Final answer:
Behaviorism focuses on 'c) Observable and measurable' elements of behavioral explanations, emphasizing interactions with the environment and conditioning processes, rather than internal cognitive activities, emotions, or genetic factors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Behaviorism, a school of psychology, traditionally focuses on the observable and measurable aspects of behavior for explanations. This means that behaviorists largely ignore cognitive (mental) processes, emotions, and genetic factors when studying behaviors, choosing instead to examine behaviors that can be seen and measured. The correct answer to the student's question is 'c) Observable and measurable' elements of behavioral explanations. Behaviorists argue that all behaviors, including thoughts and feelings, can be explained by interactions with the environment through conditioning processes.
The field of epigenetics studies how genes and their expressions are influenced by various factors, but this is distinct from behaviorism. Cognitive psychology, on the other hand, focuses on how we think and process information, which is more aligned with mental activities rather than strictly observable behaviors. Moreover, learning behaviors, according to behaviorism, involves direct interactions with the environment through processes like classical and operant conditioning, rather than genetic coding or innate behaviors.