Approaches In Psychology - The Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

What is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 1

A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable & in terms of learning

Question 2

What are some key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 2

Not concerned with investigating mental processes - irrelevant
Early behaviourists (e.g. John B. Watson) rejected introspection - involved to many vague & untestable concepts
Rely on lab studies
Believe all behaviour is learned
We are all born a ‘tabula rasa’ (blank slate) and learn all our behaviour through nature
No free will (environmentally deterministic)
Behaviour is the result of stimulus-response
All behaviour learnt through classical/operant conditioning

Question 3

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 3

Learning by association

Question 4

Which psychologist studied classical conditioning & what did he do?

Answer 4

Pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if the sound was repeatedly presented at the time they were given food. He showed that a neutral stimulus (the bell) could come to elicit a new response (conditioned response) through association

Question 5

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 5

Learning by consequence

Question 6

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 6

Receiving an award when a certain behaviour is performed, increases the likelihood that the behaviour is repeated

Question 7

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 7

Occurs when someone avoids something unpleasant which increases the desired behaviour

Question 8

What is punishment?

Answer 8

An unpleasant consequence of behaviour, which decreases likelihood the behaviour is repeated

Question 9

Which psychologists studied operant conditioning & what did he do?

Answer 9

Skinner suggested learning is an active process whereby humans & animals operate their environment. He designed skinner’s box where a rat was placed into a box & every time it pulled on the lever in the box, it would get a food pellet otherwise it would get an electric shock & very quickly it learned to pull the lever

Question 10

What are the strengths of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 10

Well-controlled research - focus on observable behaviour in highly controlled lab setting
Real-world application - token economy systems, treatment of phobias

Question 11

What are the limitations of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 11

Behaviourists have simplified the learning process - reducing behaviour to stimulus-response units
Environmentally deterministic - ignores free will
Ethical issues - the animals were mistreated sometimes