Behaviour is learned through conditioning Flashcards
What are the two types of conditioning?
Classical and operant
What does classical conditioning entail?
learning and acquiring new behaviours through association
When does classical conditioning occur?
when an association is made between a previously unlearned response, and a neutral stimulus
What is evidence for classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1946, pictured left) was the first person to investigate classical conditioning. He discovered it by accident when performing unrelated experiments on dogs. He noticed that the dogs would start salivating as soon as the lab assistant would walk in the room to feed them.
What is another example for classical conditioning?
Watson and Rayner (1920) demonstrated classical conditioning on a little boy known as Little Albert
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning involves learning through consequence. It is more voluntary than the learning seen in classical conditioning. The idea is that when people behave in a particular way and are rewarded for it, they will repeat it. If they are punished for the behaviour, they will stop doing it
What are new behaviours learned through?
Reinforcement.
what is the evidence for operant conditioning?
Was done by BF Skinner. He performed many experiments with animals such as rats and pigeons. Behaviourists carry out a lot of research on animals as they assume that what applies to animals can be generalised to humans. Also, much of the research into conditioning could not be carried out on humans for ethical and practical reasons.
What was Skinners experiment?
The Skinner box contained a lever for an animal such as a rat or pigeon to press for food to be delivered. It also had a speaker and lights that could be used to trigger a behaviour and a shock generator was connected to the floor to deliver an electric shock in response to a behaviour. The idea behind the Skinner box was to create an environment in which the experimenter had complete control over everything the animal inside experienced. By altering the environment, desired behaviour could be conditioned in the animal.
