PS210 Unit 5 Behaviorism to Exposure Therapy Paper Example

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Behaviorism's 1913 demand that psychology study observable behavior is followed to the exposure ladder of modern therapy in this PS210 Unit 5 behaviorism paper. John B. Watson built on Pavlov's conditioned reflexes, Watson and Rayner conditioned a fear in the infant Albert that spread to a rabbit, a dog and a fur coat and was never removed, and Mary Cover Jones showed with Peter how such a fear could be undone. Joseph Wolpe's systematic desensitization formalized her method in 1958, and Skinner's operant principles explain why avoidance lasts. Purdue Global PS 210, History of Psychology, assigns this paper in the BS in Psychology course.

CoursePS210 History of Psychology
UnitUnit 5
Paper typeBehaviorism paper
LengthAbout 490 words, 4 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Psychology
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for PS210 Unit 5

1

From a Manifesto to an Exposure Ladder: A PS210 Unit 5 Behaviorism Paper

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

PS210: History of Psychology

Unit 5 Behaviorism Paper

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The thread connecting behaviorism to modern therapy is the writer's own; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingNaming each figure's contribution in order in the lead shows the paper follows a line of influence, not a list of names.
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Watson's Manifesto

In 1913 Watson argued that psychology should abandon introspection and consciousness altogether and become an objective science of behavior, aiming at the prediction and control of what organisms do (Watson, 1913). The argument answered the failure of structuralism: if trained observers could not agree about their inner experience, psychology should study what anyone could see. Watson drew on Ivan Pavlov's work on conditioned reflexes, in which dogs came to salivate to a signal that had been paired with food.

Little Albert

Watson and Rayner (1920) tested whether emotions could be conditioned. They presented a nine-month-old infant, called Albert, with a white rat, which he did not fear, and struck a steel bar loudly behind him as he reached for it. After several pairings, Albert wept whenever the rat appeared, even in silence, and he showed the same distress toward a rabbit, a dog and a fur coat. The study is now taught as much for its ethics as its findings: Albert's mother withdrew him before any attempt to remove the fear, and the researchers had discussed reversing it but did not.

Watson showed a fear could be taught; he left it to someone else to show it could be untaught.

Mary Cover Jones and Peter

Jones (1924) provided the missing half. Her subject was a toddler named Peter, frightened of rabbits; she moved the caged animal a little nearer during each of Peter's snacks, and found that his fear diminished until he could handle the animal. She noted that watching unafraid children with the rabbit also helped. Her work was largely neglected for decades.

What this part is doingPlacing Jones's study as the counterpart to Little Albert shows why the thread to modern therapy runs through her.
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From Jones to Wolpe

In the 1950s the psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe developed systematic desensitization, pairing relaxation with a graded list of feared situations imagined one step at a time (Wolpe, 1958). It was Jones's procedure formalized and extended to adults. Later exposure therapies dropped the relaxation and kept the graded steps, often in real situations rather than imagined ones.

Skinner's Contribution

B. F. Skinner extended behaviorism from reflexes to voluntary behavior, showing that behavior changes with its consequences. His operant principles, reinforcement, extinction and shaping, explain why avoidance persists: each escape is followed by relief, and the relief keeps the escape habit strong. Modern therapists use that insight when they ask clients to stay in a feared situation until anxiety falls, so that avoidance stops being rewarded (Schultz & Schultz, 2016).

What Behaviorism Left

Behaviorism's refusal to study thoughts was eventually abandoned. Its methods were not. The B in cognitive behavioral therapy names this inheritance: graded exposure, reinforcement of new behavior and the measurement of change in what clients actually do.

What this part is doingReading the B in the therapy's name as behaviorism's inheritance ties the history to the course thread.
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References

Jones, M. C. (1924). A laboratory study of fear: The case of Peter. The Pedagogical Seminary, 31(4), 308-315. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856559.1924.9944851

Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). A history of modern psychology (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20(2), 158-177. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0074428

Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0069608

Wolpe, J. (1958). Psychotherapy by reciprocal inhibition. Stanford University Press.

Reading the PS 210 Unit 5 instructions

In Unit 5, PS210 typically asks how behaviorism redefined psychology and what it left to modern practice. Explain Watson's argument and the problem it answered, the failure of introspection to produce agreement. Describe key studies by their procedures and results, accurately, including their ethical problems where relevant. Trace at least one line of influence from early behaviorism to a later method, such as from conditioning studies to exposure therapy, naming the people who carried it forward. Include Skinner's operant principles and what they explain. Evaluate what behaviorism got wrong as well as what lasted. Cite the original articles where possible, many of which are short, together with a history text, and keep dates and names accurate throughout.

How the PS 210 Unit 5 example is put together

The paper opens with Watson's manifesto and its link to structuralism's failure and Pavlov's dogs. Little Albert is described through the rat, the loud bar, the spreading fear and the child's removal before any reversal, under a highlighted line that Watson left the untaught half to someone else. Jones's work with Peter supplies that half, with the snack and the imitation of calm children. Wolpe's relaxation and graded list carry her method to adults, and later exposure keeps the steps. Skinner's reinforcement and extinction explain why escape keeps avoidance alive, citing Schultz and Schultz. The close reads the B in cognitive behavioral therapy as behaviorism's surviving methods after its ban on thought was dropped.

Reading the PS210 Unit 5 grading rubric

Behaviorism papers earn credit for accurate studies and a traced line of influence. Instructors check details of famous studies, such as what was done to Albert and whether the fear was removed, because they are often misreported. Discussing ethics honestly, without either excusing or simply condemning the researchers, shows historical judgment. A clear line from early conditioning to a later clinical method, with the people who carried it, demonstrates the course's focus on influence. Including operant principles shows the full scope of behaviorism. Evaluating what behaviorism got wrong, especially its exclusion of thought, balances the account. Citing the original articles is valued in this unit because they are brief and available.

Common PS210 Unit 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them

The most frequent issue is retelling Little Albert inaccurately, for example claiming his fear was cured or that he was conditioned to fear all animals from the start. Another common slip skips Mary Cover Jones entirely, which leaves the line to modern therapy broken. Students sometimes treat behaviorism as either the whole truth or a discredited mistake, rather than a school whose methods outlived its theory. Skinner is often reduced to a sentence about rats and levers. Dates and names get confused, for example crediting Pavlov with Watson's manifesto. Before submitting, check each study against its original report, name every person in your line of influence, and include one thing behaviorism got wrong.

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Send the instructions and the rubric. A custom paper explains behaviorism's founders, methods and lasting procedures. The first one costs nothing, back within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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PS210 Unit 5 questions, answered

What did Watson argue in 1913?

That psychology should study observable behavior and aim to predict and control it.

What happened to Little Albert?

He was conditioned to fear a white rat; the study was never reversed and raises ethical questions.

Is behaviorism still used?

Its principles underlie exposure therapy, contingency management and applied behavior analysis.

Where can I find a free PS210 Unit 5 sample paper?

This page holds the complete PS210 Unit 5 paper tracing behaviorism from Watson's manifesto through Little Albert, Jones and Wolpe to exposure therapy.

What does the PS210 Unit 5 sample say behaviorism got wrong?

Its refusal to study thoughts, which later cognitive psychology reversed while keeping behaviorism's methods.