Behaviourist Approach Flashcards
What does the behaviourist approach claim is all we have at birth?
The capacity to learn
What is the focus of this approach?
Observable behaviour
Where is all behaviour learned from in this approach?
The environment
How does psychology influence how the behaviourist approach is tested?
As psychology is a science, behaviour must be measured in highly controlled environments to establish cause and effect
Why can research be carried out on animals and humans in this approach?
There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and animals
What does this approach claim behaviour is primarily concerned with?
Your observable behaviour
What is your behaviour the result of?
A stimulus-response mechanism
What is a stimulus?
Anything, internal/external, that brings about a response
What is a response?
Any reaction in the presence of a stimulus
What is reinforcement?
The process by which a response is strengthened
What are all the abbreviations in this approach?
Unconditional stimulus = US/UCS
Unconditioned response = UR/UCR
Neutral stimulus = NS
Conditioned stimulus = CS
Reflex = automatic response (uncontrolled)
Describe Thorndike’s experiment
Made cats escape a box through trial and error like a puzzle. A reward was on the other side once the cats got out. As the cat continuously claimed the reward, it became more able to solve the puzzle each time
What does Thorndike’s experiment show?
Behaviour is learned by your environment. If we manipulate the environment, we can shape and manipulate behaviour
