Psychology is the study of the mind and of behaviors – they are separate fields and must be treated as such. B.F Skinner was all about the behavioral psychology – he wasn’t concerned about the mind. Why? Cause your mind doesn’t control your behaviors. Carl Jung – he was interested in the mind and he loved to mess with the mind.
I hate to break it to people – but you are a human animal. Nothing more. And it’s proven that the very causes of your behaviors is no different from that of the dog, the pigeon or the rat. But human beings are so far removed from the animal kingdom these days, we are lost as an animal species. We don’t understand the animal that we are – so how the heck are you supposed to understand your dog?
The limbic system of your brain controls everything you do – not the mind. Think about it – ever have the hair stand up on the back of your neck? That’s your limbic system detecting something bad – danger near or imminent – and the brain is increasing your cortisol loads – along with adrenaline etc – putting you on the precipice of fight and fight. You can call that your spider senses. And what is your mind doing? Playing catch up – trying to figure out what the brain is detecting. Your mind is trying to figure out what’s going on. Could you control the hairs on the back of your neck? That’s YOUR animal hackles going up. If you can’t control that – what makes you think the dog can? But you are told to punish the dog for natural behaviors that you have – and can’t control. And people wonder why this garbage dog training isn’t working for you?
Your brain has one job – to keep you alive – and that is your positive reinforcement. It’s about survival value. Your brain makes sure you get the basics of life for survival. When you get hungry – your brain gets you to seek out food – food is necessary for survival of the animal. So is water – so is shelter. It’s your brain that drives you to have sex – again – survival value – for the animal species to survive. What else does your brain make you do? Fight and flight – show aggression and reactivity to stay alive – to survive. In the face of something you deem highly negative – you are going to fight for your life or run away – that’s your brain working – not your mind.
Psychology helps you understand all the subjective that you are – and that’s all the good stuff – or bad. It’s all of your personal experiences good, bad and ugly that turned you into the human animal that you are today. And the subjective IS your Operant Conditioning – it is your positive reinforcement – your desire to stay alive.
And it is the subjective that drives all of your behaviors.
But real behavioral psychology has been tossed in the garbage – replaced by Edward Thorndikes “Law of Effect” – AKA Methodological behaviorism. And that cake was iced with Konrad Most.