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psychology > behavioural > Flashcards

behavioural Flashcards

1
Q

what are the 3 assumptions?

A

we are all born into the world as a tabula rasa (blank slate)
all behaviour is learnt through conditioning
the same laws apply to human and non human animal behaviour

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2
Q

what is classical and operant conditioning?

A

classical: learning through associations
operant: learning through reinforcement

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3
Q

what does a tabula rasa mean?

A

we are born with no pre-planned or in built content

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4
Q

define:
conditioned stimulus
conditioned response
neutral stimulus
unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned response

A

a stimulus that produces a learnt response
the learnt response to a conditioned stimulus
a stimulus that produces no response
a stimulus that produces a response we have no control over
a response we have no control over

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5
Q

what experiments is used for classical and operant conditioning?

A

classical: Pavlov’s dogs (1927)
operant: Skinner’s rats (1948)

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6
Q

define:
positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
punishment

A

rewarding something desirable in response to good behaviour
the removal of something desirable to encourage good behaviour
consequences which reduce the likelihood of undesirable behaviour repeating

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7
Q

apply DRAINS to this approach

A

Determinist
Reductionist
Has practical applications
Nomothetic
Nurture
Scientific

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8
Q

how is this approach deterministic? strength/weakness and why?

A

rewards and punishments have been provided to us by our environment beyond our control
weakness - serious repercussions of society in terms of responsibility of our behaviour

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9
Q

how is this approach reductionist? strength/weakness and why?

A

all behaviour is viewed as a product of conditioning and disregards biological influences
weakness - theories that fail to recognise that humans are incredibly complex and no one behaviour is down the the influence of one factor alone, are blinkered

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10
Q

how does this approach have applications? strength/weakness and why?

A

SD is extremely effective in the treatment of phobias. e.g McGrath et al. reported that 75% of patients with phobias responded to systematic desensitisation
strength - the approach has been of value in improving the quality of life of real individuals

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11
Q

how is this approach nomothetic?
strength/weakness and why?

A

all individuals are seen to learn their behaviour in the exact same way (conditioning)
weakness - no treatment will work for all people e.g SD is not 100% effective with all phobias

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12
Q

how is this approach nurture? strength/weakness and why?

A

behaviourism focuses exclusively on our surrounding environment as a means of shaping behaviour. doesn’t consider genetic makeup
weakness - fails to recognise that behaviour is a product of both nature and nurture

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13
Q

how is this approach scientific? strength/weakness and why?

A

study behaviour through direct observation and measurements. everything is supported by evidence
strength - makes the assumptions of this approach much harder to argue against as they are supported by evidence

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14
Q

what is the therapy for this approach and what does it treat?

A

systematic desensitisation (SD) which treats phobias

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15
Q

what conditioning is it based on?

A

classical conditioning and involves counter-conditioning

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16
Q

what is the aim of SD?

A

replace a fear response with a relaxation response

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17
Q

how does SD work?

A

client creates a fear hierarchy and works up it applying the relaxation methods that were taught beforehand by the therapist to each. it works entirely at the client’s pace
goes from in-vitro to in-vivo

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18
Q

what does in-vivo and in-vetro mean?

A

in-vivo is real life
in-vetro is visualising

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19
Q

what is an effectiveness strength of SD? what does this suggest?

A

McGrath et al. (1990) reported that it is 75% effective.
improves the quality of life

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20
Q

what is an effectiveness weaknesses of SD? what does this suggest?

not the symptoms/problem

A

Ohman et al. (1975) suggests that it’s not effective in treating phobias that have an underlying evolutionary survival component.
limited effectiveness and only treats certain phobias

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21
Q

what is an effectiveness weaknesses of SD? what does this suggest?

not evolutionary influences

A

treats the symptoms not the problem. no attempt to address any deeper psychological or emotional issues.
SD isn’t wholly effective and deeper issues may resurface

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22
Q

what is an ethical strength of SD? what does this suggest?

not valid consent

A

more ethical than other therapies like flooding. it’s conducted slowly step by step and is at the client’s pace to make sure they’re fully relaxed at each stage.
the client’s well being and mental state is cared for

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23
Q

what is an ethical strength of SD? what does this suggest?

not flooding

A

used with phobias not problems like depression or schizophrenia. the client is ‘in touch with reality’ and in a healthy state of mind. they are able to give valid consent and attend sessions with their own free will
ethically considerate and the client can withdraw at any point

24
Q

what is the ethical weakness of SD? what does this suggest?

A

clients are subjected to intense fear and anxiety. lots of discontinuation from pps due to high levels of stress and Barlow and Durand (1989) suggest it can make the phobia worse. risk of long term negative consequences
there’s a failure to protect pps from harm

25
Q

what is the rewards needs satisfaction theory?

A

the idea that we form relationships based on operant conditioning. we are positively reinforced

26
Q

what are the scientists name for this theory and what did they suggest?

rewards/needs satisfaction theory

A

Foa and Foa (1975) suggest that there are a number of ways to be rewarded in a relationship e.g. sex, love, status, help, money and agreement
we are also rewarded through satisfaction of basic needs

27
Q

give a need/motive and how each is met in a relationship

A

biological needs: eating and drinking
dependency: someone to rely on/support you
affiliation: being close to someone who shares your views
dominance: making decisions on behalf of someone
sex: pleasure/reproducing
aggression: a need to argue and debate
self-esteem: receiving compliments

28
Q

how does classical conditioning play a role in this theory?

rewards/needs satisfaction

A

Byrne (1971) suggested that positive feelings are created when a person expresses a similar attitude to our own. This positive feeling is then associated with the person rather than the similar attitude

29
Q

what is the classical evidence?

