Using Structuralism for Predicting Behavior /////// Isabelle Ferguson

    I found the section of Skinner's essay about Structuralism the most enjoyable. In this approach, the behaviorist would simply observe a person's behaviors and actions. Predictions of behavior as they relate to structuralism are dependent on the idea that people will repeat their behaviors. I constantly say that humans are creatures of habit, and most of our lives are structured around some sort of routine. Due to this fact, I would argue that structuralism is a reliable way of approaching behavior. However, as the text mentions, this approach ignores important parts of a person's behavior. In the communications classes we constantly talk about the development of a schemata or schema being an important aspect of how a person communicates and behaves. This is a part of the brain is a set of preconceived notions that function as index cards to determine how a person will interpret a situation. This develops from past experiences. By excluding this information, structuralism is less accurate to predicting a person's behavior. Also, by relying on how a person has acted in the past, this approach denies the ability for learning from past decisions and growing. 

Comments

  1. Song WhittingtonMarch 22, 2022 at 12:02 AM

    Nice post Isabelle. You are very right in saying humans are creatures of habit. Thankfully, we can break those habits with enough effort. Whether it be through the schema or through hard and strenuous work, people can change. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lily CaswellMarch 22, 2022 at 9:33 AM

    You and I wrote similar posts, Isabelle. I also wrote about habits. I agree with you with that structuralism doesn’t seem to allow for people learning from their mistakes.

    ReplyDelete

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