Many people don’t believe me, but I had a ghost living in my house. It was a few years ago, my family and I were living in England. We had been living in this house for a year and had no problems. One day out of the blue we started to get some electricity problems. The lights would flicker uncontrollably at random times of the day, and the electrical appliances would stop working then work without us turning them on. When we called the electrician he would tell us nothing was wrong. My dog would always bark at this one corner of the house and one time when I came back from school I found almost all of our kitchen appliances in the same corner my dog would bark at no one was home except my dog and I and I doubt my dog did it. Things were weird,
Behaviorist believes that we acquire behaviors through conditioning. The conditioning is our response to environmental stimuli . How does this all tie into superstitions? According to behavioral psychologist B.F Skinner, the answer lay in pigeons. In an experiment testing reinforcement schedules, Skinner noted that some pigeons would exhibit weird behaviors before they received their meals. The behaviors would extend from running around a cage to swinging heads. Although the meals were given to the pigeons at exact times, the pigeons believed their actions influenced the schedule of the food they received. Without the knowledge of the psychologists, they had positively reinforced the pigeons’ actions with the pigeons getting food. Now extend that experiment to humans. Believing in superstitions is believing that on an event will cause another to happen although there is no concrete link that connects the two events. I think that certain jewelry brings luck. I have this one necklace that is for good luck. Every time I wear that necklace I think that I will have a day filled with good luck and good energies. It has come to the point where this necklace is really precious to me. If I look at why this necklace has become good luck through a behaviorist’s eyes, I would think that sometimes when I first got the necklace something really good must of happened that was caused by random chance. I
I was born in Mexico, my whole family is Mexican, so I have Mexican values and traditions. Because of environmental stimuli, I have also lived in many other countries. Living in these countries some of their values and traditions have stayed with me that my other family members don’t have. One of the biggest and influential factor that has stayed with me from these countries is there different superstitions and beliefs. It’s actually really funny because every country has their own superstitions that another county might find silly. For example, in Mexico, we have a myth called the Llorona or the weeping lady. La Llorona is a ghost that cries “¿Dónde están mis hijos?” and will kill kids if they wander out at night alone. Parents will tell their children that story to scare them into staying in the house at night time. A couple years ago, I was at a haunted house and the theme of the house was La Llorona. I’m not even going to lie, to this day I am terrified of La Llorona. I might not be a kid anymore in her eyes, but every time I walk at night I always have the unsettling feeling that she is there. So at this haunted house I was horrified I would scream at everything. The friend I was with was Japanese and would make fun of me still being terrified of this Mexican myth. As soon as we exited the house it was as if the cosmic energies were on my side. This tall woman with long black hair wearing this trench coat and
Puerto Rico has many similar superstitions as the United States, as well some that are not as common. Some of the superstitions that are shared with the United States include black cats and walking under ladders bringing bad luck. Another similar one is that the number 13 can bring bad luck as well. Most high rise buildings in Puerto Rico do not have a thirteenth floor. The floor numbers jump from twelve to fourteen. Also, Tuesday the 13th is the equivalent of the United States Friday the 13th, however many in Puerto Rico view both days as a day full of bad luck. Some other interesting superstitions begin on New Years. These superstitions begin with throwing a bucket of water out the front door at midnight. To many in Puerto Rico, this symbolizes throwing out the all of the bad events of the previous year and emptying out the past year for a fresh new year.
