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Glite Dictionary
John Broadus Watson

John Broadus Watson

7.4
An American psychologist who started behaviorism and studied how people and animals act
  • proper noun
  • /dʒɒn ˈbrɔːdəs ˈwɑːtən/
: John Broadus Watson
  • Many psychology students study the experiments conducted by John Broadus Watson on classical conditioning.

Examples

  • John Broadus Watson is best known for establishing behaviorism as a major school of psychology.

  • The theories of John Broadus Watson continue to influence the field of behavioral science.

  • The theories of John Broadus Watson changed psychology forever.

  • Did John Broadus Watson really believe in behaviorism?

  • John Broadus Watson is best known for establishing behaviorism as a major school of psychology.

  • Many psychology students study the experiments conducted by John Broadus Watson on classical conditioning.

  • The theories of John Broadus Watson continue to influence the field of behavioral science.

Synonyms

John B. Watson
vsJohn Broadus Watson
1 7.7

An American psychologist known as the founder of behaviorism

means the same but gives the full middle name instead of an initial

Surface Forms

John Broadus Watson main

Morphology

John + Broadus + Watson

This is a personal name composed of proper nouns; knowing 'John', 'Broadus', and 'Watson' does not allow a learner to infer the biographical identity or technical meaning (founder of behaviorism). Proper names are arbitrary referents and culturally specific, so the overall meaning is not derivable from the constituents for a B1 learner.

Etymology

John Broadus Watson was an American psychologist who helped start 'behaviorism' by saying we should study only actions we can see, not people's thoughts. He is famous for an experiment with a baby called Little Albert where a white rat was paired with a loud noise to teach fear, and that's why his name is linked to the idea of studying observable behavior.