Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

What are the three assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 1

Blank slate
Behaviour learnt through conditioning
Humans and animals learn in similar ways

Question 2

What is the blank slate?

Answer 2

Nurture
Behaviour is determined by external factors
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution
Bandura = demonstrated how children learn aggression through external factors, children followed agressive role model

Question 3

What is behaviour is learnt through conditioning?

Answer 3

Classic conditioning
Operating conditioning

Question 4

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 4

Associate two things that give the same response = pavlov presents dogs with food and they salivate when they hear a bell

Question 5

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 5

Refers to something that will increase the likelihood of a behaviour
Reinforcement = positive or negative, this weakens or enforces behaviour
In punishment it decreases the chance that behaviour will happen again

Question 6

What is humans and animals learn in similar ways?

Answer 6

Findings from animals can be applied to predict human behaviour
Pavlov used dogs to develop the concept of classical conditioning

Question 7

What is behaviourst therapy?

Answer 7

Aversion therapy

Question 8

How does aversion therapy work?

Answer 8

Individuals are presented with an unpleasant stimulus, eg electric shock, that makes them feel nauseous whilst engaging in an undesirable behaviour

Question 9

How do clients end up not wanting to engage in the undesirable behaviour?

Answer 9

The aversive stimulus is repeatedly paired with the undesirable behaviour, and leads to the same consequences

Question 10

What is covert sensitisation?

Answer 10

Where the client uses their imagination rather than actually experiencing negative consequences

Question 11

What is an example of covert sensitisation?

Answer 11

Alcoholics are required to imagine upsetting, repulsive scenes whilst drinking

Question 12

What would the next stage in covert sensitisation be?

Answer 12

Getting the client to imagine scenarios that get worse, such as feeling really sick after alcohol to imagining throwing up over someone = employs systematic desensitisation

Question 13

What are the main components of aversion therapy?

Answer 13

Covert sensitisation
New developments
Operant conditioning

Question 14

What are new developments?

Answer 14

Drugs that make users feel sick if they use them with alcohol, but by reward abstinence by inducing feelings of tranquility and well being (Badawy)

Question 15

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 15

Once the association has been made with the once pleasant stimulus and unpleasant response, the person tends to avoid future contact with the stimulus

Question 16

What is an example of operant conditioning?

Answer 16

An alcoholic may avoid going into pubs where people are drinking = negative reinforcement is in place, motivating the individual to avoid these situations

Question 17

What are the effectiveness points in aversion therapy for evaluation?

Answer 17

Research
Dropout
Are the effects long term?
Symptom substitution

Question 18

What is the research evaluation of aversion therapy?

Answer 18

Study of alcoholics
Miller
Compared effectiveness of three types of treatment
- aversion therapy (shocks)
- counselling + aversion
- counselling alone

Question 19

What did Miller find?

Answer 19

Recovery was the same, aversion therapy offered no benefit

Question 20

What did smith et al find about research in aversion therapy?

Answer 20

Alcoholics treated with aversion therapy had higher abstinence rates after one year than those counselling alone
Also success with smokers, 52% treated with shocks maintained abstinence after one year

Question 21

What is the behaviourist classic evidence?

Answer 21

Watson and Rayner

Question 22

What is the methodology of Watson and Rayner

Answer 22

Male infant
Nine months
Albert B
Investigation to determine the effects of certain stimuli
Controlled observation

Question 23

What are the procedure stages of Watson and Rayner

Answer 23

9 months
11 months and 3 days
11 months and 10 days
11 months and 15 days
11 months and 20 days
1 year and 21 days

Question 24

What happened at 9 months for Albert

Answer 24

Confronted with a white rat, rabbit, dog
He showed no fear response to animals
He trembled and cried when a steel bar was struck to test his fear reaction

Question 25

What happens at 11 months and 3 days for Albert?

Answer 25

Albert presented with a white rat, as he touched a steel bar was struck (joint stimulation)
Albert jumped and fell forward
Touched rat for a second time, bar struck, jumped fall and whimpered

Question 26

What happens at 11 months and 10 days for Albert?

Answer 26

He was tentative
Joint stimulation three times before the rat was presented alone
He fell and whimpered each time
Joint stimulation twice
Albert cried instantly when he saw the rat

Question 27

What happened at 11 months and 15 days for Albert?

Answer 27

Showed blocks, withdrew himself from the rat
Given a rabbit, a dog, fur coat, cotton wool and Santa Claus mask
Cried with each one

Question 28

What happened at 11 months and 20 days Albert?

Answer 28

Joint stimulation
Changed environment into a large lecture room
Steel bar was struck when the rat was presented
Less extreme to the rat, rabbit and dog

Question 29

What happened at 1 year and 21 days for Albert

Answer 29

Presented with Santa Claus mask, fur coat, rat, blocks, rabbit and dog
Whimpered
Withdrew from the rat
Played with the blocks
Albert removed from the study

Question 30

What were the findings of little Albert

Answer 30

Emotional tests- he previously showed no fear response
Session 1- whimpering a little
Session 2- cautious behaviour, More joint stimulation = more stress
Session 3- fear and turned away, along with the other objects
Session 4 - after freshening up, the response was stronger
Session 5- he occasionally cried and avoided them

Question 31

What are the conclusions of Watson and Rayner

Answer 31

Joint stimulations were given to bring a complete reaction
Generalise to similar stimuli
Freud found that Albert sucking his thumb was sexual stimulation, not a compensation to block fear

Question 32

What is the evaluation of the methodology and procedures?

Answer 32

Controlled study- extraneous variables could be controlled (lab), control condition of building blocks, pre manipulation of behaviour so he was not a fearful child
The Sample- not representative, dismissed from the uni, no more sample

Question 33

What is the evaluation of the alternative evidence?

Answer 33

The two process theory- if only classical conditioning was involved it may disappear over time
Mowrer- it doesn’t disappear as first stage is classical second stage is operant, negative reinforcement- escaping from an unpleasant situation
Learning is not the only explanation- biological preparedness, fear that was dangerous in evolutionary past

Question 34

What are the ethical issues of Watson and Rayner

Answer 34

Creating fear- distressing Albert
More psychological harm- Albert sucked his thumb, they had to remove thumb from his mouth to experience full fear
Lasting effect- he would continue to be scared of fury objects, he did not get removed