Approaches: The behaviourist approach

Question 1

what is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 1

The idea that personality is largely shaped by environmental factors, such as the rewards and punishments that individuals receive for their behaviours.

Question 2

what are behaviourist approach assumptions?

Answer 2

• Rejected Introspection because thought processes are subjective and difficult to test
• behaviour is learned through experience
• Only observable behaviour is measureable scientifically and only these behaviours should be studied.
• Its valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning. (classical and operant)

Question 3

Explain Pavlov’s research on classical conditioning.
Then list the neutral stimuli, unconditioned and conditioned response before and after conditioning.
(blurt on whiteboard)

Answer 3

• Classical conditioning is learning through association.
• Pavlov showed how dogs would be conditioned to salivate to a sound of a bell if that sound was repeated at the same they were fed.
• Gradually Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (stimulus) with the food (another stimulus) and would produce a salivation response every time they would hear the sound.
• Thus, Pavlov shows how the neutral stimulus (the bell) can produce a conditioned response (salivation) through association.

Before conditioning:
neutral stimuli = bell sound
unconditioned stimulus = food
unconditioned response = salivation
After conditioning:
conditioned stimulus = bell sound
conditioned response = salivation
neutral stimuli = bell sound

Question 4

Explain operant conditioning.
(including listing what the various types of reinforcement)
(blurt on whiteboard)

Answer 4

• Operant conditioning is a form of learning where behaviour is shaped and maintained by consequences:

Positive reinforcement = receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed. (e.g. praise from a teacher for answering a question correctly)

Negative reinforcement = when an animal or human avoids something unpleasant and the outcome is positive. (e.g. if you have a phobia of spiders and you run when you see one you would feel relieved. The next time you see a spider you’ll run again)

Punishment = an unpleasant consequence of a behaviour. (e.g. being shouted at by the teacher for talking during a lesson. Finding a way to avoid that would be negative reinforcement)

Question 5

Explain Skinner’s research on operant conditioning.
(blurt on whiteboard)

Answer 5

• Followed the ‘law of effect’ that was first stated by Edward Thorndike.
• The skinner box was an experimental tool that allowed complete control of the organisms environment, the behaviours that were available to it and the reinforcement or punishment it would recieve.
• Initially the rat would wonder around the box aimlessley until it accidently presses the lever and recieves a food pellet. Skinner would leave the animal in the box and measure how frequently the animal presses the lever over time. The frequency indicated the strength of the conditioning of the behaviour.
• A rat in a skinner’s box was givin a negative reinforcement might have an electric shock turned off if they presses the lever
• A rat in a skinner’s box that had its heat turned off when it presses the lever would be receiving punishment, and should learn to avoid the lever.

Question 6

Evaluate the Behaviourist approach.
(blurt on whiteboard)

Answer 6

P: one strength of the research is that it is based on well controlled research.
E: Behaviorists employ controlled experiments to study behavior, which enhances the reliability and validity of their findings. For instance, Skinner’s experiments with rats established clear cause-and-effect relationships between behavior and reinforcement.
E: allows behaviorists to make objective claims about behavior, contributing to psychology’s status as a science.
A: Behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process. By reducing behaviour to simple components, behaviourists may have ignored an important influence on learning - that of human thought. Cognitive psychology, for example, emphasizes the role of thoughts and beliefs in shaping behavior.
L: Therefore, while the scientific approach of behaviorism provides a strong foundation for understanding behavior, it may offer an incomplete picture by ignoring cognitive factors.

P: another strength is that it has practical application, particularly in behavior modification.
E: techniques such as operant conditioning have been effectively used in settings like schools and therapy to reinforce desired behaviors. For example, token economies reward positive behavior with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges.
E: this increases the value of behaviourist approach because it has widespread application
A: