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.
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