Behavioral Psychology

Overview

Behavioral psychology, also known as behaviorism, is a branch of psychology that focuses on observable behavior and the environmental conditions that shape it, rather than on internal mental states that cannot be directly measured. It holds that behavior is learned through interaction with the environment and can be understood and modified through principles of conditioning. Classical conditioning, associated with Ivan Pavlov, describes how a neutral stimulus can come to elicit a response after being paired with another stimulus, while operant conditioning, developed by B. F. Skinner, explains how consequences such as reinforcement and punishment increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior. These principles underpin practical applications including behavior modification, applied behavior analysis, and many forms of therapy used to address phobias, habits, and learning. While later movements such as cognitive psychology expanded the field to include internal processes, behavioral approaches remain influential in education, clinical practice, and the study of human and animal learning. As an area of Human Psychology, behavioral psychology continues to inform how researchers understand the acquisition, maintenance, and change of behavior. This page provides an encyclopedic overview of behavioral psychology and gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to behavior, learning, and psychological function.

Research published in this journal

1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.

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