Behavioural Approach

Question 1

Pavlov’s Research

Answer 1

Concept of Classical Conditioning = researched through dogs
- Taught to associate neutral stimulus of Bell, with unconditioned stimulus of Food (conditioned stimulus), which led to producing conditioned response of salivating upon hearing Bell, which was unconditioned response to food

Question 1

Behviourist assumptions

Answer 1

1. Behaviour is learnt through association (classical conditioning)
2. Behaviour is reinforced through consequences (operant conditioning)
3. we are born as blank slates ‘tabula rasa’
4. only interested in observable events = stimulus-response explanation

Question 2

Skinner’s Research

Answer 2

Concept of Operant Conditioning
= researched through rats/pigeons
- taught animals to perform behaviour due to positive reinforcement or to avoid unpleasant consequence (e.g. activate disk/peck lever = food pellet reward, vs electric shock punishment), placed in Skinner Box

Question 3

Types of reinforcement

Answer 3

1. Positive reinforcement
   Receiving a reward when performing a certain behaviour, e.g. the teacher rewarding the student for handing their homework in
   = increase likelihood of repeating
2. Negative reinforcement
   Performing a certain behaviour to avoid something negative, e.g. the student completing their homework to avoid receiving a detention
   = increase likelihood of repeating
3. Punishment
   Receiving an unpleasant consequence for your behaviour, e.g. the student receiving a detention for not completing their homework
   = encourage extinction of behaviour

Question 4

Classical Vs. Operant conditioning

Answer 4

Classical =
Learning by association, occur through repeatedly pairing 2 stimuli (US/NS) to achieve same CR as UR

Operant =
Learning and maintaining behaviour through its consequences

Question 5

Pros of Behaviourist Approach

Answer 5

• IRL app.
  = counterconditioning phobias
  = increase value
• Highly controlled
  = use of lab studies/stimulus-response observations
  = easily replicable

Question 6

Cons of Behaviourist Approach

Answer 6

• Use of animal participants
  = cannot extrapolate
  = decrease reliability
• Environmentally determinist
  = lack of consideration for influence of biological processes on behaviour and free will