behaviouralist approach

Question 1

who came up with the behaviourist approach

Answer 1

Watson and skinner

Question 2

key assumptions with the behaviouralist approach

Answer 2

1) we are born a ‘blank slate’ (the idea of the tabula rasa) and that genetics and inheritance play no part. we are a product of our environment, we learn all behaviours by reacting to an environmental stimuli.
2) only the behaviour, and not the mind, should be studied. this is due to the mind not being able to be observed objectively in a controlled environment.
3) humans learn the same way as animals- through association and reinforcement. therefore its valid to study animal learning as a way of explaining human learning.

Question 3

what is classical conditioning

Answer 3

learning through association

Question 4

key concept of CC

Answer 4

all animals are born with natural reflex, where a response is produced automatically when exposed to a stimulus.
when that stimuli is associated with another, the response is said to be classically conditioned.

Question 5

pavlovs research into CC

Answer 5

he tested CC on dogs in a lab.
he noticed that dogs won’t salivate with only food, but also in response to other events that linked with the food.
he tested this with the new stimuli-a bell.
the bell acted as the neutral stimuli, there was no response.
the food was the unconditioned stimuli, meaning there is no learning necessary, this caused the unconditioned response of salivation.
during conditioning the bell and food were rang at the same time.
eventually, the dog becomes conditioned to the bell, and it becomes the conditioned stimulus, and the dogs conditioned response was to salivate.

Question 6

other features of CC

Answer 6

generalisation
discrimination
extinction
spontaneous recovery

Question 7

generalisation

Answer 7

tendency for a stimulus that’s similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit the same response

Question 8

discrimination

Answer 8

having a response to some stimuli but not others (esp. if theyre similar to the CS)

Question 9

extinction

Answer 9

when the CS no longer elicits the CR( due to numerous presentations of the CS without the UCS.)

Question 10

spontaneous recovery

Answer 10

sudden reappearance of the CR after a period of apparent extinction.

Question 11

operant conditioning

Answer 11

producing behaviours spontaneously

Question 12

operant conditioning key info

Answer 12

consequences of the behaviours determine weather the animals repeat it or not
if a behaviour has a PLEASANT consequence, this INCREASES the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated.
if a behaviour has an UNPLEASANT concequence, this DECREASES the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated.

Question 13

features of operant conditioning

Answer 13

positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
postitve punishment
negative punishment

Question 14

what’s positive reinforcement

Answer 14

providing something unpleasant, this results in the behaviour being repeated.
eg. giving a child chocolate

Question 15

what’s negative reinforcement

Answer 15

taking away something unpleasant, resulting in the behaviour being repeated.
eg. headache tablets get rid of headaches.

Question 16

what’s positive punishment

Answer 16

providing something unpleasant, which results in the behaviour being stopped.
eg. hitting someone for crying

Question 17

what’s negative punishment

Answer 17

taking something pleasant away, this results in the behaviour being stopped.
eg. taking away an xbox.

Question 18

what was skinners research

Answer 18

skinner developed the theory of operant conditioning.
he designed a cage called Skinner box, to investigate the process in rats.

Question 19

Skinner box: what happened

Answer 19

the rat moves in the cage, it accidentally presses the leaver and food is delivered into the cage- positive reinforcement, and results in behaviour being repeated.
in another experiment, the rat is subjected to unpleasant stimuli of an electric shock. if the rat presses the leaver, it switches off the electrical current. this is an example of negative reinforcement and results in the rat repeating the behaviour.

Question 20

evaluation of the behaviouralist approach: practical applications

Answer 20

I- therapies to treat disorders have been developed based on the assumptions of the approach.

E- the principals of CC and association have led to the development ofd therapy called systematic deseniization, to treat phobias and involves gradually exposing a person to something that causes extreme fear. it teaches them to replace fear with breathing techniques, muscle relaxation and meditation.
also used in behavioural programs in prisons.

C- this means that behavioural approach can be used to improve the lives of people around the world.

Question 21

evaluation of behaviouralist approach: scientific status

Answer 21

I- the behaviouralist approach is regarded as a scientific approach

E- the approach relies heavily on the use of experimental methods and demonstrates many scientific features. eg. skinners research has high levels of control. igt involved accurate and objective measurement of the rats behaviour. this high level of control ensures that skinners research od replicable.

C- this means that the behavioural approach was influential in the development of psychology as a science and gave it greater credibility and status.

Question 22

evaluation of behaviouralist approach: evidence and research issues

Answer 22

I- there is research evidence that supports the key assumptions of the behaviouralist approach

E- Watson and Rayner provided evidence of how fears could be learnt through CC and association. they found that Albert wasn’t initially afraid but after CC he was terrified of every white object that was shown to him.

however!!! most of the principals of CC and OC are based upon studies such as dogs and rats, therefore critics argue that you can’t generalise these findings to human behaviour as humans have free will a d out behaviour is therefore not entirely determined by reinforcement or associations.

C- this means the behaviouralist approach may not provide a valid explanation of how behaviours are learnt in human beings.

Question 23

evaluation of the behaviouralist approach: issues and debates

Answer 23

I- the behaviouralist approach takes the position of environmental determinism.

E-it assumes all of our behaviour is shaped by external forces over which we have no control. skinner even described free will as an illusion.
OC assumes our behaviours are the result of conditioning and our reinforcement experiences and our history. CC assumes our behaviour is due to a past association.

C- this means the behavioural approach rejects the concept of free will which most people in society accept