Behavioural Psychology Flashcards
Behavioural Psychology
It is based on the belief that psychologists need empirical evidence, obtained through experimentation, to understand and change human behaviour
Classical Conditioning
● Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
● Trained as a medical doctor in Russia before beginning his most famous studies on learning
● In these studies, Pavlov wanted to condition dogs to salivate without food
Pavlov Therapies
● Desensitization Therapy: reducing or removing phobias by gradually introducing stimuli (ex. spider) and getting the patient to relax
● Counter Conditioning Therapy: replacing response (fear) with something good
● Aversion Therapy: trying to replace one response with another, usually to get rid of a bad habit (smoking). Inducing a feeling of sickness whenever you do the bad habit, makes you associate the bad habit with feeling sick as opposed to happiness
Operant Conditioning
● B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
● Adapted Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning experiments and created a new theory regarding voluntary behaviour
● Found that people respond better if they know that a reward will come at a fixed time
Behaviour and Motivation
● Intrinsic Motivation: the desire to perform a task for its own sake
● Extrinsic Motivation: the desire to perform a task due to external factors, such as reward or the threat of punishment
● Achievement Motivation: each of us has a need to master certain skills and achieve certain goals ○ Those who have high levels of achievement motivation have a desire to accomplish a goal at a high standard
Behaviour and Attitude
● Cognitive Dissonance: the theory that people are motivated to reduce the discomfort they feel when their behaviour doesn’t match their attitude
● Implicit Attitudes: attitudes that are expressed automatically or unconsciously, when expressing these attitudes we are often unaware that we have them or that we are expressing them
● Explicit Attitudes: attitudes based on our conscious thoughts and beliefs
● The way you perceive and react to a situation is influenced by a variety of things including your attitude
● Your beliefs and feelings guide your responses to situations, people and events
● Your attitude is reflected in your behaviour
