O impacto do manifesto behaviorista de Watson na psicologia estadunidense: uma análise bibliométrica (1903-1923)

Abstract

In the history of psychology, it is generally accepted that behaviorism as an approach to psychology began with the 1913 publication of John B. Watson’s article “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” in Psychological Review. 2013 marked the 100-year anniversary of its publication. The article, sometimes referred to as “The Behaviorist Manifesto”, is often acknowledged in history and introductory textbooks to psychology as an important vehicle for ideas that would quickly and substantially change the academic landscape of psychology, especially in the United States. However, Watson´s original work and its respective impact have not yet been investigated extensively and systematically. The literature indicates that Watson’s proposal to dispense with introspective methods and the study of consciousness was not accepted broadly and immediately, instead encountering criticism and opposition from others in the field. In addition, the originality of his proposal was questioned, suggesting that those ideas were already present in scientific debate at the time but were not widespread. This article intends to analyze the impact of Watson’s 1913 article in two major journals of the era, Psychological Review and Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods between 1903 and 1923. Keywords related to Behaviorism and Structuralism were recorded, as well as quotes attributable to Watson and his work. Data were analyzed considering the period before and after the Manifesto´s publication. The frequency of the term ‘behavior’ increased by 50% after 1913, ‘consciousness’ decreased 23%. Other terms were also cited more frequently after 1913 such as ‘introspect’ (10%), ‘mind’ (4%), ‘control’ (20%), ‘habit’ (17%), ‘instinct’ (6%) and ‘prediction’ (5%). These data shows that the term ‘behavior’ and others related with objective psychology appeared more frequently after the Manifesto´s publication and terms related to Structuralism also remained frequent. Additional data suggest that other works by Watson, specifically his books published in 1914 (Behavior: An introduction) and 1919 (Standpoint), were cited more frequently than the Manifesto, suggesting that these works were also important disseminators of Watson´s Behaviorism.