Behaviourist Approach Flashcards
Argues that we are…
- a tabula rasa (blank slate)
- we are not born with in-built mental content
Nature or nurture explanation for human behaviour?
Nurture
All of our behaviour is…
learned from interactions with the environment after birth
Behaviourists argue that psychology should only study…
- observable behaviour in controlled lab settings,
- because this is the only way that human behaviour can be studied in a scientific way
Behaviourists argue that laws of learning are the same for both…
- humans and non-human animals
- so, we can study animal learning in a laboratory environment and make generalisations about human behaviour
Who is Pavlov?
What did he do?
- Russian Physiologist (biology)
- dog experiments
- discovered classical conditioning by accident
Pavlovs research played a critical role in…
the discovery of one of the most important concepts in psychology
Pavlovs famous experiments led to…
the discovery of classical conditioning
(accidentally discovered)
What is classical conditioning?
learning through association
Definition of: conditioning
learning
Definition of: unconditioned
automatic
Dog experiments:
1) Before conditioning
food (UCS) ————> salivation (UCR)
- salivation = automatic (unconditioned)
Dog experiments:
2) Before conditioning
bell (NS) ————> no salivation (NR)
- bell gets dogs attention BUT no association
Dog experiments:
3) During conditioning
bell (NS) + food (UCS) ————> salivation (UCR)
- ASSOCIATION PHASE
Dog experiments:
4) After conditioning
Bell (CS) ————> salivation (CR)
- dog associates bell with food
- now produces saliva when no food, only bell
John B. Watson is the father of…
behaviourism
Who is Skinner?
What did he suggest?
Whose work did he build on?
What theory did he develop?
- famous behaviourist
- suggested that free-will = an illusion, and that all human action is the direct result of conditioning.
- built on Pavlovs work
- developed theory of operant conditioning
Operant conditioning is…
learning through reinforcement and punishment
What is reinforcement?
we will learn to repeat behaviours that have pleasant consequences
What is punishment?
we will learn not to repeat behaviours that have unpleasant consequences
Skinner box:
Study 1
- pressed lever = food pellet received
- positive reinforcement
Skinner box:
Study 2
- animal has electric shock, pressing lever = stops electric shock
- negative reinforcement
Skinner box:
Study 3
- pressed lever = receives electric shock
- positive punishment
What is positive reinforcement?
- we repeat behaviour if something good is given to us
- we see an increase in a certain behaviour
- reward = reinforcer
What is negative reinforcement?
- we repeat behaviour if something bad is taken away
- we see an increase in a certain behaviour
What is positive punishment?
- we don’t repeat a behaviour if something bad is given to us
- we see a decrease in a certain behaviour
What is negative punishment?
- we don’t repeat a behaviour is something good is taken away
- we see a decrease in a certain behaviour
