January 9, 1878
- Died September 25, 1958
- Lived in Travlers Rest, South Carolina
Biography/facts
About Jon B. Watson
- Born to Pickens Butler and Emma Watson
- Jon was an athiest
- His father left him when he was 13
- Moved to Greenville, South Carolina where he pursued an interest in human behavior
- He was anitsocial
- arrested twice during high school
- wasnt a very good student
- He graduated with a masters degree at 21
- Had an affair with Rosalie Rayner, a student, which led to his divorce, loss of postition at John Hopkins U. but soon got married to Rosalie.
- Mariette Hartley was the maternal daughter of Watson, but was left with psychiatric issues from being raised with her grandfather's theories.
Contribution to psychology
Behaviorist
Jon B. Watson was a behavorist, meaning that he studied human behavior as well as some animal behavior.
He invented the contriversal experiment called "little Albert". The experiment consisted of a small infant who was the one being experimented on. They showed the baby a rat, and he didn't react or cry. Then they made a loud noise which startled the child and made him cry. They continued to do this until the child cried on the sight of the rat. He also found out the baby ended up being scared of small white objects, such as a rabbit or a stuffed animal.
In other words, Watson explained the reactions given in a situation and how they dealt with it. Human Behavior can be changed to give a different reaction. The experiment also explained that the way a child is brought up or raised can effect how they react to a certain situation.