John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner shifted focus in the field of psychology away from the study of consciousness, focusing instead on

behavior

cognition

humanistic psychology

Gestalt psychology

Behavior

Behavioral psychology or Behaviorism is most commonly associated with psychologists such as Watson and Skinner. Behavioral theories state that behaviors and learning in humans and animals are simply responses to external stimuli. Classical conditioning, operant condition, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are the phenomena most commonly associated with human and animal behavior.