Behavioural Flashcards
What do behaviourists believe?
People are born as blank slates and all behaviour is therefore learned from the environment.
They only take interest in observable behaviour.
They believe behaviour is solely nurture based.
What is positive reinforcement?
Rewarding good behaviour to make them more likely to do the behaviour again.
What are the Ethical issues with behaviourism?
Cruel treatment of skinner’s rats by starving and shocking them. Therefore the experiment is difficult to replicate in modern society
What are the research methods in behaviourism?
Lab experiments are good because they have high levels of control that can isolate variable to establish cause and effect. This allows objectivity and replication, however it is difficult to replicate on humans.
What is environmental reductionism?
Behaviourism
Reduces complex phenomena of human behaviour to SR bonds.
Behaviours sole cause is conditioning and it controls us.
What is token economies?
Uses operant conditioning to treat schizophrenia with positive reinforcement, tokens are exchanged for rewards.
Explain classical conditioning through Pavlov’s dogs
Before conditioning the unconditioned response of saliva is produced when the dog sees food.
Before conditioning, the dog hears the neutral stimulus of a bell.
During conditioning, the bell is rung while the dog sees food and produces saliva.
After conditioning, the stimulus of a bell is rung and the conditioned response of saliva is produces, as it is associated with food.
What is negative reinforcement?
Completing a behaviour to avoid a negative punishment, making them more likely to do the behaviour again.
What is punishment?
An unpleasant consequence for behaviour making them less likely to do the behaviour again.
What are the practical issues with behaviourism?
Cannot be generalised to humans as we are more complex, and therefore is less useful to explain behaviour.
What is aversion therapy?
It uses classical conditioning by pairing an unwanted behaviour with something uncomfortable to make them associate it.
What is flooding?
It uses classical conditioning to make patients associate relaxation with a phobia stimulus.
What is environmental determinism?
Behaviourism
Behaviours sole cause is conditioning and it controls us.
