Can A Person Change? // Emmett Bryant

 I know we all have expereienced a situation at least once in our lives where we had to ask ourselves the question, "Can people change?". Is it possible for someone to change their trajectory and start down a better path? After someone has hurt others and caused grief can they become a different person? Whether Skinner directly addressed this or not does not matter for it is an issue that lies at the heart of behaviorism and 'mentalism.' I would argue that because of contributions behaviorism has made to psychology we can affirm that yes, people can change. If we looked solely to mentalism to explain the human mind then surely we could blame all of their choices and actions on their mental state, or disposition. Although people can make free choices on their own, if they have made bad choices before then it would be very hard to alter their mental state for the good. Whereas through the benefits of behaviorism, we know that someone can overcome issues that arise within themselves. Murderers and drug addicts, for example, can be rehabilitated and be reintroduced to society through many different means. Through Skinner and many other behavioral psychologists, although they may have flaws, they have shown us that people can indeed change. 

I commented on Joshua Naqvi's post and on Braylan Stringfellow's post. 

Comments

  1. Emma LandryMarch 21, 2022 at 9:29 PM

    Hi Emmett, I love your optimistic assessment of behaviorism. Such an outlook can definitely be deemed as significant when such concrete results have been seen. There is hope for change leading to a better future and positive development of the self. My dad is a licensed counselor, and he is a firm believer in behaviorism in helping people address issues in their lives. While some might say behaviorism treats humans as robots, I would argue that the hope it provides is a fantastic example of upholding the dignity and worth of human beings.
    -Emma Landry

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  2. Emily OttsMarch 21, 2022 at 10:49 PM

    I believe people can change, but it can be hard to do so on your own. Without the accountability of others, it can be really easy to fall back onto old habits. That's why one must go to rehab to have a better way of becoming sober or having an instructor to go to the gym regularly. Behaviorists may or may not have mentioned that, but without the help of others, it is much harder to change as a person.

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  3. Song WhittingtonMarch 22, 2022 at 12:01 AM

    I really like your post, Emmett. It actually inspired me a bit on mine. The thought of people, hardened by war or years deep into drug abuse, being able to change is a very hopeful view of things. The wonderful bit is it has factual grounding. These things do happen, people do recover and change. Great post.

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