BEHAVIOUR Flashcards
what does the DFE say about behaviour
- DfE, 2022: outlines how good behaviour in schools is central to a good education, visible behaviour policies which ensure the teaching and learning is not disrupted, whole school approach to behaviour where high standards and expectations are the culture of the school
what is difficult for schools re behaviour
- Difficult for schools to balance the conflict between high standards of behaviour and promoting inclusion- educational psychologists need to look at the causes surrounding the behaviour, and consider Special Educational Needs- as these are a higher risk factor for exclusion
- National Educational Union, 2023: students with Education Healthcare Plans are 5 times more likely to be excluded from schools than those without a plan- can be helped by providing quicker access to SEND assessment and funding CAHMS to provide appropriate help
what is the behaviourist explanation for bullying
- Skinner, 1953: behaviourist approach suggests that actions and their reinforcement from the environment shapes behaviour- make the behaviour more or less likely to occur
what are positive and negative reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement= receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed, for instance praise from a teacher for answering a question correctly in class, negative reinforcement= avoiding something unpleasant, for example handing in homework to avoid being told off, punishment= aversive event which aims to decrease a behaviour
is it better to use reward or punishment
- Skinner, 1953: better to use reward than punishment: Skinner’s box- rat put into a box which has a lever in it- positive reinforcement= when they press the lever get a food pellet, negative reinforcement= press the lever to avoid getting a negative shock- Skinner found that positive reinforcement was more effective and consistent in increasing desired behaviours
how can we utilise the fact that behaviour can be learned/changed in a classroom
- Madsen et al, 1968: found that behaviour can be learned, meaning pupils can learn acceptable and productive classroom behaviour, investigated the effects of pupil’s classroom behaviour when teachers varied their use of praise, ignoring and explaining rules- found the most effective method to produce good behaviour was reinstating the rules, ignoring bad behaviour and praising positive behaviour
what is planned ignoring
- Planned ignoring is a method in behaviour analysis- works by correcting children’s negative, attention seeking behaviours by ignoring them, lack of eye contact and no verbal or physical response. Deprives the student of the desired attention- relates to extinction- reduces/eliminates a learned behaviour by removing the reinforcement which previously maintained it- teachers can use this within the classroom by ignoring low level disruptive behaviour and praising the pupils who are behaving well
who investigated the effect of reward systems
O Leary and Becker, 1967: token reinforcement programme- children received teacher’s ratings which were exchangeable for positive reinforcers like sweets- paired with planned ignoring- resulted in a decrease in attention seeking behaviour, and found an increase in desirable behaviours like attentiveness and participation
describe issue with extrinsic motivators
Goodwin and Coates, 1976: extrinsic motivators should only be used to increase a desired behaviour- important to focus on intrinsic motivators
what does punishment risk
Kearney, 2015: punishment risks just suppressing behaviour, rather than failing to generate new, adaptive behaviours
what are ethical concerns with behaviourism
Haynes, 2005: ethical concerns: manipulation and control of behaviour can be an issue, when applied to vulnerable populations like children, creates a power imbalance
what is the cognitive approach for behaviour
-identify faulty thinking
-look at the role of attributions/blame giving
* Analysing behaviour from a cognitive perspective involves looking at a person’s interpretation of events, and linking this to thoughts/feelings/behaviours- identify if any of this is faulty and may be triggering dysfunctional feelings and behaviours
what is fundamental attribution error
- Ross, 2018: Fundamental Attribution Error is the tendency to overemphasise dispositional factors in behaviour, such as personality, and underestimate situational influences, when explaining other people’s behaviour. This may impact teacher’s bias when trying to explain the behaviour of their students, if they overlook situational triggers such as a chaotic home environment or lack or resources.
what was found when looking at attributions for behaviour
- Miller and Black, 2001: looked at who was most able to help children improve their behaviour, pupil’s perceptions were different to teachers: children mostly saw parents as responsible and teachers mainly saw themselves as responsible, for helping to improve behaviour
what is locus of control
Rotter, 1966: Locus of Control, refers to an individual’s belief about the causes of their experiences and outcomes in life- whether they perceive those outcomes as being within their control (internal locus) or outside their control (external locus).
