Behaviourism Flashcards
The goal and fucntion (hypothetical consturcts or unobersvable causes)
What is Behavioural psychology
Goal:
To observe, understand, explain, and predict behavior, with the ultimate aim of controlling it.
Materials:
Focus is on observable events—behavior that can be seen or measured.
Parsimony:
The principle of simplicity—use the fewest possible explanations to account for observed behavior.
Functional:
The focus is on the function of behavior (why it happens) rather than relying on hypothetical constructs or unobservable causes.
📌 Summary:
Behavior science seeks to observe and understand behavior based on what is observable, using simple explanations and focusing on the function of behavior.
🧠 Hypothetical Constructs
Cannot be measured directly (e.g., depression, personality, motivation).
Help to summarize someone’s current state and describe patterns of behavior.
Example: Saying someone is “depressed” helps explain why they might avoid social interaction.
⚠️ Limitations:
They do not explain why behavior happens—only what is likely to happen.
Personality traits are hypothetical constructs:
Saying someone is “introverted” doesn’t explain why they avoid parties—just describes that they usually do.
🧠 A Science of Behaviour – Key Assumptions
All activity = Behaviour
Everything an organism does—even thoughts and feelings—is considered behaviour, not the cause of it.
Behaviour is Learned
A major influence on behaviour is learning the relationship between the environment and actions.
Nature + Nurture
Behaviour = Current environment × Biological constraints × Learning history
Not everything is learned, but learning plays a central role in shaping how we respond.
🔁 How We Adapt:
Past experiences help us navigate similar situations automatically.
This saves mental effort and keeps us from overthinking every decision.
This automatic responding is adaptive—it helps us function efficiently.
We often do this unconsciously.
📌 Summary:
In behavior science, we assume all behavior—including internal thoughts—is shaped by learning and environmental interaction, not hidden traits or mental states.
It’s about what you do, not what you “have.”
🧠 Thoughts & Feelings = Behaviour
Why this matters?
🧩 They Still Exist, But…
Saying “I felt angry, then I hit someone” sounds like a cause—but in behaviour science, it’s more helpful to ask:
👉 What in the environment triggered the anger and the action?
Why this matters:
If we know the environmental triggers, we can work on changing the environment to prevent that behaviour.
Just talking about the feeling doesn’t tell us why the behaviour happened.
🔁 Internal = External
Thoughts and feelings are influenced by the same processes as visible (overt) behaviour:
🧬 Evolution
🎓 Learning history
🌍 Current environment
📌 Summary:
In behaviour science, thoughts and emotions are behaviours—not causes.
They follow the same rules as other behaviours and are best understood by looking at the environmental context.
🎯 Goals of Behaviour Analysis
Understand Learning
Explore how learning develops and is expressed in behaviour.
Identify Patterns
Observe orderly relationships between environment and behaviour.
Based on principles like:
Pavlovian (classical) conditioning, Operant conditioning
Often focuses on short-term behavioural states.
🧪 Explanation & Understanding
Aims to be a scientific explanation of behaviour—based on observation and evidence.
📈 Prediction & Control
Apply findings to predict and even change or control behaviour in real-world settings.
📌 Summary:
Behaviour analysis seeks to understand, explain, predict, and influence behaviour by studying how it’s shaped through learning and environmental interactions.
The philosophical differences
Trait-Based View (Structural)
Personality traits cause behaviour
Traits are internal, stable constructs
Focus on structure of personality
Traits are unobservable (hypothetical)
Behavioural View (Functional)
Behaviour is caused by learning & environment
Personality is a label for patterns of behaviour
Focus on the function of behaviour
Behaviour is observable & measurable
⚡ Impulsivity – Key Ideas
Definition:
A tendency to choose immediate rewards over larger, delayed ones.
→ We devalue outcomes that aren’t available right now.
Real-life examples:
Addiction (choosing a quick high over long-term health)
Poor health decisions (junk food now vs. fitness later)
Skipping long-term goals for short-term comfort
Altruism (helping others now vs. potential personal gain later)
💸 Generality Across Outcome Types – Odum (2011)
Different rewards (outcomes) are discounted at different rates.
→ Not all delayed rewards lose value equally fast.
Money tends to hold its value over time.
It is less steeply discounted compared to other commodities (like food, drugs, or experiences).
People are more willing to wait for money than for more tangible or consumable rewards.
