4.1.5 - behaviour modification, including 'shaping behaviour'

Question 1

what are the aims of behaviour modification?

Answer 1

it extinguishes undesirable behaviours by removing the reinforcer
the original behaviour is replaced with a desired behaviour

Question 2

what is shaping?

Answer 2

selective reinforcement of successive closer approximations to a target behaviour

Question 3

how does behaviour modification work to shape behaviour?

Answer 3

1. at the start of the behaviour-shaping exercise, general desired behaviours which relate to what you want to see are rewarded
2. when this behaviour is shown, rewards become more selective so only behaviours closer to the exact desired behaviour are rewarded
3. this process repeats, getting closer and closer to the desired behaviour

Question 4

strengths of operant conditioning - explanation of behaviour?

Answer 4

theory explain wide range of behaviours, from addiction to language acquisition (when people find a substance rewarding it becomes addictive, children encouraged to develop language when rewarded by their parents for saying something)

Question 5

strengths of operant conditioning - supporting evidence?

Answer 5

Skinner’s experiments with the Skinner Box show how behaviours can be strengthened by reinforcement and weakened by punishment

Question 6

strengths of operant conditioning - comparison to classical conditioning?

Answer 6

operant conditioning may be better/more useful as you can condition a wider range of responses, while classical conditioning only works for reflex/automatic responses

Question 7

strengths of operant conditioning -
usefulness?

Answer 7

theory has valuable real-world applications as token economies are successfully used in schools and prisons to encourage good behaviour

Question 8

weaknesses of operant conditioning - contradictory evidence?

Answer 8

Lepper et al. (1973) found that anticipating rewards reduced children’s interest in and intrinsic motivation for drawing - suggests reinforcement isn’t always best way to strengthen a behaviour as can have the opposite effect

Question 9

strengths of learning theories - scientific?

Answer 9

theories are scientific because their concepts can be defined and measured empirically
experiments which demonstrate them can be easily replicated to assess reliability

Question 10

weaknesses of learning theories - nature of experiments used to demonstrate them?

Answer 10

they are conducted in controlled laboratory settings which could reduce their ecological validity

Question 11

weaknesses of learning theories - reductionist?

Answer 11

reduce behaviour to learning through association or reinforcement, ignoring role of biological factors like genetics

Question 12

weaknesses of learning theories - basis on animal research?

Answer 12

animal behaviour different to that of humans which raises questions about whether findings can be extrapolated to humans

Question 13

weaknesses of learning theories - ethical issues?

Answer 13

can be argued that using animals in labs to show learning theories is ethically wrong eg. people say Pavlov’s research caused unnecessary harm to dogs (counter-argument - justify as it improved understanding of behaviour)