how can cognitive behavioural therapy impact behaviour
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be used to help individuals address these attributions, help change faulty thinking patterns and teach individuals to reframe their thoughts and perceptions- promoting emotional regulation and reducing dysfunctional behaviours
give an example of cognitive behavioural group work
- Ruttledge and Petrides, 2011: aim to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural group work in reducing disruptive behaviour amongst adolescents, group sessions, which included activities such as discussing anger management strategies, improved peer acceptance and provided support for students with challenging behaviour, results showed significant reductions in disruptive behaviours- measured by self-report and parent and teacher evaluations
what happened in the coping power program
- Lochman, 2002: Coping Power Program: school-based CBT intervention designed to help children with aggressive behaviours, through anger management, goal setting etc, also has a child and parent component. Intervention was a success in reducing aggressive behaviours, improved relationships with peers and teachers etc.
what can be an issue with cbt
-Halder and Mahato, 2019: often approaches focus more on neutralising behaviour problems rather than core, cognitive errors. Conflicts between parents and adolescents priorities can complicate goal setting. Addressing dysfunctional cognitions can be a problem with younger clients due to their limited cognitive and language abilities.
what are a few issues with cbt?
requires trained professionals
group interventions
parental involvement difficult to implement consistently
what is the psychodynamic approach for behaviour
how can we understand behaviour through attachment and internal working model
what is the internal working model
bowlby 1969 An internal working model (IWM) is a mental framework that describes how people think about themselves, others, and the world.
how is behaviour influence by attachment
- Ainsworth and Bell, 1970: used the Strange Situation Procedure, classified infants into one of three categories: secure (used mother as a base for exploration and seek comfort after separation), insecure avoidant (don’t use the mother as a secure base and avoid upon separation), insecure resistant (don’t use the mother as a secure base, angry upon separation)
- Bowlby, 1969: Attachment Theory: child’s early attachment can be classified as secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant, this influences how well a child gets on with peers and adults, secure attachments are associated with better academic achievement
what is the dynamic interaction
- Kennedy, 2004: classroom is dynamic- interaction of teachers and students internal working models- teachers with a secure attachment style are more likely to respond with sensitivity and those with an avoidant attachment style may struggle to display warmth towards students
how does secure attachment influence learning
- Cassidy and Shaver, 2008: secure attachment results in more intrinsic motivation in learning, better cognitive engagement, more open to receiving feedback. Insecure attachment results in being worried about performance leading to disengagement, see feedback as a sign of personal failure and use disruptive behaviour as a defence mechanism.
why do we care about behaviour
A significant number of
research studies have highlighted disruptive behaviour as a major challenge for
teachers, where conflicts can arise between meeting individual needs and providing
for the education of other pupils (MacBeath ET AL 2004)
May 2023, teachers reported that for every 30 minutes of lesson
time, 7 minutes were lost due to misbehaviour (DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION, 2024)
what is the definition of disruptive behaviour
any behaviour which appears problem-
atic, inappropriate, or disturbing to teachers (Galloway & Rogers, 1994)
why is it better to take a preventative approach for behaviour
-Clunies Ross et al, 2008= reactive strategies for behaviour management in the classroom can be associated with increased teacher stress
-preventative porgrammes are more likely to correlate with increased pro social behaviour in students
how can the cognitive approach explain behaviour- fight/flight
helps a child judge, reason effectively and have a perception of their surroundings
how we behave is affected by how we think
cerebral cortex= conscious, rational thinking part of the brain- determines child’s response to situations
continuous exposure to negative events in the environment means limited connections are formed which help an individual deal with situations in a rational way
left to rely on the limbic system- into fight/flight
Shonkoff, J. P. & Phillips, D. A., 2000
what does the systemic approach focus on
bronfenbrenner 1979
childs behaviour impacted by family/friends/school/classmates/community
how do biological explanations explain behaviour in schools COUNTER TO BEHAVIOURISM
Matthys, Vanderschuren, and Schutter (2013) have suggested that the biological differences identified in youth with conduct problems represent deficits in three interrelated mental domains
reduced cortisol reactivity to stress, amygdala hyporeactivity to negative stimuli, and low serotonin and noradrenaline neurotransmission suggest low punishment sensitivity, which may impair the ability to form associations between behavior and impending punishment
HOW MUCH IS THE BIOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTION TO BEHAVIOUR
Glenn 2019
Twin studies, adoptive studies, and studies in twins reared apart have provided substantial evidence for genetic influences on antisocial and aggressive behavior
published estimates of heritability vary among studies, the genetic contribution is thought to be 40–50%