Environment matters 🌍
The rate at which rewards are discounted depends on:
Personal history
Context of decision-making
Immediate environmental cues
Example: Stress, poverty, or limited access can make people more impulsive, even with money.
📌 Summary:
According to Odum (2011), money is discounted more slowly than other rewards.
But the environment strongly influences how much people devalue delayed rewards.
Age
Green et al. (1994) and Lu et al. (2023)
📉 Green et al. (1994)
Found that impulsivity tends to decrease with age.
Younger individuals are more likely to choose immediate rewards.
As people age, they generally become better at delaying gratification.
📈 Lu et al. (2023)
Showed that impulsivity may increase again later in life.
Possible factors: cognitive decline, health concerns, or shifting time perspectives.
🧠 Overall Pattern:
⬆️ High in youth
⬇️ Declines in adulthood
⬆️ May rise again in older adulthood
📌 Summary:
Impulsivity decreases with age, according to Green et al. (1994), but may increase again later in life, as suggested by Lu et al. (2023).
Study: Odum (2011)- money
Impulsivity: Trait or state?
🧬 Impulsivity as a Trait
Odum (2011):
People tend to show consistent discounting patterns across different types of outcomes (e.g., money, food, experiences).
→ Suggests impulsivity is a stable trait — part of personality.
🌍 Impulsivity as a State
Even those classified as impulsive or self-controlled can change their behavior based on the current environment.
Stress, context, availability of rewards, and mood all affect choices.
This means state factors still influence moment-to-moment decisions.
📌 Summary:
Impulsivity shows trait-like stability (Odum, 2011)
✅ Same pattern across different rewards.
But it’s also sensitive to environmental state
🔄 Situation and context can shift behavior.
🚨 Impulsivity as a Marker – Key Associations
High discounting (impulsivity) is associated with a higher risk of addictions:
Drug and alcohol addiction
Tobacco addiction
Behavioral addictions like gambling, gaming, cybersex, online shopping, social media, and online gambling.
Cannabis use has a weaker association with high impulsivity compared to other substances.
🔄 Cross-Commodity Discounting
More research is needed on how impulsivity (delay discounting) affects different types of addictions across various commodities.
📌 Summary:
Impulsivity (high discounting) is linked to addictions of all kinds, but the relationship is stronger for some substances (e.g., alcohol, tobacco) and weaker for others (e.g., cannabis).
🔬 Challenges in Studying Personality
Difficult to Study Experimentally
Personality is complex, and experiments may not capture the full range of traits, especially over time.
Ethical Concerns
Influencing personality in experimental settings raises ethical issues (e.g., altering someone’s traits in a controlled study).
🧪 Existing Methods to Study Traits (e.g., Impulsivity)
Despite these challenges, there are ways to measure and study traits like impulsivity:
Self-report questionnaires (e.g., delay discounting tasks, PCL-R for psychopathy)
Behavioral experiments (e.g., impulsivity in decision-making)
Longitudinal studies (tracking personality changes over time).
📌 Summary:
While studying personality experimentally is tough and raises ethical issues, there are existing methods to assess traits like impulsivity.
🛠️ Applications and Implications of Impulsivity in Behavior Change
Changing Behavior by Identifying Antecedents & Consequences
By identifying what triggers (antecedents) and what reinforces (consequences) a behavior, we can intervene to modify it.
Challenge of Discounting
Delay discounting presents a challenge in behavior change, especially in substance dependence and other addictions.
Lower delay discounting (i.e., better ability to wait for delayed rewards) is linked to better success in treatments, particularly in substance dependence.
🎯 Harnessing Impulsivity in Treatment
Modifying Discounting (State Conditions)
We can influence delay discounting through environmental changes or strategies (e.g., cognitive training).
By adding a delay to an immediate option, it can shift choices and lead to better decision-making, especially in treatments like reward-based abstinence programs.
Higher Discounting in Reward-Based Treatments
Interestingly, individuals with higher delay discounting might be more successful in reward-based abstinence programs, where immediate rewards are linked to behavior change.
📌 Summary:
Delay discounting plays a key role in behavior change, especially in addiction treatment.
By understanding and modifying discounting (via state changes or environmental tweaks), we can enhance the success of treatments and interventions.
🕒 Delay Discounting
Even a small delay can greatly reduce the value we assign to a reward.
→ This is called temporal discounting or delay discounting.
