Antecedents of cognitive psychology include structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism. B. F. Skinner was a famous behaviorist and believed that all animal and human behavior could be explained in terms of operant conditioning (the use of reward and punishment). He thought that if something was not observable, it could not be studied. Therefore, he was not concerned with internal thought processes but with observable actions.

Compare and contrast the three antecedents to cognitive psychology and explain which one you think had the most influence on the development of cognitive psychology.
Explain Skinner's general views to learning and conditioning. Do you agree with Skinner's views? Why or why not? Provide some examples of rewards and punishment and how those are explained in terms Skinner's views on operant conditioning.

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The three antecedents to cognitive psychologystructuralism functionalism and behaviorismprovide important historical context for understanding the dev... View the full answer