5.2 The behaviourist approach

Question 1

What approach does both Skinner and Pavlov’s theories fall under?

Answer 1

The behaviourist approach.

Question 2

What was Skinner’s rat experiment an example of?

Answer 2

Operant conditioning in the form of positive and negative reinforcement

Question 3

At first, what happened if the rats found / pressed a button in the box? - Skinner

Answer 3

They were rewarded with food.

Question 4

What is the rat receiving a treat after pressing a button an example of in Skinners rat experiment?

Answer 4

positive reinforcement

Question 5

What was the second step in Skinner’s experiment - in regards to the rat?

Answer 5

the box gave an electric shock, if the rats pressed the button it stopped

Question 6

What is the rat being able to stop an electric shock after pressing a button an example of in Skinners rat experiment?

Answer 6

negative reinforcement

Question 7

What did Skinner do in the third and final portion of his rat experiment?

Answer 7

he reversed the button, the rats were shocked for pressing it.

Question 8

Why did the rat eventually stop pressing the button after being shocked for pressing it in Skinner’s experiment?

Answer 8

Due to the punishment received

Question 9

What was Pavlov’s dog experiment an example of?

Answer 9

Classical conditioning

Question 10

What did Pavlov observe in his dog?

Answer 10

his dog would salivate when presented with food.

Question 11

What did Pavlov state that food was to the dog?

Answer 11

a natural unconditioned stimulus

Question 12

What happened when Pavlov presented his dog with food? Why?

Answer 12

salivate

an unconditioned response to the stimulus of food

Question 13

Why does the dog not respond to the neutral stimulus of a bell? - Pavlov

Answer 13

without conditioning the dog will not respond to the bell

Question 14

What did Pavlov observe after repeating his experiment several times? - He presents the dog with food and rings a bell at the same time

Answer 14

his dog would salivate at the sound of the bell, even in the absence of food

Question 15

What were the final observations from Pavlov’s experiment, in regards to his dog?

Answer 15

Salivation became a conditioned response to the bell which is now a conditioned stimulus.

Question 16

list three basic assumptions of the behaviourist approach.

Answer 16

external forces in the environment shape our behaviour, these can be either positive or negative
classical conditioning: established behaviour through association (Pavlov’s dog)
operant conditioning: behaviour changed through reinforcement (Skinner’s rat)
punishment: behaviour is followed by a consequence that is unpleasurable or undesirable. This leads to the extinction(loss) of a behaviour.

Question 17

when looking at the behaviourist approach, nature and/or nurture?

Answer 17

Nurture.
behaviour is a consequence of our interactions with the environment and the consequences of our behaviour within that environment

Question 18

when looking at the behaviourist approach, scientific or nonscientific? (methods and theories; explain)

Answer 18

behaviourism aligns itself strongly with the scientific method.
highly objective and experimentally based. by focusing only on responses that can be accurately measured, it aligns itself with the rigour of the scientific method. this allows for a high degree of replication

Question 19

when looking at the behaviourist approach, determinism or free will?

Answer 19

Determinism:
Behaviour is determined by the consequences of our behaviour, i.e reinforcement history. This determines the likelihood of a behaviour recurring.
Behaviourists such as Skinner emphasises the importance of external forces in the environment in shaping our behaviour (environmental determinism)

Question 20

when looking at the behaviourist approach, reductionism or holism?

Answer 20

Environmental reductionism:

Behaviour is broken down into simple stimulus-response associations

Question 21

positive evaluations/strengths of the behaviourist approach.

Answer 21

Classical conditioning:
explanations include development of treatments for reduction of anxiety
Operant conditioning:
Reliance on the experimental method

Question 22

negative evaluations/limitations of the behaviourist approach.

Answer 22

Classical conditioning:
Different species have different capabilities to learn through classical conditioning
Operant conditioning:
Much of Skinner’s work was on non-human animals, such as a rat, this excludes the possibility of human free will
Behaviourist explanations ignore the role played by cognitive and emotional factors

Question 23

key term: behaviourist?

Answer 23

people who believe that human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without the need to consider thoughts or feelings

Question 24

define classical conditioning?

Answer 24

when a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus so that it eventually takes on the properties of this stimulus and is able to produce a conditioned response

Question 25

define operant conditioning

Answer 25

learning through reinforcement or punishment.

if a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence then that behaviour is more likely to occur again in the future

Question 26

define punishment

Answer 26

involves the application of an unpleasant consequence following a behaviour, with the result that the behaviour is far less likely to occur again in the future

Question 27

define reinforcement

Answer 27

a term used in psychology to refer to anything that strengthens a response and increases the likelihood that it will occur again in the future.

Question 28

Define positive reinforcement?

Answer 28

The learning effect of a desirable consequence on behaviour.

Question 29

Define negative reinforcement?

Answer 29

The learning effect of a behaviour removing something unpleasant.

Question 30

Define a unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 30

A stimulus that automatically leads to a particular response.

Question 31

Define a conditioned stimulus?

Answer 31

A neutral stimulus that we have learned to pair with a response that is not the original unconditioned stimulus.