Freud Vs Watson Essay

Sigmund Freud and John B. Watson are two of the most famous pioneers of psychology. Though they had different ideas of how the human mind worked, the two had similar theories on human behavior. Sigmund Freud's’ background in biology, physiology, and neurology influenced his work in the field of psychology. Freud founded the branch of psychology known as psychoanalysis. He studied neurological reasons for people's behaviors, theorizing that people's phobias and mental illnesses stem from traumatic experiences in their pasts that are now hidden in the consciousness. John B. Watson studied and taught psychology in college. He founded behaviorism based on his belief that people have no control over their behavior. Instead, he believed that human behavior is conditioned by the external events.
Watson experimented with his theory of human behavior by conditioning a child to fear furry objects. He showed the boy furry animals such as a rat and a …show more content…
The both theorists believed behavior to be a conditioned response to their environment, with past events influencing their behavior, and that these behaviors can not be controlled. The two differed, however, in their beliefs of how behavior manifested. Freud theorized that the causes for a person’s behaviors are a result of past influences that are now buried in their subconscious. Watson rejected Freud’s theory of consciousness, believing psychology to be the scientific study of observable behavior.
Freud and Watson were two of the pioneers in the field of psychology, both contributing theories that shaped modern psychology. Although the two had different ideas about how human behavior presented itself, Freud firmly believed in the role the unconscious played in human behavior while Watson focused on observable behaviors, they had similar theories on how behaviors formed. They both believed that human behavior is conditioned by external events in a person’s