The book, What’s So Super About the Supernatural tells of well known stories about poltergeists. A poltergeist is a noisy or high energy ghost who might perform violent activity. A young girl by the name of Tina Resch lived in Ohio and is known to be a poltergeist. “No ghost was ever seen or heard on camera; however when the camera was inadvertently left running, the tape showed Tina surreptitiously pulling over a lamp” (Gardner). The evidence was found after people were reporting the activity. Newspaper reporters went to the scene to check out the action only to find evidence of Tina throwing objects violently around the house. Another example of proof that ghosts exist goes back to a case involving a poltergeist in England. An eleven-year-old boy by the name of Matthew Manning performed several violent actions that his dad had noticed and reported. Gardner writes, “ On one occasion, Matthew’s bed was thrown about and left leaning at an angle against the wall” (Gardner). These examples are not the only reported cases regarding ghosts and paranormal activity. Many stories about the supernatural have been told and passed down for several generations. Spirits are even mentioned in well known religious books that have been passed down for hundreds of
I searched until I heard a story that gave me the chills. It comes from right around the block from where I live on campus, at one of the sorority houses at the University of Maryland. I collected this story the weekend of April 2nd, at my fraternity house. I asked my friend, a junior from Pikesville, if she knows any ghost stories. Her face lit up as if she was dying to tell me this story since the first time we ever met. She asked “you never heard the story of the ghost in the sorority house?” I replied no. The normally quiet woman demanded my attention away from the TV and went into her story.
Before that night, I didn’t believe in the paranormal. Now I sure as heck do. I had been chased out of my house after a fight with my step-parents because I wasn’t doing well in school (I had dyslexia), and I had taken shelter in what seemed like a normal house. I realized what I had gotten into after the sun set. The doors were locked without a sign of anyone going near them.
In 1913 a new movement in psychology appeared, Behaviorism. “Introduced by John Broadus Watson when he published the classic article Psychology as the behaviorist views it.” Consequently, Behaviorism (also called the behaviorist approach) was the primary paradigm in psychology between 1920 to 1950 and is based on a number of underlying ‘rules’: Psychology should be seen as a science; Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events, like thinking and emotion; People have no free will – a person’s environment determines their behavior; Behavior is the result of stimulus resulting in a response; and All behavior is learned from the environment. How we process these stimuli and learn from our surrounds
The quote from the famous psychologist John B. Watson essentially sums up behaviourism. Behaviourism refers to the school of psychology founded by Watson, established on the fact that behaviours can be measured and observed (Watson, 1993). In behaviourism, there is a strong emphasis that the acquisition of learning, or permanent change in behaviour, is by external manifestation. Thus, any individual differences in behaviours observed was more likely due to experiences, and not by the working of genes. As the quote suggest, any individuals can be potentially trained to perform any tasks through the right conditioning. There are two major types of conditioning, classical and operant conditioning (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2012).
The Nelly Butler hauntings is referred to as the first recorded ghost story in American history (LiBrizzi 5), and possibly the most exciting hauntings to date as there are still many unsolved mysteries. The apparition appeared on more than 30 separate occasions to over 100 witnesses in Sullivan, Maine, just over fifteen years after the American Revolution (5-6). Although the Nelly Butler apparition is one of the most convincing ghosts of all time, it was subject to suspicions of fraud. These claims turn out to be groundless as the evidence reveals the ghost to be genuine.
... are determined by the stimuli in the environment we are in. Behaviourists believe that all behaviour is learned and in turn can be unlearned by pinpointing the stimulus which is provoking the behaviour and changing the individuals learned response towards it.
Behavioral psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on the study and alteration of people's behaviors, including their actions, emotions and thoughts. ... Techniques that may be applied include cognitive restructuring, behavioral modeling and, most commonly, classical and operant conditioning. John B. Watson is known for establishing the psychological school of behaviorism. He along with B.F. Skinner suggested that environmental influences such as parental approval and social customs shape us into wanting certain things and not wanting others (Rathus, S. A.). Reinforcing good behavior and punishing bad behavior is common within society. Behaviorism studies behaviors that can be measured or observed (Y). Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are used in behaviorism. An example would be if a behavior has been good and tasks assigned have been completed, then positive reinforcement is rewarded. If behavior has been poor and tasks assigned have not been completed then negative reinforcement is rewarded, maybe by taking something of value from that person until they complete tasks. Behavioral was placed second because I felt it flowed well behind Social Cognitive in addressing positive and negative
Origins of superstition are deeply rooted in history and have a variety of reasons for the appearance, such as psychological, religious and economic aspects. Despite the fact that superstitions had different origins, according to Smith (2008), their function was to express the ideological associations of people and to indicate fears and anxieties of society at that time. To begin with, the psychological foundation of superstitions is the most deep-seated. It refers to the lack of knowledge and the impossibility to explain occurring events because of this. As Lindeman and Aarino (2007) argue, this fact can be compared with an understanding of the world by a child. As authors said, this understanding is explained by developmental psychologists by a notion of a core knowledge, which means process of cognitive learning about physical, psychological and biological entities and processes without any explanation, help or instructions. For instance, Lindeman and Aarino (ibid) recognize that animated subjects, such as ...
