Behaviourism Flashcards
what is the main assumption of behaviourism?
all behaviours are learned from our environment
what do behaviourists focus on in their study of behaviour?
observable behaviour that can be seen
how do behaviourists view the learning processes of animals and humans?
animals and humans learn in the same ways, allowing experiments on animals to be extrapolated to humans
what type of experiments do behaviourists primarily use?
labratory experiments to maintain scientific objectivity
what does behaviourism exclude from its study?
mental processes (thoughts) since they cannot be observed or measured
who first demonstrated classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov
what is classical conditioning?
learning through association, where a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through pairing with an unconditioned stimulus
In Pavlov’s experiment, what was the unconditioned stimulus?
food
what did the sound of the bell represent in pavlov classical conditioning experiment after the association?
the conditioned stimulus after association with food
what is operant conditioning?
learning that occurs through the reinforcement of behaviour
what is positive reinforcement?
receiving a reward for a behaviour
what is negative reinforcement?
performing an action to stop something unpleasant from happening
what is a punishment in the context of operant conditioning
an unpleasant consequence for a behaviour
what was the purpose of skinners experiments with the Skinner box?
to demonstrate how positive and negative reinforcement affect behaviour
what did the rat in the Skinner box learn through positive reinforcement?
to press the lever for food, increasing the likelihood of repeating the behaviour
