A Play on Ideas
“What Should Be the Primary Focus for Study in Psychology?”
The host, Dr. James Calkins, of the Neuropsychological department stands at the podium on the left side corner of the XYZ Theatre. The black- suited guest speakers: William James, John B. Watson, and Sigmund Freud sit in together at the rectangular hardwood table waiting to be introduced to the audience. Attached on the table are three microphones for the three speakers. The audience consists of 200 Psychology students.
Characters
William James: American Psychologist: Foresaw Functionalism.
Characteristic: Believed that consciousness is continuous, and allows us to adapt to the environment; he was aware that consciousness had something to do with the biology of the brain.
Sigmund Freud: German Neurophysiologist: Founder of Psychoanalysis
Characteristic: Proud of his work as a Psychoanalyst, did not particularly like Americans, used many abstract, unclearly defined terms.
John B. Watson: American Psychologist: Founder of Behaviorism
Characteristic: Persuasive at promoting behaviorist ideas, and insisted on using objective measures to the study of behaviors of all living organisms.
Dialogue
Host: Hello everyone! Welcome to the First Annual American Psychologists Symposium! Today, our guest speakers will be John B. Watson, William James, and Sigmund Freud. As many of you psychology students know, Dr. James, Dr. Watson, Dr. Freud are very prominent figures in the history of Psychology and have introduced the topics of Functionalism, Behaviorism, and Psychoanalysis into the field. In order to promote the study of Psychology and to educate the upcoming generation of Psychologists, the three doctors have agreed to offer their insights as to what should be the primary focus for the study in Psychology. There will be two parts to the Symposium- in the first, each of the speakers will deliver short, relatively informal, individual speeches; the second part will allow time for discussion amongst the speakers and the students. Now, please welcome Dr. William James!
Enthusiastic Applause! James smiles and clears his throat *Ahem*
James: Good morning, everyone. As all of you are Psychologists, I am curious to understand why are you studying the subject? Will your studies allow you to understand and cure all mental illness in the world? It is no doubt that many people in this society think that Psychology is merely an “elaboration of the obvious.” If you are in college to make a difference in this mentally ill world then I must inform you that a great psychologist understands and is aware of “the obvious.”
Pauses and grins slightly
The purpose of Psychology is to teach you to first understand the obvious - to do that you must use the technique of introspection to explain the complexities that lie within yourself. Only after making sense of your own psychological makeup can you help others do the same. Each you will, if not already, formulate opinions and theories regarding the complexities of mental functions according to what you, yourself have experienced in the past. In the continuous exploration of yourself, it is important to be aware of your physical self and your conscious soul in relation with the physical, the social, and the spiritual world. By introspection, I don’t mean the practice of analyzing the conscious experience and breaking it down to various components - this is unnatural. In fact, introspection does not show the discrete elements of consciousness because those elements do not exist independently from the viewpoint of the observer. It is, rather, more significant and beneficial to the study of the mind when conscious experiences are identified in its natural context and environment so that descriptions of it may be given and recorded. Having said that, it is essential to note that people are not conscious of all things experienced because the mind filters out and reject some experiences to protect our rationality. Also, introspective observation varies from one person to the other, but as long as the observations are comparative amongst all who have experienced it, then the experience can be said to be valid.
Pauses as if in deep thought, he goes on to say
Therefore, the primary focus in Psychology is to be conscious of the environment and to understand the functions that are combined to help a person form appropriate responses as they adapt to situations. Introspection methods should be used as the basis for analysis of the continuous experiences as all perception, all knowledge, and all habits area affected and developed by ‘experience.’
(James nods curtly at the audience and grins at both Watson and Freud as they react to him with raised eyebrows. )
Applause with many whispers coming from the audience
Host:Ok! Thank you, Dr. James for that speech! Please welcome the next speaker- Dr. John Watson.
(Watson does a small wave to the audience and starts speaking)
Watson: Good morning, all. Let us start by saying that Psychology is a deemed a science. The word “science”, you see, means that there is a quantifiable method that allows experimental discoveries to be objectively validated for its existence. Does everyone agree that Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior? If so, raise your hand.
80% of the audience raises their hands. Watson nodded agreeably and quickly glanced at James’ reaction and continues to speak
Exactly - the main study or focus of Psychology is to study human functions by proving the relationships between the environment and the behavior of any organism through proper methodologies of objective measures. It has been proven that many of the behaviors of living organisms can be predicted after the investigation of data gathered from a series of stimulus- response experiments and tests. I, for that reason, conclude this short speech by saying that the most important focus of Psychology lies within the ability to study and to provide facts as explanations of certain studies. Thank you.
(Applause)
Host: Finally, please help me welcome the final speaker, Dr. Sigmund Freud!
Freud takes a quick glance at his tablet and looks up to smile
Freud: Guten Tag, ladies and gentlemen. As many of you know, I am the founder of the Psychoanalytical approach to Psychology. The basis of Psychology, in my opinion, involves analyses of what lies underneath the behaviors that is enacted by an individual. Behavior originates from and is driven by the combinations of conscious and unconscious influences. In the course of discovering the reasons as to why people do the things they do, and act the way they do, it is vital to understand the elements that lie within a person’s unconscious world. Experiences from events of the past must be extracted and acknowledged in full consciousness because these experiences provide the foundational explanations to the problems or anxieties that keep one from being “well.”
Allowing the patient to talk about anything, no matter how embarrassing will help the Psychologist determine, understand, make associations, and draw conclusions as to what is the source of the abnormal behavior. Through my experiences in working with many different types of patients, I have determined that sexual activities are the causes of what society considers odd behavior. People develop defense mechanisms to repress the truth and to protect themselves against anxiety. Many patients are not able, or refuse to express repressed memory with accuracy and it is for this reason that we turn to the analysis of dreams and the symbolism that may reflect a person’s emotional concerns. The mentally ill are, however, those who are entrapped within the occurrences of the past and cannot break away from the mentally debilitating effects of awful memories. As a result, I am adamant that the primary focus of Psychology should be devoted to the study of a person’s past as all behaviors originates and are influenced from the past or an external entities, and attention should be given to what lies in the world of the unconscious. It is only sensible to claim that everyone has different backgrounds and past experiences that shape their current personalities. Therefore, it is important for psychologists be considerate and be aware of their patients’ histories. It is through the analysis of free- association sessions, the underlying meanings of tongue slips and the symbolic dreams so that it is possible to address the behavioral and mental problems through proper treatment. Having said that, (smacks lips)
I have stated what I think should be the center of attention in the field of Psychology.
Host emerges from backstage
Host: It is now my wonderful pleasure to announce the end of the first part of the symposium and we will now move onto the second part of the symposium. This latter half of the Symposium will consist of a twenty minute dialogue between the three doctors during which the audience may ask questions or express opinions. To start the discussion, Dr. James, what are you thoughts on Dr. Watson’s and Dr. Freud’s judgments as to what Psychology must focus on? Do you agree with them?
James: I feel that Dr. Watson’s insistence on the study of overt behavior and his views of behavior based on learning is only a small part in Psychology. There are many unexplainable feelings and a vast array of emotions that people experience; these feelings become part of our consciousness. I take the position that consciousness, along with free will, participate in the creation of behavior.
Watson (chuckles): William, of course behaviors may be investigated in a scientific manner! I have not only been successful with human subjects, but also with animal subjects as well. All behaviors of living organisms respond to stimulus and are conditioned to act according to prior experience. Consciousness is something that cannot be scientifically and externally defined and should not be able to be admitted into the field of Psychology!
James: All of your experiments have been conducted inside the laboratory! The laboratory is an unnatural setting that is an overly simplistic environment in which the living organisms cannot take into account other combinations of experiences such as the conscious assessment of the external stimulus before responding to it.
Watson: Any living organism will respond to stimulus depending on its familiarity of the environment. The environment need not be complex for the reactive behavior to occur. As you have said- every living being adapts to the environment that he, she or it is put in.
James: I believe that mental associations of experiences have an effect greater than any stimulus does on behavior. To me, mental processes and the functional activities are combined to formulate the basis of Psychology. My thoughts on behavior as complex experiential entities do not and probably will not ever sit well with you, John. So, to continue with my opinion on Sigmund’s idea of the unconscious, I feel that my position - though different - can be comparable to his ideas that mental states exist in many mediums. I believe that a conscious person can traverse through physical reality, and the spiritual realms….
Freud (interrupts): Dr. James, while you understand that consciousness exists in Psychology, you place unnecessary importance on introspection; you mentioned that introspection methods should be used as the basis for analysis of the continuous experiences. And, my question is how exactly can people use introspection to make sense of their personal world? I have met with much resistance from my patients when questions touch upon sensitive issues; issues that are embarrassing or unpleasant to the extreme that memories of it are distorted or repressed for the sake of maintaining a bit of sanity. Can you imagine the amount of internal conflict that a person must battle through to try to understand his own feelings?
James: I simply said that for one to learn about his/her experiences, he/she should learn about it through the most basic technique - introspection. What I did not go into detail previously is that consciousness by introspection may not be extremely reliable as the mind has the ability to filter out many stimuli to which it is exposed. The mind selects relevant stimuli so that our consciousness can operate logically, and so a series of ideas can lead to rational behaviors and conclusions. But, when consciousness is by situation, divided- there will be disruptions in the continuous flow of the conscious experiences. Therefore, view points and experiences can be distorted. Patients like the ones that you work with are so affected by their past experiences that their viewpoints concerning the present reality may be difficult to distinguish from the overshadowing past experiences.
Freud: Very well. I agree with you in that conscious experiences may be distorted when disrupted…. (Thinking about more comments to make) Well, you Americans cannot seem to take instinctual behavior into account when forming your opinions about Psychology. All living organisms, when experiencing any life instincts like hunger, thirst, will be motivated to behave a certain way to get what they want. Because, instinct is an internal stimulus that motivates personalities and behaviors, people do not tend to actively or consciously think about their decisions of actions at the specific moment! When people are more concerned with self- preservation and surviving, they generate life- sustaining energy. “The form of energy through which life instincts are manifested is called libido.”
Watson: You do not have a basis or concrete proof of any such energy of the internal stimulus; I believe that “instinctual behavior” can be better explained as a socially conditioned response. It is easy to understand that a person quickly responds to a certain situation or stimulus because he or she has already experienced a similar circumstance in the past and is able to predict the consequences.
Freud: Any child, no matter how young, can be quickly motivated to learn survival skills in the face of death and threat of defeat. If a living species do not try to survive, then that specifies will be greatly reduced and will not survive in the long run.
Watson: Children are not born to act a certain way, they are conditioned by their parents and their environment by the way of encouragement and reinforcement for desirable behaviors. Behaviors can be predicted because it is merely a set of habits. The problematic behaviors that you observe in mentally ill patients or patients of disagreeable pasts, Freud, can be logically explained that they are the result of faulty conditioning and have learned bad habits of reaction that are deemed disturbing to the normal person.
Turns to the audience
Watson: As many of you may know, Dr. Freud has come up with several defense mechanisms such as denial, displacement, repression, etcetera. We must ask ourselves why people develop such mechanisms. They those mechanisms to protect themselves from anxiety and the consequences of reality. Everyone in this civilization has been conditioned to understand what is good and bad; these are social norms that have already been laid out! In the case of the mentally ill, patients experience sometimes shocking disturbances in their normal course of mental and physical development and are left dwelling in a confusing, uneasy state of mind. It is the disturbances in the psycho-sexual stages may lead to the interruption of predictive “sexual habits” and to the withdrawal of the libido, correct? In the behaviorist school of thought, such conditioned reflexes of psychotic people who withdraw from the world are those who associate all stimuli as threats.
Freud:Emphatically But, a more complete explanation for the state of the mentally disturbed is that the stimuli are filtered out of a person’s conscious awareness. Humans, do not necessary withdraw from the world but rather filter the stimuli, bringing some perceptions to consciousness and not others. This is the human ability to repress some thoughts at the subconscious level. It is only when probed, or reminded that these people remember the factors that underlie certain behaviors and actions. Not every behavior and emotion experience is because of an external source, Dr. Watson!
Audience: “OoOo…”
James: Dr. Watson, you are assuming that all behavior can be predicted, and be fully determined. Also, everything we do is the direct result of past experiences. According to you, the human race along with all living organisms cannot creatively progress or even exist until this very day if it were not for the ability to act upon instinct and to show strength through free will in light of stressful, unfamiliar, and never encountered-before situations! While disruptions may break someone away from their comfortable habits and may even force them into a state of mental disarray, we must have more faith in all humans in that they ARE endowed with free will; and, believe me- people can use their internal free will to reverse habits!. Surely, not every behavior is socially conditioned. For, if anything that everyone does is predictable, this world would be, sadly, an extremely boring place.
