Behaviourist approach Flashcards
Key assumptions.
Pscyhologists should only study observable, quantifiable behaviour.
All behaviour is learned.
Humans are no different from animals and should not be regarded as more complex.
Research on animal behaviour is directly relevant to humans.
Ivan Pavlov.
Classical conditioning.
Classical conditioning.
A type of learning in which an existing involuntary reflex is associated with a new stimulus.
Process of CC.
He famously tested his theory using dogs, who were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus). This resulted in the dogs producing a salivation response (conditioned response) at the sound of a bell (conditioned stimulus), even when no food was present.
Pavlov demonstrated that…
Repeated exposure to an event leads to a learned and uncontrollable behaviour.
This process can be used to explain the acquisition of phobias and the development of attachment.
Skinner.
Operant conditioning.
Operant conditioning.
The results of learning through the consequences of our actions.
Process of OC.
Skinner box to examine operant conditioning in rats and pigeons.
The animal would move around the cage, and when it pressed the lever (by accident), it would be rewarded with a food pellet.
The animal would learn, through positive reinforcement, that each time it pressed the lever, it would be rewarded with food.
It, therefore, learned a new voluntary behaviour that is repeated to receive the reward again.
Skinner found 3 types of reinforcements.
Positive reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement.
Punishment.
Positive reinforcement.
When a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence (reward) and is more likely to be repeated.
Negative reinforcement.
When a behaviour is followed by the removal of an adverse consequence and is more likely to be repeated.
Punishment.
When a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence and is less likely to be repeated.
Strength: The behaviourist approach has made important contributions to our modern understanding of human mental illness.
For example, many phobias are thought to be the result of earlier unpleasant learning experiences. Consequently, this understanding has helped psychologists develop therapies, such as systematic desensitisation, that attempt to re-condition a patient’s fear response.
Also, some addictions such as gambling can be better understood through operant conditioning, as the rewards of gambling could be seen to reinforce the destructive behaviour.
This demonstrates that the behaviourist approach has many real-world applications in the understanding and treatment of atypical behaviour.
Weakness: The behaviourist approach has been criticised for its limited view regarding the origins of behaviour.
Behaviourists ignore alternative levels of explanation including the role of cognition and emotional factors in influencing behaviour.
Skinner countered this argument, however, stating that for behaviour to be investigated scientifically, it had to be directly measurable and observable, which cognitions are not. Further to this, he said that even the most complex of human interactions could be explained using operant conditioning principles of learning by the consequences of our actions to either repeat or cease the behaviour.
Strength: The behaviourists were influential in encouraging the use of animals as research subjects.
(counterpoint)
They believed that the learning processes in humans and animals are very similar; consequently, Pavlov conducted research using dogs, and Skinner used rats and pigeons.
Using non-human animals in research gives experimenters more control over the process, without demand characteristics or individual differences influencing findings.
However, many consider using animals in experiments to be unethical as there is less concern about protection from harm for non-human subjects. Furthermore, some argue that findings from animal experiments are not generalisable to human behaviour: Skinner’s operant conditioning theory may provide an understanding of rat behaviour, but little about human behaviour.