Behaviorism is the study of human and animal behavior. The idea behind behaviorism is that behavior is altered by stimuli in the environment and can be reinforced by reward or punishment. Behaviorism can be dated back to the 1800’s and has been studied by many psychologists. But the term behaviorism was known to be brought on by psychologist, John Watson, who wrote the article, “Psychology as the behaviorist views it”, that claimed behaviorism should be considered a natural science, rather than a theory. (Malone 2014) In Watson’s eyes “Psychology should embrace behavior as it’s subject matter and rely on experimental observation of that subject matter as its method” (Moore 2011)
It was dark that night, I was nervous that this dreadful day was going to get worse. Sunday, October 23, 1998 I wanted to start writing this to tell about the weird things i’m starting to see in this new neighborhood. Gradually I keep seeing pots and pans on the sink suddenly move to the floor. I would ask my sister but she is out with my mom and dad getting the Halloween costumes. When they got home I didn’t tell them what I saw because i've seen Halloween movies and I have to have dissimulation otherwise the ghost will come out and get me first. October 24, 1998 I think I got a little nervous yesterday with the whole ghost thing. 12:32pm, Went to eat lunch with the family today and I go to get my coat. I heard the words furious and madness,
“Behavior theory consists of ideas about how human actions and emotions develop, are sustained, and are extinguished through principles of learning” (Walsh, 2010). Positive and negative reinforcement is used to help manipulate the behaviors of the individual. The theory has been used to help eliminate unwanted behaviors. In addition, behavior theory has been use primarily with children, and persons with developmental disabilities. According to Walsh (2010) behavior theory evolved in the 1960s from a field of philosophy to the field of science. Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning, which plays a major role in behavioral theory. Classical conditioning is the process of learning through ones surroundings, conditioned, and unconditioned stimuli and response. B. F. Skinner discovered operant conditioning the process of learning to influence the future responses to the environment (Clark, 2004). The two concepts has been used throughout the behavior theory to help assist clients with unacceptable behaviors that is occurring. The combination of the two concepts has been a very helpful aspect to the behavior theory. Both concepts offer a different approach or solution to the behavior of the client.
Behaviorism is an approach to psychology based on the proposition that behavior can be researched scientifically without recourse to inner mental states. It is a form of materialism, denying any independent significance for mind. Its significance for psychological treatment has been profound, making it one of the pillars of pharmacological therapy. One of the assumptions of behaviorist thought is that free will is illusory, and that all behavior is determined by the environment either through association or reinforcement.
Behaviorism is the point of view where learning and behavior are described and explained in terms of stimulus-response relationships. Behaviorists agree that an individual’s behaviors is a result of their interaction with the environment. Feedback, praise and rewards are all ways people can respond to becoming conditioned. The focus is on observable events instead of events that happen in one’s head. The belief that learning has not happened unless there is an observable change in behavior. “The earliest and most Ardent of behaviourists was Watson (1931; Medcof and Roth, 1991; Hill 1997). His fundamental conclusion from many experimental observations of animal and childhood learning was that stimulus-response (S-R) connections are more likely to be established the more frequently or recently an S-R bond occurs. A child solving a number problem might have to make many unsuccessful trials before arriving at the correct solution” (Childs, 2004).