behaviourism

School of psychology originating in the USA, of which the leading exponent was John B Watson.

Behaviourists maintain that all human activity can ultimately be explained in terms of conditioned reactions or reflexes and habits formed in consequence. Leading behaviourists include Ivan Pavlov and B F Skinner.

Skinner raised his daughter in a so-called ‘Skinner Box’ so that he could control and manipulate the stimuli to which she was exposed.