behaviourism Flashcards
what does the approach asssume? /4
(eat out all labia)
- All behaviour learnt from the ENVIRONMENT.
- focus on OBSERVABLE behaviour
- ANIMALS and humans learn the same way
- Ps should be scientific, LAB studies
what are the two types of conditioning?
classical and operant
what is classical conditioning?
learning through association, demonstrated by Pavlov in 1927
what did Pavlov show?
animals could be conditioned to salivate at sound of bell if repeatedly presented at time of giving food
what is the unconditioned stimulus? (UCS)
food, stimulus that produces reflex response
what is the unconditioned response? (UCR)
salivation, reflex response to UCS
what is the neutral stimulus? (NS)
bell, new stimulus presented with the UCS
what is the conditioned response? (CR)
salivation at bell, response that is learnt, now occurs when NS is presented.
who proposed operant conditioning?
Skinner in 1953
what are the three components of operant conditioning?
positive, negative and punishment
what is positive reinforcement?
receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
what is negative reinforcement?
occurs when performing a certain action stops something unpleasant from occurring.
what is punishment?
an unpleasant consequence for behaviour.
what was the method of Skinner’s box experiment? +ve reinforcement
hungry rat placed in cage
when lever in cage activated: a food pellet fell in food dispenser, reward of food.
what was the method of Skinner’s box experiment? -ve reinforcement
hungry rat placed in cage with uncomfortable current.
lever switches off current
behaviour stops uncomfort
what was the method of Skinner’s box experiment? punishment
rat placed in cage, when lever activated an uncomfortable shock occurred, avoids lever.
ao3 well-controlled research?
skinner and pavlov both lab studies, controlled environments so no extraneous variables so cause and effect relationship established so scientific credibility.
counterpoint for well-controlled research + comparison to cognitive?
oversimplified learning process, reductionist as doesn’t consider mental processes. cognitive considers both
ao3 real-world application?
strength, token economy in institutions, prisoners rewarded for positive behaviour so +ve reinforcement. increases value
ao3 real-world application counterpoint?
hard to generalise animal behaviours to humans, humans more complex.
ao3 environmental determinism?
all behaviour due to conditioning experiences, ignores influence of free will and mental processes, unlike cognitive approach.
ao3 ethical issues?
harm to animals due to shocks given in skinners study and uncomfortable tubes inserted in dogs mouth to measure saliva.
