Assumptions Flashcards
Who made the behaviourist approach?
John B Watson 1930
What do the behaviourists believe?
Behaviour should be studied scientifically
All behaviour should come from an individual’s interaction with their environment
-Behaviour should be reduced down to a stimulus response relationship (stimulus= an external response
Response= a behaviour produced in response to a stimulus)
What is assumption 1?
Humans are born like blank slates
A1 Blank slate- what is tabula rasa?
Blank slate, we are born blank and our environment raises us
A1 Blank slate- what did this mean?
Newborns are born completely neutral with only basic responses like hunger, pain and crying. And will be moulder by the environment
Everything we have comes through environment
Nothings innate
Is assumption 1 blank slate nature or nurture?
Nurture as our environment is how we learn and we aren’t born with responses so it’s Inmate
Is assumption 1 blank slate determinism or free will?
Free will, we can choose what we want to be
But some may argue determinism as we can be what we want by learning their is observable behaviour
Personality and behaviour determined by environment meaning we don’t have free will over behaviour as it’s been shaped by environment and experience
What is assumption 2?
Behaviours learned by conditioning
What does behaviour is learned by conditioning mean?
All our behaviour is learned through the environment and there are 2 main mechanisms are how they are learned
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, what are the 2 mechanisms?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, what is classical conditioning?
Learning is though conditioning
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, classical conditioning how are associations made?
Previously unlearned response and a neutral experience are paired together enough times so the neutral experience will produce the unlearned response
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, classical conditioning stage 1: before conditioning?
1) Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) –> produces a unconditioned response (UCR)
2) Neutral stimulus (NS) –> produces no response
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, CC: stage 2, during conditioning?
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) + Neutral stimulus (NS) –> produces an Unconditioned responses (UCR)
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, CC: stage 3, after conditioning?
Conditioned stimulus (CS) –> produces a conditioned response (CR)
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, evidence of classical conditioning?
Pavlov’s dogs
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, conditioning schedule for pavlov’s dogs?
Stage 1- Before conditioning:
UCS= food —> UCR= salivate and eat food
NS= a bell —> no response
Stage 2- During conditioning
UCS= food + NS= bell –> UCR= salivate
Stage 3- After conditioning
CS= bell —> CR= salivate
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, what is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequence
-More voluntary than classical conditioning, the idea that when behave in a particular way they are rewarded so they repeat it
If they are punished they will stop
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, OC- what does reinforcement do?
Strengthens behaviour
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, OC- what does punishment do?
Weaken behavior
What is positive reinforcment?
A reward or pleasent consequence that increases the likelihood that a behaviour or action will repeated
for example, doing homework= positive point
Cleaning house= get a sweet
What is negative reinforcement?
When an unpleasant experience is removed after a behaviour is made increasing the likelihood of that behaviour being reputed
e.g revising for a test= avoiding fatalism
Car no longer beeping after plugging a seatbelt ib
What is punishment?
A stimulus that weakens behaviour because it is unpleasant and we try and avoid it
e.g. given after school detention if late
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, OC- example of this?
Skinner’s rats
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning OC, skinner’s rats positive conditioning?
Positive reinforcement- when the rats press the lever they get a treat
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, OC- what is negative conditioning?
The rats get electrocuted with shocks and when they press the lever it stops
A2- Behaviour is learned through conditioning, OC- what is punishment?
Rats in a room temperature box with heater, when the rats press the lever, the heater turns off and it gets cold
What is assumption 3?
Humans and animals learn in the same way
A3- humans and animals learn in the same way, what does this mean?
There is no differences in the way an animal learns and the way human learns
Both humans and animals are products of their environment and for both of them all their behaviour is determined by a stimulus response relationships
Humans may be more complex but they are essentially the same so our findings can be generalised
A3- humans and animals learn in the same way, examples of classical conditioning?
Aversion therapy
A3- humans and animals learn in the same way, CC- what is aversion therapy?
If we eat unhealthy food we get a pleasurable stimulus so we continue to eat
But if we get a mild shock whilst snacking an adverion is created and cravings are reduced
A3- humans and animals learn in the same way, what is our operant conditioning?
Token economy
A3- humans and animals learn in the same way, what is a token economy?
A token economy is behaviour modification main reinforcement is a token
Tokens are linked to a range of backup reinforcers so essentially they acquire symbolic value
A3- humans and animals learn in the same way, example of token economy’s?
A cycle
Child had no tokens so can’t access what they desire
-Child enforces desirable behaviour
-Child given a token for a reward
-Child trades token for a reward
so is a cycle
A3- humans and animals learn in the same way, where are token economy’s used?
In institutions like with the mentally ill, mentally handicapped or adolescence
For example, in a prison, if a prisoner does good things they get a token and if they get a certain amount of tokens they can get a reward
