approaches - behaviourist

Question 1

what is the behaviourist approach

Answer 1

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

Question 2

what is operant condition

Answer 2

organisms produce spontaneous behaviour for which there are consequences which are either positive or negative whether an organism repeats the behaviour depends on the consequences

Question 3

what is classical conditioning

Answer 3

learning by association when a NS is consistently paired with UCS so it eventually takes the properties of this stimulus and is able to produce a CR

Question 4

what is punishment

Answer 4

the application of an unpleasant consequence following a behaviour with the result that the behaviour is less likely to happen in the future

Question 5

what is reinforcement

Answer 5

-something in the environment that strengthens a particular behaviour making it more likely to occur it can be negative or positive

Question 6

classical conditioning experiment

Answer 6

Aim - to find out if reflexive behaviour can be produced in a new situation
Procedure - 35 dogs in sealed room no extraneous variables ) dogs harnessed and tube in bottle to measure saliva
Finding- conditioned dogs salivate after 9 secs @ 45 secs 11 drops of saliva
Conclusion - all animals born with natural reflexs which can be conditioned to produce CR and NS

Question 7

operant conditioning experiment

Answer 7

Aim- to analyse animal behaviour by detecting when an animal has performed a desired behaviour and then administering a reward
procedure- skinner’s rat box accidently pressed lever learned action through postive reinforcement (food)
green lever = electric shock negative reinforcement didnt touch
findings- 2 types of reinforcement (positive/negative) which increase/ decrease likihood of behaviour
conclusion- animals repeats a particular behaviour depending on the nature of the consequences

Question 8

evaluation of the behaviourist approach

Answer 8

+clasical conditioning = applied to therapy Systematic Desensitisation 75 % works as it is based on classical conditioning principles TMB highlights aspects many be true and can have life changing affect on those who suffe.
+ supporting study little albert phobias can be created
-Operant conditioning = over-reliant on non human animals ignores free will/ conscious in humans

Question 9

what is positive punishment

Answer 9

Something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour.

Question 10

what is positive reinforcement

Answer 10

Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behaviour.

Question 11

what is negative punishment

Answer 11

Something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour.

Question 12

what is negative reinforcement

Answer 12

something is taken away to increase likelihood of behaviour

Question 13

assumptions of behaviourism

Answer 13

-rejects introspection focusing solely on observable events (stimulus - response)
-foccuses on environment and how we are shaped by experience

Question 14

how does classical conditioning work - 3 steps

Answer 14

before conditioning = certain stimulus eg food known as UCS triggers a natural reflex eg salivation known as UCR
Acquisition phase = UCS repeatedly presented with another stimulus eg bell known as NS triggers salivation UCR
after conditioning = CS only bell triggers CR of salivation

Question 15

features of classical conditioning

Answer 15

timing= if stimulus does predict the UCS then learning won’t occur
extinction = if the CS is presented in the absence of UCS it loses its ability to produce the CR
generalisation = when stimuli similar to original CS eg bell with different pitch produces CR eg little Albert

Question 16

schedules of reinforcement

Answer 16

-refer to how often a reinforcement is given
continuous reinforcement = reinforce every time a behaviour occurs
partial reinforcement = to reinforce only certain responses eg users checking number of likes on a post

Question 17

schedules of reinforcement (intervals and ratios)

Answer 17

fixed interval = reinforcement given after set amount of time eg he texts you once a day
variable interval= reinforcement given variable amount of time eg sometimes 3 texts a day or none
fixed ratio = reinforcement given after fixed amount of responses eg he texts u after u text him
variable ratio = reinforcement given after variable amount of responses ed he texts sometimes to each text sometimes after a few

Question 18

evaluate behaviourist approach
phobias

Answer 18

+application to real world theory of classical conditioning useful applications in real world eg mcgraph found 75 % effective systematic densensitation works by eliminating anxious response and learning relaxation leading to calm in presence of feared object TMB if the treatment is effective and based on the premises of classical conditioning it implies that aspects of theory are correct and valid

Question 19

evaluate behaviourist approach science

Answer 19

+ a strength of pavlova and skinners research is that they rely on the experimental method eg controlled conditions such as lab and manipulated the consequence of behaviour and establish a cause-effect relationship TMB it establishes a reliant trustworthy research based on scientific process

Question 20

HOWEVER evaluate behaviourist approach animals

Answer 20

a significant flaw with skinner and pavlovs research was their use of non-human animals for example skinner used dogs and pavlov used rats and pigeons TMB we can’t necessarily extrapolate findings on these animals for example humans have free will and are conscious we may not rely on positive/negative reinforcement as heavily