behaviourist approach Flashcards
what is the behaviourist approach?
this is a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and measurable
what does the behaviourist approach say about the mental processes in psychology?
they are not concerned with investigating mental processes of the mind
why do behaviourists use lab experiments?
they want to maintain control and objectivity in their research
what do the behaviourists suggest about basic processes of learning in all species?
they suggested that the basic processes that control all learning are the same in all species. this means that non-human animals could be used as participants in research, and the findings extended to help us understand human behaviour.
what are the two types of learning in the behaviourist approach?
classical conditioning
operant conditoning
what is classical conditioning?
learning through association
what is the process of classical conditioning?
an unconditioned stimulus is paired with a new ‘neutral stimulus’
eventually the neutral stimulus produces the same response that was first produced by the unlearned stimulus alone
what are the 3 processes involved in classical conditioning?
unconditioned stimulus –> unconditioned response
neutral stimulus –> unconditioned stimulus –> unconditioned response
conditioned stimulus –> conditioned response
what was Pavlovs procedure in his experiment into classical conditioning?
was a controlled laboratory experiment
dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time they were given food.
the dog associated the sound of the bell with food and would salivate at the sound every time they heard it
what is the UCS in Pavlov’s experiment?
food
what is the UCR and CR in Pavlov’s experiment?
salivation
what is the NS and CS in Pavlov’s experiment?
the bell
what is operant conditioning?
this is when behaviour is shaped and maintained through consequences
what are the 3 types of consequences for behaviour?
positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
punishment
what is positive reinforcement?
when you recieve a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
e.g. a teacher praises you for doing your homework
what is negative reinforcement?
when an individual avoids/escapes an unpleasant consequence
e.g. a teacher stops asking for your homework when you hand it in
what is punishment?
an unpleasant consequence of a behaviour
e.g. your friends start to tease you for handing in your homework
what was Skinners research into operant conditioning?
he did a controlled laboratory experiment
every time the rats pressed a lever they were rewarded with a food pellet
from then on they would repeat that behaviour
if there was an unpleasant consequence of pressing the lever, they would not do it
AO3: how is ‘real life application’ a strength into the behaviourist approach?
operant conditioning can be used in prisons. if a prisoner shows good behaviour, they are able to get tokens which they can then use to get a treat
operant conditioning can also be used in parenting and schools. children can be given rewards for good behaviour and punishments for bad behaviour so they start to associate them behaviours with them consequences. (token economy)
classical conditioning can be used in aversion therapy. an alcoholic can be given alcohol with a sickness drug so when they drink the alcohol they will be sick so the next time they think sabot drinking alcohol they will associate it with being sick
AO3: how is ‘scientific status’ a strength into the behaviourist approach?
the behaviourist approach is scientific as it is measuring observable behaviour. the experiments all take place in carefully controlled environments so the results are very controlled and there are no extraneous variables. (skinners research).
however, as it only measures observable behaviour, it ignores the cognitive and biological aspects of behaviour so it is therefore oversimplisitic on what it is trying to investigate
AO3: how is ‘use of animals in research’ a limitation into the behaviourist approach?
the behaviourist approach suggested that we could test our theorys on non-human animals and then generalise the findings to humans, because whilst we differ in terms of the behaviours we display, we learn them in the same way. however, we cant fully generalise animal findings to humans as they lack self awareness and don’t behave in the same way as us.
AO3: how is ‘free will versus determinism’ a limitation into the behaviourist approach?
the behaviourists see all behaviour as being determined by past experiences that have been conditioned in this way- environmental determinism.
this ignores any possible influence of free will (it is an illusion) and suggests that everything we do is nothing other than the sum of our reinforcement history.
later psychological approaches such as the humanistic approach have disagreed with this
