Approaches: The Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

Assumption of the behaviourist approach

Answer 1

• psychology should on study observable, quantifiable behavior
• the subject matter of psychology should be the laws that predict how behavior changes and can be controlled through classical and operant conditioning
• humans are only animals and should not be treated as more complex
• ^because of this, research on animal behavior is directly relevant to humans

Question 2

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 2

• learning through association

Question 3

Pavlov’s dogs

Answer 3

Pavlov revealed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food.

Pavlov demonstrated that dogs could be conditioned to salivate upon hearing a bell, as follows:
1. Before conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (food) produced an unconditioned response (salivation).
2. During conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (food) was repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus (a bell), to produce the same unconditioned response (salivation).
3. An association was made between the unconditioned stimulus (food) and the neutral stimulus (bell).
4. After conditioning, the neutral stimulus (bell) became the conditioned stimulus (bell), producing the conditioned response (salivation).
5. Generalisation to other stimuli may occur

Thus, Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus, in this case a bell, can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association.

Question 4

what is operant conditioning?

Answer 4

Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which a new voluntary behaviour is associated with a consequence

reinforcement makes the behaviour more likely to occur, while punishment makes it less likely to occur.

proposed by skinner in 1953

Question 5

types of operant conditioning ?

Answer 5

• positive reinforcement: receiving an award when a certain behaviour is performed
• negative reinforcement: occurs when an animal or human avoids something unpleasant (the removal of a negative stimulus)
• punishment: the unpleasant consequence of a behaviour

o Positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated. Punishment decreases the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated.

Question 6

Skinners box

Answer 6

1948

Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box.
- The box contained a lever on the side, and as the rat moved about the box, it would accidentally knock the lever.
- Immediately, it did so that a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever.
- After being put in the box a few times, the rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever.
- The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.

Skinner repeated this with negative reinforcement.
- A rat in a Skinner’s box that was given negative reinforcement might have had a consistent electric shock turned off if they press a lever, and so would subsequently learn to press the lever more often.

Question 8

Positive evaluations for the behaviorist approach

Answer 8

1. Has good scientific credibility
   - behaviorism was able to bring the language and methods of the natural sciences into psychology
   - focused on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab setting
   - objective and replicable
2. Has good real-life application
   - these principles of conditioning have been applied to real-world behaviors and problems
   - operant conditioning used in prisons psychiatric wards
   - treatments using these methods require less effort from a patient because the patient doesn’t have to think about their prnlem
3. Little Albert case study
   - Watson and raynor 1920
   - rat = neutral stimulus
   - second time the rat was presented a hammer and this was struck behind his head
   - the hammer/loud noise = unconditional stimulus
   - fear = unconditional response
   - the white rate becomes a conditional stimulus
   - the fear to the rate became a conditioned response

Generalization: fur and white bearded Santa clause mask
- little Albert became scared of all things white and fluffy

Question 9

Negative evaluations for the behavioral approach

Answer 9

1. environmental determinism
   - ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour
   - according to skinner our past conditioning history determines all outcomes of behaviour
2. Ethical and practical issues
   - use of animals
   - little Albert trauma