Behaviorist Approach

Question 1

Three main assumptions of behaviourism

Answer 1

• Nearly all behaviour is learnt: the only exceptions are a few inborn instincts. It claims that learning is the cause of the majority of behaviours
• Animals and humans learn in the same ways: humans can do much more complex things than animals, but the principles by which we learn is the same. This means animals can be research subjects
• The ‘mind’ is irrelevant: we cannot directly observe and measure a person’s thinking, so we can only obtain measurable data by studying behaviour. This means behaviourists only observe quantifiable behaviour

Question 2

Classical conditioning - Pavlov’s dogs

Answer 2

1) Whenever Pavlov gave his dogs some food, he would also ring a bell. After repeating this procedure several times, Pavlov then tried ringing the bell without giving the dogs any food. The bell alone caused salivation

2) When dogs see food, they salivate. This is an automatic, unlearned response, known as a reflex. The food is an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and salivation is an unconditioned response (UCR)

3) The bell had become a conditioned stimulus (CS), and salivation had become a conditioned response (CR)

Question 3

Generalisation

Answer 3

When stimuli similar to the original CS produce the CR

Question 4

Extinction

Answer 4

When the CR isn’t produced as a result of the CS. This happens when the CS is repeatedly presented without the the UCS following it

Question 5

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 5

When a previously extinct CR is produced in response to the CS. This happens when the CS is presented again after a period of time during which it’s not been used.

Question 6

Operant conditioning: types of reinforcement

Answer 6

• Positive reinforcement: This is when something ‘desirable’ is obtained in response to doing something
• Negative reinforcement: This is when something ‘undesirable’ is removed when something happens

Question 7

Skinner box: rats showing operant conditioning

Answer 7

• Skinner created a box in which is placed one rat at a time. Each box contained a variety of different stimuli. A hungry rat was placed in the Skinner box. The time taken for the rats to learn that pressing the lever was release food was recorded.
• Initially, the rat would run around the cage until it accidentally pressed the lever and it was rewarded with food. The more the rat was put back into the box, the quicker they got at learning where the lever was
• Rats can learn behaviour through operant conditioning. A behaviour such as pressing a lever can be positively reinforced by receiving food

Question 8

Pros and cons of conditioning

Answer 8

• There’s a lot of evidence to show that animals and humans can learn by conditioning, but conditioning can’t explain all human behaviour. We also learn by observation, as shown by social learning theory
• Most research into conditioning has involved animals. This means generalising to humans is difficult. More research into human conditioning would be useful
• Genetics seems to influence and limit what different species can learn by conditioning
• Lots of experiments into learning in animals may be seen as unethical. Nowadays, researchers have to conduct a cost- benefit analysis of whether it’s acceptable to use animals

Question 9

Watson and Rayner- Little Albert

Answer 9

• Method: the participant was an 11-month boy called ‘Little Albert’. He showed no fear of fluffy white objects such as rats or rabbits. The researchers tried to create a conditioned response to these objects. A white rat was placed in front of Little Albert. As he reached out for it, a metal bar was struck loudly behind his head. This was repeated twice at first, then 5 more times a week later.
• Results: when Little Albert was shown a rat, he would start to cry. This also extended to other white fluffy objects
• Conclusion: A fear response to white fluffy objects had been conditioned in Little Albert, showing that abnormal behaviour can be learned
• Evaluation: The experiment was very unethical