Behaviourism

Question 1

The emergence of the behaviorist approach

Answer 1

Founded by JB Watson in 1915; behaviorists rejected the vagueness of introspection and how difficult it was to measure. Instead, he proposed that we are a product of our learning, experience and environment. Important contributors include Ivan Pavlov and BF Skinner.

Question 2

The assumptions of the behaviorist approach

Answer 2

1. All behavior is learnt from the environment, and is learned through classical or operant conditioning.
2. It is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events of thinking and emotion, as observable behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured
3. Psychology is a science - all behavior must be measured in highly controlled environments to establish cause and effect - rely on lab experiments
4. When born, the human mind is a blank slate
5. There is little difference in the learning that takes place between animals and humans - research can be carried out on either
6. Behavior is the result of a stimulus-response; behavior, no matter how complex, can be explained by this association.

Question 3

Stimulus

Answer 3

Anything external or internal that brings about a response

Question 4

Response

Answer 4

Any reaction in the presence of a stimulus.

Question 5

Classical Conditioning

Answer 5

Introduced by Ivan Pavlov, this idea suggested that animals and humans can learn to associate a new stimulus with a response, and he initially tested this on animals. It is a learning process that builds up association between two stimuli using repeating pairings in order to produce the desired response. Unconditioned stimuli are paired with a neutral stimuli to associate the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned response to produce the desired response with the previously neutral, now conditioned stimulus.

Question 6

Pavlov’s Study - Pavlov’s dogs

Answer 6

Studied the digestive system of dogs and noted that the animals salivated naturally upon the presentation of food.
He was then able to successfully pair this stimulus with the neutral response of a bell ringing; so when a bell rang, the dog salivated as the bell became a learned association with food, causing the desired response of salivation.

Question 7

The process of classical conditioning

Answer 7

Before conditioning:
- Neutral Stimulus (NS) -> gives no/undesired response
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) -> Salivation (Unconditioned response / UCR)
During conditioning: repeated pairings to build association
- NS (bell) + UCS (food) -> UCR (salivates)
After conditioning:
- Conditioned Stimulus (CS - bell) -> Conditioned response (CR - salivation)
- pairings have created association between two stimulus to use the stimulus to create the desired response

Question 8

Other ideas of classical conditioning

Answer 8

Timing - association only occurs is UCS and NS are paired / presented at the same time; if period between them being presented is too long, conditioning does not take place
Extinction - CR is not permanent
Stimulus discrimination - associations will not be made after a cut off point e.g. Albert would not be scared of a dog
Stimulus generalisation - a CR can be produced with a stimuli similar to the CS, such as a similar bell ringing

Question 9

The ‘Little Albert’ Case Study

Answer 9

• Pavlov aimed to condition a young boy to have a phobia of white rats
• The NS = the rat (does not induce desired response)
• The UCS = the loud noise created by the hammer hitting the steel bar
• The UCR = fear of the loud noise
• During conditioning, the loud noise and the rat are paired together to build the association between fear and the rat; when the rat is presented alone, Albert should expect a loud noise and therefore feel fear
• After conditioning, the white rat induces fear in the boy, crating a phobia following many repeated pairings

Question 10

Classical Conditioning Key Terms

Answer 10

Neutral stimulus - A stimulus which does not naturally produce a response / give the desired response
Unconditioned Stimulus - A stimulus that produces a reflex action
Unconditioned response - An innate, reflex response
Conditioned stimulus - The stimulus which produces the learned response after association has taken place
Conditioned response - A learned response

Question 11

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 11

Learning by association - it occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together (NS + UCS). The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unlearned stimulus alone.

Question 12

Operant conditioning

Answer 12

BF Skinner claimed that all behaviour is learnt as a result of consequences in our environment
It involves learning through consequences (negative and positive) of behavioural responses.
Reinforcement = a consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated.
Punishment = a consequence of behaviour that decreases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated.
Positive = gaining / receiving something
Negative = removing something

Question 13

Types of Reinforcement

Answer 13

Positive reinforcement -> increases the likelihood of a response occurring because it involves a reward for behaviour
Negative reinforcement -> increases the likelihood of a response occurring because it involves the removal of, or escaping from, unpleasant consequences
Partial reinforcement schedule is best for maintaining responses and avoiding extinction

Question 14

Types of Punishment

Answer 14

Positive punishment -> the consequence is receiving something unpleasant which decreases the probability of the behaviour being repeated
Negative punishment -> the consequence is removing something desirable to decrease the chance of the behaviour being repeated.

Question 15

Examples

Answer 15

Positive Reinforcement = A worker gets a bonus for their hard work
Negative Reinforcement = A car warning buzzer turns off when you put on your seatbelt
Positive Punishment = Speeding in your car gets you a ticket and a fine
Negative Punishment = A child’s toys are taken away when they don’t clean their room

Question 16

What is Operant Conditioning?

Answer 16

Learning through reinforcement
Defined as a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments - associations made between behaviour and a consequence, with the consequences being negative or positive forms of reinforcement and punishment.

Question 17

What are Skinner boxes?

Answer 17

introduced in the 1940’s, these are small boxes that allow behaviourists to study animal behavioural responses in a controlled space that is isolated from external factors on the subject. It allows full control over the experiment - by manipulating environment, you can manipulate behaviour. Used to test operant conditioning with mice and other animals with a reinforcement / punishment scenario for certain behaviours to encourage or discourage them.

Question 18

How do Skinner boxes link to behaviourism?

Answer 18

• The idea of a stimulus-response association
• Blank slate - all behaviour is learned through experience of the environment
• Scientific approach and concerned with observable behavioural patterns
• The learning between animals and humans has little difference
• All behaviour is learned from the environment / conditioning

Question 19

Evaluation of behavioural approaches

Answer 19

• Little albert ( Watson 1920) study showed fear could be learned response., suggesting not institutional => led to the development of behavioural explanation and counter conditioning treatments for phobias.
• Behavioural theories have been used in an attempt to control human behaviour (token economies), this can be seen as unethical => ie Prison - real world application
  Carrot and stick-> rewards and punishments
• Environmentally deterministic. Behaviours result due to learning from the environment, not free will.
  => Hard determinist, no role for free will in behavioural theories.
• Behaviourists use objective scientific methods- systematically manipulating IV variables, focus on observable behaviour=> demonstrates cause and effect.
• Reductionist approach focussing on a lower level of explanation, e.g S-R links /associations therefore lacks meaning when it comes to complex human behaviours i.e. emotion and neural explanation.
• Research mainly with animals therefore generalisation to human beings. Is limited.
• Ignores internal mental processes as they cannot be directly observed => therefore not scientific/ objective