John Broadus Watson (1878–1958). In a recent study of the 100 most eminent psychologists of the twentieth century, Watson was ranked 17th among such pioneers as B.F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, and Carl Rogers (Haggbloom et al. 2002). Known as the father of behaviorism, Watson’s influence involved the codification and publication of behaviorism into prominence within the field of psychology as well as the initiation of the movement away from purely introspective methodology in psychological research. Still, it may be argued that Watson’s views are often misunderstood, oversimplified, or biased by subsequent generations (Malone 2017).
Early Life and Educational Background
Watson was born on January 9, 1878, outside of Greenville, South Carolina, in a small city called Travelers Rest. He died on September 25, 1958, in Woodbury, Connecticut. The second of five children, Watson was primarily raised by his mother Emma, a devout Baptist (Houk 2000). Emma Watson moved the family to Greenville...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Beck, H. P., Levinson, S., & Irons, G. (2009). Finding little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory. American Psychologist, 64, 605.
Cohn, A. S. (2014). Watson, John B. In L. H. Ganong & M. J. Coleman (Eds.), The social history of the American family: An encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Retrieved from http://lynx.lib.usm.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/watson_john_1878_1958?institutionId=3440
DeAngelis, T. (2010). “Little Albert” regains his identity. Monitor on Psychology, 41, 10.
Gouinlock, J. S. (2018). John Dewey: American philosopher and educator. In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Dewey
Haggbloom, S. J., Warnick, R., Warnick, J. E., Jones, V. K., Yarbrough, G. L., Russell, T. M., … Monte, E. (2002). The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Review of General Psychology, 6, 139–152. https://doi-org.lynx.lib.usm.edu/10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139.
Houk, S. (2000). “Psychological Care of Infant and Child:” A reflection of its author and his times. Retrieved from http://www.mathcs.duq.edu/~packer/DevPsych/Houk2000.html.
Kreshel, P. J. (1990). John B. Watson at J. Walter Thompson: The legitimation of “science” in advertising. Journal of Advertising, 19, 49–59.
Malone, J. C. (2017). John B. Watson. In J. Vonk & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of animal cognition and behavior. Springer International. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_936-1.
Samelson, F. (1981). Struggle for scientific authority: The reception of Watson's behaviorism, 1913–1920. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 17, 399–425.
Skinner, B. F. (1959). John Broadus Watson, Behaviorist. Science, 129, 197–198.
Todd, J. T. (2005). John Broadus Watson. In M. Hersen (Ed.), Encyclopedia of behavior modification and cognitive behavior therapy. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Watson, J. B. (1936). John Broadus Watson (C. Murchison, Ed.). In C. Murchison (Ed.), The international university series in psychology. A history of psychology in autobiography (Vol. 3, pp. 271–281). Worcester: Clark University Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/11247-012.
Watson, J. B. (2018). Retrieved from http://facweb.furman.edu/~einstein/watson/watson1.htm
Watson, J. B. (2019). In: Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-B-Watson
Wozniak, R. H. (1997). John Broadus Watson and psychology from the standpoint of a behaviorist. Retrieved from http://www.brynmawr.edu/psychology/rwozniak/watson.html#c
Woodworth, R.S. (1959). John Broadus Watson: 1878–1958. The American Journal of Psychology, 72, 301–310.
Selected Bibliography
Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158.
Watson, J. B. (1919). Psychology from the standpoint of a behaviorist. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Watson, J. B. (1925). Experimental studies on the growth of the emotions. Pedagogical Seminary, 32, 328–348.
Watson, J. B. (1928). Psychological care of infant and child. New York, NY, US: W.W. Norton & Co.
Watson, J. B., & Morgan, J. J. B. (1917). Emotional reactions and psychological experimentation. The American Journal of Psychology, 28, 163–174.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hansen, L.K., Jordan, S.S. (2020). Watson, John. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_352
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_352
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24610-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24612-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences