The purpose of this essay is to describe and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the behaviorist approach in terms of its ability to explain behavior. This essay will briefly outline the historical development of the behaviorist approach and will include psychologists ranging from Watson to Bandura. This essay will detail the different perspectives of behaviorism, from classical conditioning to social learning theory, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses surrounding these theories. The idea of ​​behaviorism dates back to Descartes. Descartes was a philosopher who introduced the debate about mind and body, he believed that the mind and body were two separate existences that randomly interacted with each other, he called this his theory of interactive dualism, however the idea of ​​behaviorism did not just arise from this one point. Theories on the mind and body originated as early as Plato and Aristotle. (Gentile 2008) Another contributor to the idea of ​​the behaviorist approach was John Locke with his belief that all human beings are born with the “tabular rasa,” an empty state. Locke believed that the mind at birth had no innate conceptions and that all behavior was learned from the environment. Locke wanted to validate his belief about education, so he used empirical research methods. All these different theories helped behaviorism become a discipline in its own right from the twentieth century onwards (Gentile 2008). The behaviorist approach is somewhat different from other approaches in psychology as the main focus is on external environmental factors and the effect these have on behavior. Behaviorists believe that people do not have free will and that a person's environment determines their behavior and that psi...... middle of paper ......many conflicting views surround the behaviorist approach and the explanations it provides to explain behavior however it can be said that behaviorism has made great contributions to a better understanding of behavior. Works Cited Flannagan, C (1997) A Level Psychology. London: Letts EducationalGentile, B and Miller, B (2008) Foundations of Psychological Thought: A History of Psychology.Los Angeles:Sage Publications LtdGlassman,W and Hadan,M (2004) Approaches to Psychology.4Ed.Berkshire:Open University Press. R,Gross 2004 Key Studies in Psychology.3Ed.Oxford:Hodder and StoughtonGross,R (2009) Psychology. The science of mind and behavior. 5ed.Oxford:Hodder and StoughtonMoxon,D and Brewer,K.(2003) Heinemann Psychology.Oxford:Educational PublishersRoth,I (2000) Introduction to psychology.Glasgow:Bath Press Color books.