Final answer:
Behaviorism accepts the influence of the environment on behavior while rejecting genetics, the unconscious, and cognitive processes. Prominent behaviorists like Watson and Skinner focused on observable behaviors shaped by environmental reinforcements.
Step-by-step explanation:
The behaviorist perspective within psychology would accept the influence of the environment on behavior while rejecting notions of genetics, the unconscious mind, and cognitive processes in behavior. Behaviorism emphasizes that behavior is learned through interactions with the environment and is reinforced by consequences, a view upheld by influential behaviorists like John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner.
B. F. Skinner, a strict behaviorist, believed that the environment is solely responsible for behavior, which includes the consistent behavior patterns studied by personality theorists. As such, behavior is shaped by the reinforcements and consequences outside of the organism. The methodological approach of these behaviorists involved ignoring the internal states of individuals and focusing exclusively on observable and measurable behavior, as it could be directly influenced and modified by controlling environmental factors.
The importance of genetics in behavior and the existence of an unconscious mind are typically associated with other psychological perspectives, which behaviorism would reject. Similarly, the idea that cognitive processes play a role in determining behavior is contrary to radical behaviorist views. Therefore, behaviorism acknowledges only the environmental influences on behavior, not the cognitive, genetic, or unconscious factors.