Psychology is a subject of much debate when it comes to deep personal issues such as depression, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and ADHD. Caught in the middle are the great psychologists who worked to lay the foundation that gives us the understanding of how we think, learn, and grow as humans. For the best ADHD Treatment in Mobile AL, it is important to understand the different approaches that may be used to address these behavioral issues and who helped bring these treatments and therapies to us.
Watson
Watson was one of the leaders in the development of the idea of behavioral psychology, which is a branch of psychology that seeks to understand why people behave as they do and what motivates behaviors. According to Watson, all human actions could be traced to either a desire to gain something good or as an attempt to avoid something bad.
Pavlov
Known for his work with dogs, Pavlov is often called the grandfather of behavioral psychology, since he began working on the concepts that became central to this branch of psychology long before Watson began his work. Pavlov’s dog experiments gave us the idea of behavioral conditioning- which is the idea that the behavior of individuals adjusts in response to what stimuli they are given.
Skinner
Skinner’s experiments with rats and mice brought us the theory of operant conditioning and shaping. The focus was largely on how reinforcements- whether negative or positive- affect an individual’s ability to learn. He also did work with the idea that repeat exposure to certain stimuli can be used to train individuals to engage in non-instinctual behaviors- like teaching a child with ADHD to sit still or be quiet.
Bandura
Of the behavioral psychologists that are famous today, Bandura was among the leaders who first focused on children and how they grow and develop and what issues they may face during development. Many of his experiences and study involved how children learn behaviors as they grow, which laid the foundation for modern research into issues such as ADHD, anxiety, learning disability, and more.
Piaget
Taking the work that Bandura started and advancing it, Piaget focused even more keenly on children and the development of their behavioral and cognitive functions. His most famous contribution was the idea of the child’s process of intellectual development. This model outlined the different stages of growth and development that children went through and also outlined problems that could be the result of issues during these different stages.
Dealing with the mind and the mental processes of humans is a complex and involved process that has taken centuries to build and will take even more centuries to fully unlock. These great minds of the past have laid the foundation for modern approaches to behavioral and mental disorders. Their work has led to new treatment options for ADHD, OCD, and other mental concerns for children and adolescents.
If you need quality ADHD treatment in Mobile, AL, from caring medical professionals, make an appointment at Delta Behavioral. View their website for further information.