What Psychology Has to Say About John B. Watson: Classical Behaviorism in Psychology Textbooks, 1920-1989

Despite John B. Watson's considerable importance in the history of psychology and his celebrity status during the first part of the twentieth century, substantive discussions of his life, work, and views are now relatively rare. Passing references to Watson still appear in scholarly and popular works (e.g., Koch & Leary, 1985; M. Levin, 1987), but in-depth analyses, when they can be found, are confined primarily to publications specializing in the history of psychology. Only two of his widely read books are still in print (Watson, 1930; Watson & Watson, 1928) and the rest of his writings, although available in good university libraries, are not often read. In fact, the only academic context in which Watson retains a high degree of visibility is the general introductory psychology textbook (Knapp, 1985; Perlman, 1980). Introductory psychology textbooks are, of course, rarely counted among psychology's most important or influential works. Unless they have become classics (e.g., Woodworth, 1921, 1929, 1934, 1940), textbooks attract little scholarly interest (but see, e.g., Hilgard, 1988; Morawski, 1992; Winston, 1988) and are not intended to survive as archival documents. Even so, they may represent the most important single literature within academic psychology. Textbooks are published in greater numbers and read by more people than perhaps any other type of academic psychological work. Only a few thousand copies of the seminal work of radical behaviorism, The Behavior of Organisms (Skinner, 1938), have been printed (see Knapp, in press) and probably only a few hundred active psychologists have read it. In contrast, the publishers of successful textbooks claim readership in the millions. Because textbooks have become the only significant source for information about Watson and classical behaviorism, the manner in which they depict Watson and his views is an important issue. The potential negative impact on millions of students of possibly inaccurate and biased descriptions of one of psychology's most important figures should not be discounted—as an is sue in itself or as a case study of the widespread problem of errors and inaccuracies in educational materials (see Todd & Morris, 1983, 1992). The purpose of this chapter is, therefore, to examine depictions of Watson and classical behaviorism in general introductory psychology textbooks published from 1920 to 1989. It will analyze several important features of textbooks' coverage of Watson and show how that coverage has evolved since 1920. Three aspects of Watson's work and views will examined in detail: (1) his promotion of behaviorism and objective psychology, (2) his alleged environmentalism, and (3) the classic "Little Albert" experiment described in the article "Conditioned Emotional Reactions" (Watson & Rayner, 1920).