behaviourism Pavlov and skinner Flashcards
(17 cards)
-what is the behaviourist approach
we are born neutral, with no inherent personality.it is the environment which shapes who you are
What is classical conditioning and who was it discovered by
learning by association and was discovered by Ivan Pavlov (1927)
what is the first part of classical conditioning
before conditioning = an unconditional stimulus leads to a unconditional response
what is the neutral stimulus
a stimulus that produces no response
what happens to the neutral stimulus
It gets paired with an unconditioned stimulus and then an association with the unconditioned response is created
What happens after conditioning
The neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus and will lead to its conditioned response (Same as unconditioned response)
What is operate conditioning and who was the researcher
learning from the consequences of our behaviour
( skinner )
what is a positive and negative reinforcement
positive reinforcement = is a reward as a positive consequence of the action (reward)
negative reinforcement = is removing something unpleasant as a positive consequence of an action ( avoidance
what is a positive punishment and a negative punishment
Positive punishment = Adding an aversive consequence after an undesired behaviour to decrease future responses
negative punishment = Removing something when there is undesired behaviour
What can you use to evaluate the behaviourist approach
- Well controlled research
- Real world application
- Environmental determinism
How would you evaluate the behaviourist approach?
(well controlled research)
It is focused on the measurement of observable behaviour in highly controlled lab settings. By breaking
down behaviours into stimulus-response units removing all extraneous variables. This allows cause and effect to be established
However behaviours may be oversimplified as by reducing behaviour to simple components ignoring internal factors as the cognitive and social learning theory explain
suggests learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone
How would you evaluate the behaviourist approach?
(real world application)
Principles of conditioning have been applied in real-world behaviours and problems. For example operant conditioning is sued in prisons on the bases of token economy systems. This works by awarding good behaviour with tokens that can then be traded for rewards (positive reinforcement)
Also in classical conditioning and the treatment to phobias (flooding and systematic desensitisation).
This increases the value of the approach as it has wide spread application
How would you evaluate the behaviourist approach?
(environmental determinism)
It sees all behaviours as conditioned by our past experiences. Skinner suggested everything we do is the sum of our reinforcement history e.g. if something happens we may think ‘I chose to do that’ but skinner suggests past conditioning history determined the outcome
This ignores any possibility that free will has any impact of our behaviour
How would you evaluate the behaviourist approach?
- The behaviourist approach is scientific
- Practical application
- Oversimplifies human behaviour
How would you evaluate the behaviourist approach?
(The behaviourist approach is scientific)
Baes on well controlled scientific research meaning the EV’s can be controlled so there’s a clear cause and effect
E.g. Pavlov was able to scientifically find the cause and effect of the association between the dogs salivation and bell
Behaviourism has contributed to the scientifical credibility of psychology
How would you evaluate the behaviourist approach?
(oversimplifies human behaviour)
- It is reductionist (breaking down of behaviour into the simplest form)
- Other approaches e.g. social learning theory and cognitive approach argue behaviour is more free will and conscious thought rather than simple stimulus responses
- Use of animals also oversimplifies human behaviour e.g. Humans are more complex socially, emotionally etc
Other approaches therefore may be more useful
How would you evaluate the behaviourist approach?
(Practical application)
Behaviourism has been useful in understanding and treating phobias.
Without the behaviourist approach we wouldn’t understand the acquisition and maintenance of phobias (2-process model) therefore no treatments such as flooding and systematic desensitisation so many more people would be suffering with extreme phobias
Has explanatory power and use in real-life thus increasing its value.
