Final answer:
Behaviorism is a psychological perspective focusing on observable behavior and environmental effects, pioneered by figures such as John Watson and B.F. Skinner. It influenced various fields but was later supplanted by cognitive psychology during the cognitive revolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Behaviorism is a perspective within psychology that became influential in the early 20th century. Its main focus was on making psychology a more objective science by concentrating on observable behavior rather than unobservable mental processes. This approach brought a significant shift in how psychological research was conducted, emphasizing measurable, empirical evidence. John Watson is celebrated as the father of behaviorism, profoundly impacting the field by introducing this perspective. His work, coupled with B.F. Skinner's research on operant conditioning, helped in establishing behavior modification techniques.
Behaviorism's history is marked by its rejection of introspection and its focus on environmental influences on behavior. This led to the development of various forms of behaviorism, including logical behaviorism, semantic behaviorism, and others. Moreover, behaviorism significantly influenced fields like education, parenting, and psychotherapy, promoting strategies and techniques for behavioral change.
However, the cognitive revolution during the 1950s and 1960s, marked by a renewed interest in mental processes due to advances in linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science, led to a shift away from behaviorism. Cognitive psychology began to take precedence, with key figures like Ulric Neisser contributing seminal works and bringing the mind back into focus in the psychological community.