In terms of personality, what do behaviorists focus on?

Behaviorists concentrate on observable behaviors that can be measured and analyzed rather than on internal processes such as thoughts, feelings, or motivations. This perspective rests on the idea that human behavior is largely shaped by interactions with the environment, highlighting the role of stimuli and reinforcement in developing behaviors.

For behaviorists, personality is not viewed as a collection of internal traits or desires, but as a pattern of responses to environmental factors. They emphasize that behaviors can be understood through conditioning—both classical and operant—and that studying these observable actions provides insights into personality development. This approach gives priority to empirical data and replicable observations over subjective interpretations of internal states.

The other options suggest frameworks that are not aligned with the behaviorist perspective. Internal motivations and desires focus on cognitive and emotional influences, subconscious conflicts relate to psychoanalytic theories, and personality traits as fixed qualities implies an inherent, stable aspect of personality that behaviorists do not endorse. Instead, behaviorists would assert that personality is fluid and shaped by context and learning experiences.