2- behaviourist approach (classical conditioning)

Question 1

what does the behaviourist approach suggest

Answer 1

all behaviour is learnt rather than being innate or inherited from parents

Question 2

what is classical conditioning

Answer 2

• one way in which behaviour can be learned
• learning through association
• stimulus produces same response as another stimulus because they have been consistently present at the same time

Question 3

describe Pavlov’s experiment

Answer 3

1. before conditioning: food (unconditioned stimulus) that produces reflex of salivating (unconditioned response), bell (neutral stimulus) produces no conditioned response
2. during conditioning: food (unconditioned stimulus) repeatedly paired with bell (neutral stimulus) until dog associates bell with food
3. after conditioning: bell (conditioned stimulus) produces salivation in the dogs (conditioned response)

Question 4

explain timing in classical conditioning

Answer 4

if neutral stimulus cannot be used to predict the unconditioned stimulus (because the neutral stimulus occurs first or there is too much time between them) conditioning will not take place

Question 5

explain extinction in classical conditioning

Answer 5

the conditioned response is not permanent and after a few presentations of the bell being rung without food appearing the dogs stopped salivating (behaviour is now extinct)

Question 6

explain spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning

Answer 6

if the conditioned response becomes extinct, but then an attempt is made to teach the conditioned response again, it will be learned much more quickly than it was originally

Question 7

explain stimulus generalisation in classical conditioning

Answer 7

once an animal has been conditioned they will respond to other similar stimuli in the same way they would respond to the conditioned stimulus (e.g. a tuning fork would produce the same response as the bell)

Question 8

explain discrimination in classical conditioning

Answer 8

stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimuli (bell) will not produce the conditioned response (salivation)

Question 9

positive evaluation of classical conditioning (1)

Answer 9

+ can be easily tested and measured in a scientific way by using lab observations which helps aid objectivity and replication as behaviour is observed in highly controlled setting

Question 10

general evaluation of classical conditioning

Answer 10

+ evidence that classical conditioning explains development of learning and phobias (Little Albert and Pavlov dog research)
- findings from little albert were in a lab setting and it may be different in a different environment so findings may be weak and lack ecological validity

Question 11

negative evaluation of classical conditioning (3)

Answer 11

• criticised by biological approach as it ignores role of genes, hormones, neural mechanisms that cause behaviour (e.g. schizophrenia is caused mostly by genes and gene mapping shows this, it is unlikely that someone can learn how to be schizophrenic)
• views humans/animals as passive recipients who have machine like responses to stimuli and that they have little conscious as they can easily learn new behaviour so this minimises free will
• limited to young children and animals, doesn’t strongly explain how adults learn new behaviours