behaviourist approach

Question 1

assumption 1

Answer 1

we are born a blank slate

Question 2

behaviourism emphasises the role of what two things

Answer 2

experience and environmental factors in influencing behaviour

Question 3

what does the behaviourist approach exclude as an explanation for behaviour

Answer 3

innate or inherited features

Question 4

assumption 2

Answer 4

all behaviour is result of classical and operant conditioning

Question 5

what is classical conditioning

Answer 5

learning by association
involves the conditioning of innate bodily reflexes with external stimuli

Question 6

experiment of classical conditioning

Answer 6

pavlov’s dogs

Question 7

what did pavlov’s experiment show

Answer 7

that dogs could be classically conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented while they were given food.
This shows how a neutral stimulus (a bell) can elicit a learned response (conditioned response) through association

Question 8

what is operant conditioning

Answer 8

behaviours are learnt from and reinforced in response to consequences
when humans and animals act on their environmental consequences
if the consequences are pleasant, they repeat the behaviour, but if the consequences are unpleasant, they do not

Question 9

what is positive reinforcement

Answer 9

behaving in a way that gets rewarded/ receiving a desirable consequence
receiving a desirable consequence means the behaviour is more likely to be repeated

Question 10

example positive reinforcement

Answer 10

skinner’s box - the rat received a food pellet when it pressed a lever

Question 11

what is negative reinforcement

Answer 11

behaving in a way to avoid negative consequences
when a behaviour is followed by the removal of an unwanted consequence and is therefore more likely to be repeated

Question 12

example of negative reinforcement

Answer 12

skinner’s box - the rat pressing pressing the lever to avoid receiving an electric shock

Question 13

punishment

Answer 13

receiving an unpleasant consequence when a certain behaviour has been performed, which means the behaviour is less likely to be repeated

Question 14

example of punishment

Answer 14

skinner’s box - the rat receiving an electric shock when it pressed the lever in the skinner box

Question 15

assumption 3

Answer 15

behaviour should be studies scientifically using experiments

Question 16

what type of behaviour should psychologists study

Answer 16

observable, quantifiable behaviour

Question 17

how do psychologists study observable quantifiable behaviour

Answer 17

maintain control and objectivity within their research and relied on laboratory experiments

Question 18

assumption 4

Answer 18

humans are no different from animals and should not be regarded as more complex.

Question 19

what does this mean about animal behaviour in relation to humans

Answer 19

animal behaviour (eg pavlov’s research with dogs) is directly relevant to humans

Question 20

skinners experiment variation one and what type of reinforcement is this

Answer 20

food comes out of the dispenser when lever is pressed - example of positive reinforcement

Question 21

skinners experiment variation two and what type of reinforcement this is

Answer 21

pressing the lever turned off electric grid - example of negative reinforcement

Question 22

strength of behaviourist approach (practical application)

Answer 22

behaviourist treatment of phobias including flooding and systematic desensitisation - used in effective treatment
operant conditioning explains a range of human learning like gambling addiction

Question 23

strength of classical conditioning - research evidence

Answer 23

study of little albert - presented with something he was afraid of (loud noise) and something he was not afraid of (rats) after association was made he learned to fear rats

Question 24

2 weaknesses of behaviourist approach (pavlov and skinners research)

Answer 24

research on animals cant be extrapolated to humans because they are biologically different and may not respond in the same way
ethical issues - animal experiments caused distress for involved animals

Question 25

2 weakness of behaviourist approach

Answer 25

reductionist - ignores the role of cognition and emotional factors influencing behaviour
ethical issues - application of behaviourism on gambling is ethically wrong

Question 26

real life application of operant conditioning

Answer 26

token economy

Question 27

weakness of behaviourist approach (environmental determinism)

Answer 27

sees all behaviour as determined by past experiences that have been conditioned. this ignores any possible influence that free will might have on our behaviour. Skinner said that our sense of free will is an illusion.