An eye glistening male student on the front row quickly raises his hand:
Male Student: Hello, Dr. Freud, Dr. Watson, and Dr. James. My name is George and I would like to know what is it that all three of you agree on your respective views on the field of Psychology. So far, I have heard disagreements throughout the entire dialogue….
Freud: I think that it is safe to speak for the three of us and say that Psychology is a science that deals with mental processes and behavior. You see, the word "psychology" originated from the Greek word, psyche, meaning the soul. What we are here to study is the actions, the components, the reasons of actions of the soul so that we are able to understand the way humans function, think, and act. This is a highly complex area of study. It is only through careful observation that cures for illnesses may be discovered and prescribed.
James: Though I am a physiologist at heart, and do not consider myself a Psychologist, at all- but for the sake of this Symposium, I agree with Doctor Freud that Psychology ought to allow room for the study of the soul as it interacts with experiences so that we are able to go on to understand our own behaviors. Both Dr. Freud and I certainly do not oppose the gathering data through experiments, and tests, but it is also important to not restrict the investigation of the influences of the extremely complex human mind to such the absolute, black and white- technique! Humans are not machines in which our behaviors and attributes may be predicted with long compilations of data from laboratory test results!
James glances and grins at Watson
Watson: There are many approaches to the study of Psychology. I prefer to follow clear and objective ways to understanding human behaviors and not have to rely on explanations of subjective self-perceptions and internal mental states to characterize a “science.” The study of human behaviors and functions should be directly observable and need not go through subjective opinions of varying interpretations. While the ideas of the soul, the streams of consciousness, unconscious affectations or the psychoanalytical stages of sexual behaviors may exist in the world. I simply do not believe that such ideas are defined in great detail that is convincing for me to consider it to be part of scientific psychology.
Host: InterruptsAnd that is all the time we have! This was no doubt an interesting morning. Thank you for your attendance! Please give a round of applause for our wonderful speakers!
Standing Ovation and Loud Applause!
Audience Exits
The host, Dr. James Calkins, of the Neuropsychological department stands at the podium on the left side corner of the XYZ Theatre. The black- suited guest speakers: William James, John B. Watson, and Sigmund Freud sit in together at the rectangular hardwood table waiting to be introduced to the audience. Attached on the table are three microphones for the three speakers. The audience consists of 200 Psychology students.
Characters
William James: American Psychologist: Foresaw Functionalism.
Characteristic: Believed that consciousness is continuous, and allows us to adapt to the environment; he was aware that consciousness had something to do with the biology of the brain.
Sigmund Freud: German Neurophysiologist: Founder of Psychoanalysis
Characteristic: Proud of his work as a Psychoanalyst, did not particularly like Americans, used many abstract, unclearly defined terms.
John B. Watson: American Psychologist: Founder of Behaviorism
Characteristic: Persuasive at promoting behaviorist ideas, and insisted on using objective measures to the study of behaviors of all living organisms.
Dialogue
Host: Hello everyone! Welcome to the First Annual American Psychologists Symposium! Today, our guest speakers will be John B. Watson, William James, and Sigmund Freud. As many of you psychology students know, Dr. James, Dr. Watson, Dr. Freud are very prominent figures in the history of Psychology and have introduced the topics of Functionalism, Behaviorism, and Psychoanalysis into the field. In order to promote the study of Psychology and to educate the upcoming generation of Psychologists, the three doctors have agreed to offer their insights as to what should be the primary focus for the study in Psychology. There will be two parts to the Symposium- in the first, each of the speakers will deliver short, relatively informal, individual speeches; the second part will allow time for discussion amongst the speakers and the students. Now, please welcome Dr. William James!
Enthusiastic Applause! James smiles and clears his throat *Ahem*
James: Good morning, everyone. As all of you are Psychologists, I am curious to understand why are you studying the subject? Will your studies allow you to understand and cure all mental illness in the world? It is no doubt that many people in this society think that Psychology is merely an “elaboration of the obvious.” If you are in college to make a difference in this mentally ill world then I must inform you that a great psychologist understands and is aware of “the obvious.”
