Emerging as a critique of psychological schools focused on inner experience, behaviorism is an approach that insists on studying only objectively observable behavior. Proponents of this view argued that subjective mental states could not be legitimate subjects of scientific inquiry, and therefore psychology should concentrate on behavior as the measurable outcome of mental processes.

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Early psychological schools like structuralism, Freudian psychoanalysis, and Gestalt psychology all shared a common goal: to describe and understand the inner workings of the mind. However, this focus on subjective 'inner experience' was met with skepticism by other researchers who questioned whether it could be studied scientifically. This critique led to a shift in focus towards studying only objectively observable behavior, which was seen as the measurable outcome of mental processes.

Shared Focus on Inner Experience in Early Psychological Schools

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

As one of the most historically influential schools of thought, behaviorism aimed to establish psychology as an objective science. This approach centered on studying overt, observable behavior while deliberately deemphasizing the significance of unobservable internal mental processes.

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