Behaviourism Flashcards
What is behaviourism?
The idea that the environment and conditioning affects language
Who invented behaviourism?
Skinner (1957) who believed a child learns language based on positive and negative reinforcement of ideas
How is our mind when we are born?
Our mind is a blank slate and all behaviourism is acquired through conditioning
What was skinners main argument
That children who use correct utterances are positively reinforced and therefore realise the communicative value of words and phrases
What is the trial-and-error process?
Where correct language use is reinforced, and incorrect use is discouraged
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Leaning behaviourism from a peer
Ambridge and Lieven 2014
Example: when the child says ‘milk’, and the mother smiles and gives her some. As a result, the child will find this outcome rewarding, enhancing the child’s language development
Evidence for the role of reinforcement in language development
Observations show that children can learn associations between words and their communicative consequences, especially during interactions with caregivers
Evidence of the influence of the environment on language learning
The imitation of speech patterns and local dialects from caregivers and peers further illustrates this influence
School and behaviourism
The structured environment of educational settings, with explicit correction and reinforcement, contributes to the refinement and complexity of language skills in children
Who is in favour of reinforcement?
Psychologists and parenting experts
Weaknesses of behaviourism
- operant conditioning fails to consider inherited and cognitive factors. Research indicates that children across different cultures tend to reach language milestones at similar ages, suggesting an innate biological foundation for language development.
Weakness: the critical period
The existence of the critical period for language acquisition points to a biological predisposition that skinners theory does not fully address.
Weakness: skinners experiment
The conclusions skinner drew were based on his findings in experiments using animals. Therefore, the conclusions may not be fully applicable to humans, and in particular language acquisition.
