behaviourism Flashcards
when was behaviourism discovered?
1900s
what is the behaviourist approach?
a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and learning
who is the main leader of the behaviourist approach?
John Watson
what did Watson believe about Wundt’s introspection?
believed it was unscientific and believed it involved too many concepts that were vague and difficult to measure
what 2 ways did behaviourists identify of how people learnt?
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
what is a brief description of what classical conditioning involves?
learning through association
what is a brief description of operant conditioning?
learning through reinforcement (rewards/ punishments)
what is the phrase for the idea that we are born as a blank slate?
tabula rasa
what are the three key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
- all behaviour is learnt through experiences except for a few inbuilt reflexes
- mental processes of the mind are not important for understanding behaviour
- animals and humans learn in the same way- advantageous for researching on animals (we can do a lot more on animals (we can do a lot more to animals than humans- ethical guidelines, practicality, less likely to lie)
what is classical conditioning?
-making an association between two stimuli
-one stimulus produces a reflex response (SR unit)
- the other is a neutral stimulus that produces no response
how does classical conditioning work?
the two stimuli are paired and presented several times before removing the stimulus which causes the reflex response, leaving the other stimulus to now produce a conditioned response
describe how Pavlov carried out classical conditioning?
before conditoning:
food (UCS) ——–> salivate (UCR)
bell (NS) ———-> no response
during conditioning :
food (UCS) + bell (NS) ——> salivate (UCR) x multiple
after conditioning;
bell (CS) ———-> salivate (CR)
describe the Watson Little Albert study?
before :
loud noise ——–> fear
white rat ———-> no response
during:
loud noise + white rat ———> fear x multiple
after :
white rat ———> fear
what is operant conditioning?
involves learning through the consequences of our actions (or reinforcement)
why does repetition of behaviour change? (operant conditioning)
organisms spontaneously produce different behaviours which have consequences (good or bad). Repetition of behaviour depends on consequences (reinforced or punished)
what is the difference between operant and classical conditioning?
while classical conditioning explains simple behaviour has to be paired with an SR unit, operant conditioning aims to explain more complex phenomena
what is reinforcement?
a consequence that increases the likelihood of desirable behaviour being repeated (+ or -)
what is positive reinforcement?
a reward is given when a certain behaviour is performed
what is negative reinforcement?
occurs when an individual increases behaviour due to avoidance of the negative consequences
what is punishment?
an unpleasant consequence that reduces the likelihood of the preceded undesirable behaviour occurring again
outline the original method of Skinner’s positive reinforcement with the rats?
- skinner developed a special cage in order to investigate operant cond.
- rat moves around cage, and when he accidently presses the lever, a food pellet (the reinforcer) falls into the cage
-in no time at all the hungry rats begin pressing the lever in order to obtain food - in the food pellet stops, the rat presses the lever a few more times and then abandons it (extinction)
what are some strengths of the behaviourist approach?
- real-life application
- scientific credibility
what are limitations of the behaviourist approach?
- issues with animals
- mechanistic view of behaviour
- lack of free will
explain how real-life application is a strength of behaviourism?
-classical and operant conditioning have been used to treat phobias through exposure therapies
-behaviourism has contributed to the field of psychology
-it is therefore a credible approach and can be used to explain behaviour
how is mechanistic view of behaviour a limitation of behaviourism?
-it only measures observable behaviour rather than looking inside our mind at internal mental processes
-behaviourist approach therefore is only able to explain relatively simple behaviours that are learnt through association and reinforcement, rather than a wider range of human behaviours
-incomplete explanation of human behaviour
in what 2 ways was behaviourism scientific?
- replicability- repeated to get consistent results, it is repeatable because it focuses on observable behaviour
- objective because it collected empirical evidence of observation
in what way was behaviourism falsifiable?
behaviourists such as Pavlov conduct experiments in high levels of control and objectivity, allowing theory of classical conditioning to be tested and replicated
more trust worthy approach therefore
how does the behaviourist approach have a limitation due to issues with animals?
behaviourists assume animals and humans will give the same responses because they don’t view the mind as important- BUT humans are much more complex than animals
therefore, research may not generalise to humans so the approach lacks validity and cannot fully explain human behaviour
what does the behaviourist approach believe about free will ? (limitation)
we have no free will and are simply S-R beings
since they have no interest in the mind, they believe there is no thought between the stimulus and response
this view goes against humans natural feeling of free will so makes it an unpopular approach
what was Pavlov able to show?
How a neutral stimulus, in his case the bell, can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association
