Behaviourism (School of Thought) Flashcards
state 3 introductory facts to the ‘Behaviourism’ school of thought
- consciousness is impossible to observe significantly and therefore contributes little to our understanding of humans
- systematic and objective approaches are needed to further develop our understanding
- switches to behavioural approaches drawing upon observations and experiments on animals
state the 5 basic assumptions of Behaviourism
- psychology should be a science
- observable behaviours are of greater relevance than internal events such as thinking or emotion
- all behaviour is learned from the environment
- behaviour is the result of S-R conditioning
- there is little difference between humans and animals
who came up with the idea of ‘classical conditioning’ ?
Ivan Pavlov
state 3 introductory facts to how Ivan Pavlov came up with the idea of ‘classical conditioning’
- came from unconditioned physiological response of salivation in dogs
- shows how a neutral stimulus (bell) becomes conditioned (leads to a response) by being paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food)
- Pavlov’s work focused on animals, but can be transferred to humans)
state the following for the ‘Little Albert’ experiment:
- unconditioned stimulus
- unconditioned response
- conditioned stimulus
- conditioned response
- white rat
- un-phased
- load bang (hammer on metal) when Albert went near rat —> 6 bangs/times
- fear of rat
who, and when, conducted the ‘Little Albert’ experiment ?
Waston + Reynor, 1920
who came up with the theory of ‘operant conditioning’ ?
B.F. Skinner
what did B.F. Skinner believe about behaviour ?
He believed in studying observable behaviour and the our behaviour is shaped by our environment. He also believed that classical conditioning was far too simplistic
state 2 expansionary facts to why B.F. Skinner thought that classical conditioning was far too simplistic
- rather than being an automatic response to a conditioned stimulus, his work suggests behaviour is more voluntarily modified by its consequences
- this approach enables the understanding of situations in which an individual has multiple possible responses
state what it is meant by the key term - neutral operants
responses from the environment that neither increase or decrease the probability of a behaviour being repeated
state what it is meant by the key term - reinforcers
positive or negative responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated
state what it is meant by the key term - punishers
responses form the environment that decrease the probability ofd a behaviour being repeated - punishment weakens/breaks S-R bonds
state what it is meant by the key term - positive reinforcement
a behaviour is strengthened by rewards, leading to the repetition of a desired behaviour
state what it is meant by the key term - negative reinforcement
the termination off a negative state following a desired response
state what it is meant by the key term - punishment
an adverse event that decreases the behaviour likelihood that it follows
what are Thorndyke’s laws of operate conditioning /
- law of readiness
- law of exercise
- law of effect
explain Thorndyke’s law of readiness
an individual must be both physically and mentally prepared to learn in order for learning to take place
explain Thorndyke’s law of exercise
drill/practice helps in increasing the efficiency and durability of learning and, according to Thorndyke’s S-R theory, the connections are strengthened with trial/practice and weakened when trial/practice is discontinued
explain Thorndyke’s law of effect (3 points)
- the steps leading to satisfaction stamps in the bond or connection
- satisfying states lead to the consolidation and strengthening of bonds whereas dis-satisfaction states lead to the weakening or stamping out of connections
- teaching must therefore be pleasing for the learner
