Behaviorism is the study of human behavior and is based on the belief that all human behavior is learned. Behaviorism evolved during the 19th century and took hold in the early 20th century. Notable behaviorists include Albert Bandura, Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, Edward Lee Thorndike, Edward C. Tolman, and John B. Watson. These men opposed the study of consciousness, believing that psychology should instead focus only on what could be seen, heard, or touched. The result was a behavioral science that viewed humans as machines (Schultz & Schultz, 2008). This article offers a discussion of the evolution of behaviorism, the contributions of Albert Bandura, and the impact of behaviorism on modern psychology and life in the 21st century. The main schools of thought that preceded behaviorism were structuralism and functionalism. Structuralism is considered the first school of psychology. His goal was to break down mental processes into basic components, in an attempt to understand the elements of consciousness through introspection (Schultz & Schultz, 2008). From this form of new psychology on the structure of consciousness came functionalism which shifted attention to the functions of consciousness. Functionalism is about how the mind works, or how it is used by an organism to adapt to its environment. Functionalists have studied the mind as a conglomerate or accumulation of functions and processes that lead to practical consequences in the real world (Schultz & Schultz, 2008). Since the focuses of structuralism and functionalism are those of consciousness, mind, and soul, behaviorism differs, in that it focuses on observable behaviors. With the irrelevance of consciousness to behaviorism a new form of psycho...... middle of paper ...... treatment of autistic children with its behavioristic techniques. Behaviorism may not be as thriving as it was in the 20th century, yet its theories are still taught and applied every day. Works Cited Artino, A. r. (2007) Bandura, Ross and Ross: observational learning and the Bobo doll. Online submission, excerpted from EBSCO host Graham, S. and Weiner, B. (1996) Theories and principles of motivation. In D. C. Berliner and R. C. Calfee (eds.). Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 63-84). New York: Simon & Schuster MacmillanPajares (2002) Overview of social cognitive theory and self-efficacy; Retrieved January 27, 2011, from http://www.emory.edu/EDUCATION/mfp/eff.htmlSchacter, Gilbert, & Wegner, (2009) Psychology, Fourth Edition: New York, NY: Worth PublishersSchultz & Schultz (2008) History of psychology; Mason, OH: Cengage Learning