Pauses and grins slightly
The purpose of Psychology is to teach you to first understand the obvious - to do that you must use the technique of introspection to explain the complexities that lie within yourself. Only after making sense of your own psychological makeup can you help others do the same. Each you will, if not already, formulate opinions and theories regarding the complexities of mental functions according to what you, yourself have experienced in the past. In the continuous exploration of yourself, it is important to be aware of your physical self and your conscious soul in relation with the physical, the social, and the spiritual world. By introspection, I don’t mean the practice of analyzing the conscious experience and breaking it down to various components - this is unnatural. In fact, introspection does not show the discrete elements of consciousness because those elements do not exist independently from the viewpoint of the observer. It is, rather, more significant and beneficial to the study of the mind when conscious experiences are identified in its natural context and environment so that descriptions of it may be given and recorded. Having said that, it is essential to note that people are not conscious of all things experienced because the mind filters out and reject some experiences to protect our rationality. Also, introspective observation varies from one person to the other, but as long as the observations are comparative amongst all who have experienced it, then the experience can be said to be valid.
Pauses as if in deep thought, he goes on to say
Therefore, the primary focus in Psychology is to be conscious of the environment and to understand the functions that are combined to help a person form appropriate responses as they adapt to situations. Introspection methods should be used as the basis for analysis of the continuous experiences as all perception, all knowledge, and all habits area affected and developed by ‘experience.’
(James nods curtly at the audience and grins at both Watson and Freud as they react to him with raised eyebrows. )
Applause with many whispers coming from the audience
Host:Ok! Thank you, Dr. James for that speech! Please welcome the next speaker- Dr. John Watson.
(Watson does a small wave to the audience and starts speaking)
Watson: Good morning, all. Let us start by saying that Psychology is a deemed a science. The word “science”, you see, means that there is a quantifiable method that allows experimental discoveries to be objectively validated for its existence. Does everyone agree that Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior? If so, raise your hand.
80% of the audience raises their hands. Watson nodded agreeably and quickly glanced at James’ reaction and continues to speak
Exactly - the main study or focus of Psychology is to study human functions by proving the relationships between the environment and the behavior of any organism through proper methodologies of objective measures. It has been proven that many of the behaviors of living organisms can be predicted after the investigation of data gathered from a series of stimulus- response experiments and tests. I, for that reason, conclude this short speech by saying that the most important focus of Psychology lies within the ability to study and to provide facts as explanations of certain studies. Thank you.
(Applause)
Host: Finally, please help me welcome the final speaker, Dr. Sigmund Freud!
Freud takes a quick glance at his tablet and looks up to smile
Freud: Guten Tag, ladies and gentlemen. As many of you know, I am the founder of the Psychoanalytical approach to Psychology. The basis of Psychology, in my opinion, involves analyses of what lies underneath the behaviors that is enacted by an individual. Behavior originates from and is driven by the combinations of conscious and unconscious influences. In the course of discovering the reasons as to why people do the things they do, and act the way they do, it is vital to understand the elements that lie within a person’s unconscious world. Experiences from events of the past must be extracted and acknowledged in full consciousness because these experiences provide the foundational explanations to the problems or anxieties that keep one from being “well.”
Allowing the patient to talk about anything, no matter how embarrassing will help the Psychologist determine, understand, make associations, and draw conclusions as to what is the source of the abnormal behavior. Through my experiences in working with many different types of patients, I have determined that sexual activities are the causes of what society considers odd behavior. People develop defense mechanisms to repress the truth and to protect themselves against anxiety. Many patients are not able, or refuse to express repressed memory with accuracy and it is for this reason that we turn to the analysis of dreams and the symbolism that may reflect a person’s emotional concerns. The mentally ill are, however, those who are entrapped within the occurrences of the past and cannot break away from the mentally debilitating effects of awful memories. As a result, I am adamant that the primary focus of Psychology should be devoted to the study of a person’s past as all behaviors originates and are influenced from the past or an external entities, and attention should be given to what lies in the world of the unconscious. It is only sensible to claim that everyone has different backgrounds and past experiences that shape their current personalities. Therefore, it is important for psychologists be considerate and be aware of their patients’ histories. It is through the analysis of free- association sessions, the underlying meanings of tongue slips and the symbolic dreams so that it is possible to address the behavioral and mental problems through proper treatment. Having said that, (smacks lips)
I have stated what I think should be the center of attention in the field of Psychology.
