Behaviourism Flashcards
The behaviourist approach is only interested in studying what type of actions?
Actions that can be observed and measured.
Early behaviourists rejected the idea of introspection, name a famous behaviourist.
John B. Watson (1913)
What are the features of the behaviourist approach?
Conditioning:
- Classical (pavlov).
- Operant (skinner).
What is the assumption for the approach?
All behaviour is learnt from the environment and previous experiences and when we are born are minds are a blank slate ‘tabula navo’.
What is ‘tabula navo’?
Behaviourists believed that our minds are a blank slate when we are born and we learn as we age.
What is conditioning?
the response to a stimulus response.
What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association of stimuli.
What is an example of classical conditioning?
Pavlov’s dogs.
or Little Albert.
What is little Albert an example of, back up your point.
Classical conditioning. NS: Rat UCS: Loud sound UCR: Fear CS: Rat CR: Fear
Describe how pavlov’s dogs became conditioned?
NS = Bell UCS = Food UCR = Salivation CS = Bell CR = Salivation
Describe how a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus.
- An unconditioned stimulus will produce an unconditioned response. (UCS -> UCR).
- A neutral stimulus is paried with the unconditioned stimulus to produce the unconditioned response. (NS + UCS = UCR).
- Eventually the conditioned response will produce the desired response (CS = CR).
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequences of previous actions.
What are the three consequences used in operant conditioning?
- Positive reinforcement.
- Negative reinforcement.
- Punishment.
What is punishment?
The opposite of reinforcement, it is designed to weaken or eliminate a response. It is a negative consequence that decreases the behaviour that it follows.
What is positive reinforcement?
It rewards desired behaviours with the intention of reinforcing stimuli.
What is the negative reinforcement?
It rewards desired behaviours by removing an unpleasant stimulus to remove discomfort.
What is a practical application of the approach?
Token economys
What is a token economy?
A contingency system based on positive reinforcement for good behaviours, tokens are collected and exchanged for objects and privileges.
What type of conditioning is used in a token economy?
Operant conditioning and more specifically positive reinforcement in the form of tokens.
What type of consequence is likely to increase the chance of repeated behaviour?
Reinforcement (positive and negative).
What type of consequence is likely to decrease the chance of repeated behaviour?
Punishment.
What is the main experiment for operant conditioning?
B.F Skinner (1953) - Skinner’s box.
What is commonly known as the operant conditioning chamber?
Skinner’s box.
What animals were used in Skinner’s box?
Rats and pigeons mainly.
How was Skinner’s box used to show positive reinforcement?
Every time a rat would activate a lever, it would receive a piece of food (reward). From then on the rat would continue to perform the behaviour.
How was Skinner’s box used to show negative reinforcement?
The rats were given an unpleasant stimulus of an electric shocking floor, every time the rat would activate a lever, it would deactivate the electricity and therefore remove the discomfort. From then on the rat would continue to perform the behaviour.
What are real life applications for each of the conditioning types?
Classical = Phobia treatments. Operant = Token economy.
The approach has a mechanistic view, what does this mean?
This means humans have no consideration or thinking, we respond to a stimulus like a computer program. It means we have no conscious insight into our behaviour.
Where is the approach on the scale:
Reductionist Holism
Reductionist as it is a very simplistic explanation, however it doesn’t take other factors into account such as cognitive processes.
Where is the approach on the scale:
Nature Nurture
The approach is slightly nurture as it dictates behaviour is determined from previous experiences.
Where is the approach on the scale:
Determinism Free will
It employs environmental determinism, where past experiances dictate actions, not free will though.
Give a positive and negative about the research methods of the approach.
They have good scientific credibility, they focus on measurements of observable behaviour and replication.
However, they are over reliant on animal research which may not be applicable to humans, tests were unethical and the animals may have been extremely stressed due to the lab settings which may have skewed results.
