Approaches Flashcards
thwhat’s the behaviourist approach and what does it state?
The behaviourist approach is a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable- it is not concerned with observing mental processes. The behaviourist approach states that everyone is a blank slate and behaviour can be explained by experience.
What are the 2 important forms of learning in behaviourism?
- Classical conditioning
2. Operant conditioning
what is classic conditioning?
classical conditioning refers to learning through association.
who demonstrated classical conditioning? and what did he show?
Pavlov showed classical conditioning. He showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate the sound of a bell if the bell was presented at the same time they were given food . Eventually the dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell with food leading to them to salivate every time they heard a bell.
what are the different conditions involved within classical conditioning
- neutral stimulus
- unconditioned response
- conditoned stimulus
- conditioned response
- conditioned stimulus
give an example of classical conditioning
NS-FLYING UCS-TURBULENCE UCR-FEAR/PANIC CS-FLYING CR-FEAR/PANIC
what is operant conditioning?
operant conditioning refers to learning through reinforcement/consequences. Meaning that behaviour is shaped by reinforcements/consequences.
what are the principles of operant conditioning
- positive reinforcement
- negative reinforcement
- positive punshiment
- negative punishment
how does positive reinforcement influence behaviour
positive reinforcement is when something good is added, making us repeat the behaviour
how does negative reinforcement influence behaviour
negative reinforcement is when something bad is taken away, making us repeat the behaviour again
give an example of positive reinforcement
A mother gives her son praise or doing his homework and gives him £5.00 as a present- from this good thing added, he continues to do his homework (repeating the behaviour) .
give an example of negative reinforcement
Parents complain to their child when the child doesn’t clean their room. The child therefore starts cleaning their room to make the complaining stop- from this bad thing being taken away, the child repeats their behaviour of cleaning their room in order to avoid the complaining.
how does positive punishment influence behaviour
positive punishment,it when something bad is added making us never want to repeat the behaviour again
how does negative punishment influence behaviour
negative punishment is when something nice is taken away to make us never do it again
give an example of positive punishment
a boy forgets to do his homework, as a result he gets a double detention. From this bad thing being added, he learns to never not do his homework again
give an example of negative punishment
a child hits someone with his favourite toy, his toy then gets taken away from him as a punishment. Because its a good thing being taken away from him he learns not to hit people again.
who demonstrated operant conditioning
Skinner
what did skinner research
Skinner put rats into a ‘Skinner box’- within the box their was a lever. The rat explored the box and found the lever which when pressed it released a pellet of food- It did not take long for the rat to realise this- once they did, they continued to press the lever as it taught the rat to repeat the behaviour (positive reinforcement) . However, he then swapped the food for an electric current- Rats stopped pressing lever as realised the lever gives out electric current, therefore taught the rat to not press the lever (negative reinforcement)
what are the strengths of the behaviourist approach (learning theory)
1.A strength of the behaviourist approach is that it’s based on well controlled research. Behaviourist focused on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings allowing for all extraneous variables to be removed .For example - SKINNER- was able to demonstrate how reinforcement influenced animal behaviour (controlled lab experiment)
therefore acting as a strength as it suggests that the behaviourist approach/ behaviourist experiments have scientific credibility.
2.Another strength of the behaviourist approach is that it can be/ has been applied to real world behaviours and problems. Operant conditioning has been used sucsessfully within institutions: prisons, psych wards, to help with behaviours - (rewarding appropriate behaviour). Classical conditions has also been used to help explain phobias.
Therefore acting as a strength as it suggest that the bavhioursit approach has wide spread application
what are the weakness of the behaviourist approach
1.One weakness of the behaviourist approach is that it only focuses on past experiences. Skinner stated that everything we do is due to our reinforcement history and our past conditioning experience determine the outcome of what we do. However, this stands to ignores the concept of ‘free will’ and what influence that could have on behaviour.
This therefore is a weakness as it ignores the influence of concious-desion making (as stated within the cognitive approach) and fails to consider the role of free will, it states that we do not have control over our actions and that the behaviours we develop are governed by external experiences.
- Another weakness of the behaviourist approach is that os may be over-simplified as it attempts to reduce all aspects of human behaviour down to just one level of explanation. For example, the Behavioural approach reduces complex behaviours down to learning through our environment,through association and through rewards and punishment.
This therefore stands to be a weakness as it ignores all biological and cognitive factors and oversimplifies human behaviour to just ‘nuture’
what is social learning theory?
social learning theory is the theory which states that behaviour is learn through the observation and imitation of others and it focuses on the cognitive process.
what are the four cognitive processes that SLT focuses on and explain then in terms of SLT
- attention- the extent to which we notice behaviours
- retention-how well behaviour is remembered
- motor reproduction-the ability to perform the behaviour
- motivation-the will to perform the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished.
what are the cognitive processes called within SLT
meditational processes
is set learning directly or indirectly? and why?
SLT is learning indirectly. Its indirect as the experience id not happening to you, you are observing it happen to someone else
who were the mediational processes identified by?
Bandura
what is vicarious reinforcement and how does it link to imitation?
VR is Reinforcement that occurs through the observation of someone else being reinforced for a behaviour which isn’t experienced directly. This is a key factor of imitation as imitation will mostly only take play if positive reinforcement occurs from the observed behaviour