Host emerges from backstage
Host: It is now my wonderful pleasure to announce the end of the first part of the symposium and we will now move onto the second part of the symposium. This latter half of the Symposium will consist of a twenty minute dialogue between the three doctors during which the audience may ask questions or express opinions. To start the discussion, Dr. James, what are you thoughts on Dr. Watson’s and Dr. Freud’s judgments as to what Psychology must focus on? Do you agree with them?
James: I feel that Dr. Watson’s insistence on the study of overt behavior and his views of behavior based on learning is only a small part in Psychology. There are many unexplainable feelings and a vast array of emotions that people experience; these feelings become part of our consciousness. I take the position that consciousness, along with free will, participate in the creation of behavior.
Watson (chuckles): William, of course behaviors may be investigated in a scientific manner! I have not only been successful with human subjects, but also with animal subjects as well. All behaviors of living organisms respond to stimulus and are conditioned to act according to prior experience. Consciousness is something that cannot be scientifically and externally defined and should not be able to be admitted into the field of Psychology!
James: All of your experiments have been conducted inside the laboratory! The laboratory is an unnatural setting that is an overly simplistic environment in which the living organisms cannot take into account other combinations of experiences such as the conscious assessment of the external stimulus before responding to it.
Watson: Any living organism will respond to stimulus depending on its familiarity of the environment. The environment need not be complex for the reactive behavior to occur. As you have said- every living being adapts to the environment that he, she or it is put in.
James: I believe that mental associations of experiences have an effect greater than any stimulus does on behavior. To me, mental processes and the functional activities are combined to formulate the basis of Psychology. My thoughts on behavior as complex experiential entities do not and probably will not ever sit well with you, John. So, to continue with my opinion on Sigmund’s idea of the unconscious, I feel that my position - though different - can be comparable to his ideas that mental states exist in many mediums. I believe that a conscious person can traverse through physical reality, and the spiritual realms….
Freud (interrupts): Dr. James, while you understand that consciousness exists in Psychology, you place unnecessary importance on introspection; you mentioned that introspection methods should be used as the basis for analysis of the continuous experiences. And, my question is how exactly can people use introspection to make sense of their personal world? I have met with much resistance from my patients when questions touch upon sensitive issues; issues that are embarrassing or unpleasant to the extreme that memories of it are distorted or repressed for the sake of maintaining a bit of sanity. Can you imagine the amount of internal conflict that a person must battle through to try to understand his own feelings?
James: I simply said that for one to learn about his/her experiences, he/she should learn about it through the most basic technique - introspection. What I did not go into detail previously is that consciousness by introspection may not be extremely reliable as the mind has the ability to filter out many stimuli to which it is exposed. The mind selects relevant stimuli so that our consciousness can operate logically, and so a series of ideas can lead to rational behaviors and conclusions. But, when consciousness is by situation, divided- there will be disruptions in the continuous flow of the conscious experiences. Therefore, view points and experiences can be distorted. Patients like the ones that you work with are so affected by their past experiences that their viewpoints concerning the present reality may be difficult to distinguish from the overshadowing past experiences.
Freud: Very well. I agree with you in that conscious experiences may be distorted when disrupted…. (Thinking about more comments to make) Well, you Americans cannot seem to take instinctual behavior into account when forming your opinions about Psychology. All living organisms, when experiencing any life instincts like hunger, thirst, will be motivated to behave a certain way to get what they want. Because, instinct is an internal stimulus that motivates personalities and behaviors, people do not tend to actively or consciously think about their decisions of actions at the specific moment! When people are more concerned with self- preservation and surviving, they generate life- sustaining energy. “The form of energy through which life instincts are manifested is called libido.”
Watson: You do not have a basis or concrete proof of any such energy of the internal stimulus; I believe that “instinctual behavior” can be better explained as a socially conditioned response. It is easy to understand that a person quickly responds to a certain situation or stimulus because he or she has already experienced a similar circumstance in the past and is able to predict the consequences.
Freud: Any child, no matter how young, can be quickly motivated to learn survival skills in the face of death and threat of defeat. If a living species do not try to survive, then that specifies will be greatly reduced and will not survive in the long run.
