Psychological behaviorism is a form of behaviorism—a major theory within psychology which holds that generally human behaviors are learned—proposed by Arthur W. Staats. The theory is constructed to advance from basic animal learning principles to deal with all types of human behavior, including personality, culture, and human evolution. Behaviorism was first developed by John B. Watson (1912), who coined the term "behaviorism", and then B. F. Skinner who developed what is known as "radical behaviorism". Watson and Skinner rejected the idea that psychological data could be obtained through introspection or by an attempt to describe consciousness; all psychological data, in their view, was to be derived from the observation of outward behavior. The strategy of these behaviorists was that the animal learning principles should then be used to explain human behavior. Thus, their behaviorisms were based upon research with animals.

Staats' program takes the animal learning principles, in the form in which he presents them, to be basic. But, also on the basis of his study of human behaviors, adds human learning principles. These principles are unique, not evident in any other species. Holth also critically reviews psychological behaviorism as a "path to the grand reunification of psychology and behavior analysis".

The preceding behaviorisms of Ivan P. Pavlov, Edward L. Thorndike, John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, and Clark L. Hull studied the basic principles of conditioning with animals. These behaviorists were animal researchers. Their basic approach was that those basic animal principles were to be applied to the explanation of human behavior. They did not have programs for the study of human behavior broadly, and deeply.

Staats was the first to do his research with human subjects. His study ranged from research on basic principles to research and theory analysis of a wide variety of human behaviors, real life human behaviors. That is why Warren Tryon (2004) suggested that Staats change the name of his approach to psychological behaviorism, because Staats behaviorism is based upon human research and unifies aspects of traditional study with his behaviorism.

That includes his study of the basic principles. For example, the original behaviorists treated the two types of conditioning in different ways. The most generally used way by B. F. Skinner constructively considered classical conditioning and operant conditioning to be separate and independent principles. In classical conditioning, if a piece of food is provided to a dog shortly after a buzzer is sounded, for a number of times, the buzzer will come to elicit salivation, part of an emotional response. In operant conditioning, if a piece of food is presented to a dog after the dog makes a particular motor response, the dog will come to make that motor response more frequently.

For Staats, these two types of conditioning are not separate, they interact. A piece of food elicits an emotional response. A piece of food presented after the dog has made a motor response will have the effect of strengthening that motor response so that it occurs more frequently in the future.

Staats sees the piece of food to have two functions: one function is that of eliciting an emotional response, the other function is that of strengthening the motor behavior the precedes the presenting of food. So classical conditioning and operant conditioning are very much related.

Positive emotion stimuli will serve as positive reinforcers. Negative emotion stimuli will serve as punishers. As a consequence of humans' inevitable learning positive emotion stimuli will serve as positive discriminative stimuli, incentives. Negative emotion stimuli will serve as negative discriminative stimuli, disincentives. Therefore, emotion stimuli also have reinforcing value and discriminative stimulus value. Unlike Skinner's basic principles, emotion and classical conditioning are central causes of behavior.