Approaches- The Behaviourist Approach Flashcards
What do Behaviourist argue?
That behavior is learnt through experiences and interactions with the environment
Leading theorist in that are part of the the behaviourist approach ?
Skinner - operant conditioning
Pavlov - classical conditioning
Stimulus-response mechanisms
Behaviorists argue it is only possible to scientifically investigate what can be directly observed and measured.
This includes what you do to a organism (STIMULUS) and the resulting behaviour (RESPONSE)
Rejection of internal mental processes
As the mind cannot be directly observed, BEHAVIORISTS argue it is a ‘black box’, not suitable for scientific study
Environmental determinism
Behaviourists argue behaviour is the result of experience ; they believe that behavior can be predicted and controlled by manipulating
Classical Conditioning also known as…
associative learning
The dog’s in Pavlov’s research…
Produced saliva before seeing or smelling food, suggesting they formed an association between the sound of the bell and food
Classical conditioning argues
argues an unconditioned response can be triggered by a neutral stimulus, through repeated pairing
eventually, the neutral stimulus alone produces the conditioned response
Pavlov’s research used how many types of stimulus?
2
Neutral stimulus
Unconditioned stimulus
Neutral stimulus in Pavlov’s research
metronome
Unconditioned stimulus
food
Reflexive response of dogs?
Salivation
Pavlov
Procedure
-Pavlov paired the neutral stimuli (food) w/ the unconditioned stimulus over several trials
-the N stimulus was presented just before the UNC stimulus
-Pavlov then recorded the dogs’ salivary responses
Pavlov
Findings
-Pavlov observed that the dogs began to salivate not only in response to the food (the metronome)
-even when the food was not presented
-this indicated that the dogs had learned to associate the N stimulus with the food
What type of conditioning was Pavlov study?
Classical conditioning
What type of conditioning was Skinner study?
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning
known as learning by reinforcement
Operant conditioning on animals
When an organism performs voluntary response, it learns from the consequences of those actions
Consequences that are rewarding reinforce a behavior, so they are performed more frequently, and actions that result in consequences
Skinner’s research involved…
involved rats and pigeons
What is Skinner famous for ?
using the ‘Skinner box’
‘Skinner Box
a controlled environment designed to study operant conditioning
Skinner’s research
Procedure
Rats were placed in the the ‘Skinner box’ w/o prior training
Skinner then observed how animals learnt to operate levels to receive a reward (food pellet) or avoid punishment
Skinner’s research
Findings
-Skinner demonstrated that behavior is influenced by the consequences that follow
-Behaviors followed by rewarding consequences are more likely to be repeated (reinforce
-while thos followed by an unddersirvbale consequece(s) are less likely to recur
What are the types of reinforcement
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Positive reinforcement
is adding a pleasant stimulus to encourage a desired behaviour
Negative reinforcement
removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage the behavior
Negative reinforcement in Skinner’s study
placing a rat in his Skinner box and then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some discomfort. As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off.
Positive reinforcement in Skinner’s study
Pressing a lever would result in the delivery of food, which served as a positive reinforcement, encouraging the rats to continue pressing the lever
Extinction
if the reinforcing consequences stop, then the person or animal will stop performing the behaviour
Behaviour shaping
it is possible to train animals to perform complex behaviors through the operant conditioning
First, simple behaviors are rewarded, then behaviours that are close to the desired behaviors are rewarded
Voluntary response
voluntary behaviours are controlled by the organism
Voluntary responses produce a behavior …
with an understanding that consequences may follow
Learners in voluntary response
The learner actively operates on the environment, so the behaviours are not reflexive but are produced to get a reward or to avoid punishment
Which type of conditioning study is a part of voluntary response ?
Operant conditioning
Maintenance of responses is part of what type of response?
voluntary response
Maintenance of response
operant conditioning explains how behaviors are continued or modified over time based on the reinforcements or punishments organisms receive
This involves the strengthening of behaviours if they are followed by positive outcomes(reinforcement) or the weakening of behaviours if they are followed by negative outcomes (punishment)
Real life example of maintenance of (v) responses
When someone later avoids their phobia, their reduction in anxiety is pleasant, acting as negative reinforcement
Involuntary response
The unconditioned and conditioned reflex-like responses are considered involuntary because they are automatic, meaning they are not under the conscious control of the organism
Examples related to Skinner’s research where voluntary responses were present ?
the rat decides what to do based on its experiences
Examples related to Pavlov’s research where involuntary responses were present ?
Pavlov’s rs, the dog naturally drools to food, and the association that develops between the neutral and the unconditioned stimuli is AUTOMATIC; the dog does not decide to drool to the metronome
Acquisition of responses is part of what type of response?
involuntary response
Acquisition of responses
classical conditioning explains how automatic responses to new stimuli develop through association
THIS IS THE INITIAL LEARNING PHASE
INITIAL LEARNING PHASE
where 2 stimuli are linked together to produce a new learnt response
Real life example of acquisition of (inv) responses
a person gaining a phobia due to associating the phobic object with stimuli that naturally causes a fear response
Which type of conditioning does acquisition of response link to?
Classical conditioning
Which study represents involuntary response?
Pavlov
Which study represents voluntary response?
Skinner
Which type of response does involuntary response link to?
Acquisition of response
Which type of response does voluntary response link to?
Maintenance of response
Evaluation
scientific
A positive aspect of behaviourist approach is that it is scientific because it studies
OBJECTIVELY OBSERVABLE and measurable stimulus-response mechanisms
They establish a cause-and-effect RS through highly controlled lab experiments that manipulate variables systematically,
Such standardised procedures allowed for the replications of Pavlov’s and Skinner’s work.
These large scale studeos improve psychology scientific status,. leading to its recognition as a distinct scientific field
Evaluation
Critical generalisability
One criticism of Pavlov’s and Skinner’s use of animal subjects is that their findings may not be generalisable to Human Behaviour
Complex social and cultural forces influence human behavior, and humans possess greater intelligence, so simple stimulus-response mechanism man not adequately explain human behaviour
Evaluation
Practical applications
Positive aspect of the behaviourist theory is that it has several practical applications
such as effective counter conditioning treatments, token economy systems in prisons, and conditioning techniques used for classroom management
The fact that these applications are effective helps reduce maladaptive behaviour and suggests the behaviourist principles tehya dre based on are valid
Evaluation
unethical
Behaviorist behavioural modification techniques developed from studying animals
have been criticised as unethical when applied to humans
using such technique to alter rhuan behaviour has been viewed as manipulative, w/ potentially harmful effects, as seen in social media’s use do likes to drive engagement and gambling companies; use of variable ratio reinforcement , leading to highly compulsive behavior
Evaluation
Reductionist
Behaviorists’ attempt to explain behaviour due to simplistic stimulus-response links is overly reductionist
many human behaviours like justice, culture and self sacrifice are either too complex or challenging to describe as the result of reinforcement
-also taking an environmentally reductionist position ignores a range of other explanations for behaviour that there is evidence for such as social learning the unsocisonuhuy mind and the role of biology
