Approaches in Psychology-The Behaviourist Approach Flashcards
Who created the Behaviourist Approach?
John Watson in 1915 created the Behaviourist approach completely rejecting the vagueness of introspection
What is the behaviourist approach?
It observed people and how they behaved in different environment
What did John Watson say we were born as?
Blank slates ‘tabula rasa’- all we have at birth is capacity to learn and all behaviour learnt from environment
What is behaviour a result of?
It’s a result of stimulus-response
Why can humans and animals be seen as similar in the behaviourist approach?
There is little difference between learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals
When did Pavlov discover classical conditioning?
In 1905
What is classical conditioning and how was it found?
Pavlov found that dogs could be trained to salivate to the sound of a ringing bell
How does classical conditioning work?
1) Before Conditioning- A UCS (the food) leads to a UCR (salivation)
2) -During conditioning- Pairing a NS (the bell) with a UCS (food) will create an association with the UCR (salivation)
3-After conditioning-After regular pairing, the NS (bell) will become a CS (bell) and will lead to its own CR (salivation)
What are positives in classical conditioning?
- Most research is done in laboratories and is therefore reliable due to the high level of control possible
- Classical conditioning has been used in developing treatments for mental illness e.g. systematic desensitization to treat phobias; which has been found to be very effective
What are negatives of classical conditioning?
- Classical conditioning ignores the role of biology in behaviour; instead it suggests everything stems from stimulus-response learning
- Classical conditioning assumes animals and humans behave the same way and does not take into account the internal processes humans have in comparison to animals
How is operant conditioning learnt?
It is learnt from the consequences of our behaviour
Who created operant conditioning?
B.F. Skinner
What were the three types of operant conditioning?
- Positive Reinforcement: Anything that has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using pleasant consequences eg. Dog gets treat for sitting
- Negative Reinforcement: Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of behaviour being repeated by removing unpleasant consequences eg. Student does homework to avoid detention
- Punishment: Anything which has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour by using unpleasant consequences e.g. Get detention for no HW so does HW next time to avoid detention
What was Skinner’s Box?
B.F. Skinner placed rats in a cage that was designed to deliver food only when a lever was pressed by the rat; positive reinforcement
What was the electric shock version of Skinner’s box?
Skinner used a box where he put rats in and an electric shock would be delivered if the rats moved around the box- they can push lever to stop the shocks and they learn that: negative reinforcement