Watson: Children are not born to act a certain way, they are conditioned by their parents and their environment by the way of encouragement and reinforcement for desirable behaviors. Behaviors can be predicted because it is merely a set of habits. The problematic behaviors that you observe in mentally ill patients or patients of disagreeable pasts, Freud, can be logically explained that they are the result of faulty conditioning and have learned bad habits of reaction that are deemed disturbing to the normal person.
Turns to the audience
Watson: As many of you may know, Dr. Freud has come up with several defense mechanisms such as denial, displacement, repression, etcetera. We must ask ourselves why people develop such mechanisms. They those mechanisms to protect themselves from anxiety and the consequences of reality. Everyone in this civilization has been conditioned to understand what is good and bad; these are social norms that have already been laid out! In the case of the mentally ill, patients experience sometimes shocking disturbances in their normal course of mental and physical development and are left dwelling in a confusing, uneasy state of mind. It is the disturbances in the psycho-sexual stages may lead to the interruption of predictive “sexual habits” and to the withdrawal of the libido, correct? In the behaviorist school of thought, such conditioned reflexes of psychotic people who withdraw from the world are those who associate all stimuli as threats.
Freud:Emphatically But, a more complete explanation for the state of the mentally disturbed is that the stimuli are filtered out of a person’s conscious awareness. Humans, do not necessary withdraw from the world but rather filter the stimuli, bringing some perceptions to consciousness and not others. This is the human ability to repress some thoughts at the subconscious level. It is only when probed, or reminded that these people remember the factors that underlie certain behaviors and actions. Not every behavior and emotion experience is because of an external source, Dr. Watson!
Audience: “OoOo…”
James: Dr. Watson, you are assuming that all behavior can be predicted, and be fully determined. Also, everything we do is the direct result of past experiences. According to you, the human race along with all living organisms cannot creatively progress or even exist until this very day if it were not for the ability to act upon instinct and to show strength through free will in light of stressful, unfamiliar, and never encountered-before situations! While disruptions may break someone away from their comfortable habits and may even force them into a state of mental disarray, we must have more faith in all humans in that they ARE endowed with free will; and, believe me- people can use their internal free will to reverse habits!. Surely, not every behavior is socially conditioned. For, if anything that everyone does is predictable, this world would be, sadly, an extremely boring place.
An eye glistening male student on the front row quickly raises his hand:
Male Student: Hello, Dr. Freud, Dr. Watson, and Dr. James. My name is George and I would like to know what is it that all three of you agree on your respective views on the field of Psychology. So far, I have heard disagreements throughout the entire dialogue….
Freud: I think that it is safe to speak for the three of us and say that Psychology is a science that deals with mental processes and behavior. You see, the word "psychology" originated from the Greek word, psyche, meaning the soul. What we are here to study is the actions, the components, the reasons of actions of the soul so that we are able to understand the way humans function, think, and act. This is a highly complex area of study. It is only through careful observation that cures for illnesses may be discovered and prescribed.
James: Though I am a physiologist at heart, and do not consider myself a Psychologist, at all- but for the sake of this Symposium, I agree with Doctor Freud that Psychology ought to allow room for the study of the soul as it interacts with experiences so that we are able to go on to understand our own behaviors. Both Dr. Freud and I certainly do not oppose the gathering data through experiments, and tests, but it is also important to not restrict the investigation of the influences of the extremely complex human mind to such the absolute, black and white- technique! Humans are not machines in which our behaviors and attributes may be predicted with long compilations of data from laboratory test results!
James glances and grins at Watson
Watson: There are many approaches to the study of Psychology. I prefer to follow clear and objective ways to understanding human behaviors and not have to rely on explanations of subjective self-perceptions and internal mental states to characterize a “science.” The study of human behaviors and functions should be directly observable and need not go through subjective opinions of varying interpretations. While the ideas of the soul, the streams of consciousness, unconscious affectations or the psychoanalytical stages of sexual behaviors may exist in the world. I simply do not believe that such ideas are defined in great detail that is convincing for me to consider it to be part of scientific psychology.
Host: InterruptsAnd that is all the time we have! This was no doubt an interesting morning. Thank you for your attendance! Please give a round of applause for our wonderful speakers!
Standing Ovation and Loud Applause!
Audience Exits