A

Watson and Rayner (1920): Little Albert study

30
Q

what was the research method?

A

controlled observation. in a well-lit dark room

31
Q

why wasn’t the research a case study?

A

the focus was only on LA’s response to conditioning. a case study would involve a more in depth analysis about the individual and their life

32
Q

why wasn’t the research an experiment?

A

there was only one condition. it was only an investigation to determine the effects of certain stimuli

33
Q

describe the participant (5)

A

also known as ‘Albert B’
9 months old when chosen
had a calm temperament and very little emotional reactions
used to the hospital environment as his mum was a wet nurse

34
Q

what are the strengths of doing a controlled observation? (3)

A

extraneous variables could be controlled as it was conducted in a ‘lab’ of sorts
there was a baseline condition and control condition during trials (building blocks)
films were used to record and to be confirmed

35
Q

what are the weaknesses of doing a controlled observation?

A

lacks ecological validity - conducted in a lab-like environment so we can’t apply findings to real life
lacks external validity - we can’t say a baby would react like this in ‘real life’

36
Q

what is the problem with only using 1 sample?

A

can’t apply the findings to every baby based on LA’s reaction. he was ‘an extremely phlegmatic type’ unlike all babies

37
Q

how was Little Albert obtained?

A

opportunity sampling

38
Q

what is the strength of using opportunity sampling?

A

easy access - his mum worked in the hospital where Watson and Rayner worked (saved time)

39
Q

what are the weaknesses with using opportunity sampling?

A

the sample is inevitably biased as he was picked because of his ‘unemotional and solid nature’
can’t generalise findings to all babies as LA grew up in a hospital setting

40
Q

is the reliability weak or strong? why?

A

generally considered strong - the use of controlled settings and highly structured sessions with 2 researchers present (consistent)

41
Q

is the validity weak or strong? why?

A

questionable - may have exaggerated the fear reactions to support their predictions
lacks ecological validity

42
Q

how many sessions were there altogether?

A

5 sessions and emotional tests beforehand

43
Q

what age was LA in each session?

A

1 - 11 months 3 days
2 - 11 months 10 days
3 - 11 months 15 days
4 - 11 months 20 days
5 - 12 months 21 days

44
Q

what were the procedures and findings for the emotional tests?

A

he was confronted with a rat, dog, monkey, rabbit, mask with and without hair, cotton wool + burning newspapers. also tested with a loud sound

no fear response to the objects. when the metal bar was struck he starred violently (1), lips began to pucker and tremble (2), sudden crying fit (3)

45
Q

what were the procedures and findings for sessions 1?

A

a rat was presented to him and as he started to reach for it the metal bar was struck behind his head

when the bar was struck with a white rat he jumped and fell forward but didn’t cry. the 2nd time they struck the bar he fell forward and whimpered a little

46
Q

what were the procedures and findings for sessions 2?

A

shown the rat with no sound to see if his behaviour was affected. then he was exposed 5 times to ‘joint stimulation’

didn’t reach for the rat, only stared at it. when closer he reached for the rat but withdrew when it moved. played with the blocks happily. after ‘joint stimulation’ > more distressed > began to cry and crawl away rapidly

47
Q

what were the procedures and findings for sessions 3?

A

variously presented with the rat, wooden blocks, rabbit, dog, seal fur coat, cotton wool and John Watson’s hair

played happily with the blocks. immediately responded with fear to the rat and rabbit > burst into tears and crawled away. didn’t touch cotton wool at first but later became less cautious. no fear response to JW’s hair

48
Q

what were the procedures and findings for sessions 4?

A

‘freshened’ up using ‘joint stimulation’. then taken to a new environment and placed in the centre of a well lit lecture room with 4 people present

response was less extreme than before. after ‘freshening’ up the fear response was stronger. always played with the building blocks happily and never whimpered

49
Q

what were the procedures and findings for sessions 5?

A

tested one last time. involved a santa claus mask, fur coat, dog, rabbit, rat, building blocks

clearly different response to the test objects compared to the control object (building blocks). clearly avoided furry objects and whimpered - on occasions, cried

50
Q

what 2 things did the study demonstrate?

A
  1. the ease with which a fear response can be created
  2. learnt (conditioned) responses generalise to similar stimuli
51
Q

what is the two process theory that suggests why researcher’s can’t explain what makes phobias persist?

A

classical conditioning - explains how phobias are acquired. in this study CC only works up to a certain point then OC takes over

operant conditioning - explains how phobias are maintained

52
Q

what did Martin Seligman (1970) argue?

A

animals, including humans are genetically programmed to rapidly learn an association between certain stimuli and fear, these are referred to as ancient fears - things that would have been dangerous in our evolutionary past

53
Q

what are the 3 ethical issues of this study?

A
  • creating fear in a young child
  • more psychological harm
  • lasting effects
54
Q

why is creating fear in a young child and ethical issue?

A

psychologists believe it’s not ethically correct to cause a child more stress than they would typically have in their everyday life

55
Q

why is more psychological harm an ethical issue?

A

they noticed that one of LA’s responses when frightened is to suck his thumb. in order to observe the full effects of the fearful stimuli they had to remove his thumb from this mouth so the conditioned response could be obtained. they wanted him to be really scared

56
Q

why is lasting effects and ethical issue?

A

Watson and Rayner knew he would continue to be fearful of furry objects as he was suddenly removed from the hospital before they removed his learned conditioned response

psychology (8 decks)

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