The movement in psychology during the 1950s and 1960s that opposed psychoanalysis is best described as which paradigm?

The movement in psychology during the 1950s and 1960s that opposed psychoanalysis is best described as which paradigm?

• A. Behavior therapy
• B. Classical conditioning
• C. Behaviorism
• D. Humanistic psychology

Answer: (C)

Behaviorism emphasizes studying observable behavior and the ways the environment shapes it, rather than focusing on unconscious motives or inner fantasies. In the 1950s and 1960s, this approach rose as a reaction to psychoanalysis, arguing that psychology should be grounded in what can be measured and tested. Behaviorists maintained that complex human actions can be understood by looking at how stimuli, responses, and outcomes like reinforcement and punishment condition behavior. This perspective includes processes such as classical conditioning, where associations form between stimuli, and operant conditioning, where behavior is shaped by consequences. Because it centers on observable, verifiable behavior and environmental influence, it stands as the paradigm that challenged psychoanalytic ideas during that era. The other options describe either specific mechanisms (classical conditioning) or separate applications or movements (behavior therapy, humanistic psychology) that came from or alongside behaviorism but do not capture the broad, era-defining shift away from psychoanalysis in the same way.

Behaviorism emphasizes studying observable behavior and the ways the environment shapes it, rather than focusing on unconscious motives or inner fantasies. In the 1950s and 1960s, this approach rose as a reaction to psychoanalysis, arguing that psychology should be grounded in what can be measured and tested. Behaviorists maintained that complex human actions can be understood by looking at how stimuli, responses, and outcomes like reinforcement and punishment condition behavior. This perspective includes processes such as classical conditioning, where associations form between stimuli, and operant conditioning, where behavior is shaped by consequences. Because it centers on observable, verifiable behavior and environmental influence, it stands as the paradigm that challenged psychoanalytic ideas during that era. The other options describe either specific mechanisms (classical conditioning) or separate applications or movements (behavior therapy, humanistic psychology) that came from or alongside behaviorism but do not capture the broad, era-defining shift away from psychoanalysis in the same way.