Behaviourist approach Flashcards
what are the basic assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
1 - behaviour is learned from experience
2 - only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically so its only these that should be studied
3 - its valid to study animals as they share our learning principles
4 - tabula rasa
what is classical conditioning?
learning through association
what is the process of classical conditioning?
UCS -> UR
UCS + NS -> UR
CS -> CR
What is the study on classical conditioning?
Watson & Rayner 1920 little albert study
what was Pavlov’s research on classical conditioning?
used the process of classical conditioning to make dogs salivate at the sound of a bell once they associated it with food
define the following :
1-stimulus generalisation
2-stimulus discrimination
3-time contiguity
1 - if a stimulus has characteristics close to the CS the association will still be made, eg little albert being scared of all things fluffy and white
2 - the cut off point where stimulus generalisation won’t occur eg little albert wasn’t scared of big brown dogs
3 - the association only occurs if the UCS and NS are presented at the same time/around the same time
what is operant conditioning?
learning through reinforcement
define the following :
1- positive reinforcement
2- negative reinforcement
3- punishment
1 - wanting praise (eg teacher approval)
2 - avoiding disapproval (eg teacher anger)
3- consequence (eg detention)
what research did Thorndike conduct?
cats escaping a box by pressing on a lever (also motivated by visible fish outside the box)
what research did Skinner conduct?
skinners box had a lever that would release food, as well as loudspeakers and lights acting as visual and auditory signals. the floor was also metal and shocked the rat if it didn’t push the lever, using both positive and negative reinforcement
what are the 5 types of reinforcement?
-continuous reinforcement
-fixed interval
-variable interval
-fixed ratio
-variable ratio
what is continuous reinforcement?
-every single response is reinforced
-response rate is low but steady
-very low resistance to extinction
-eg good grades for every assessment
what is fixed interval reinforcement?
-reinforcement is given every (for example) 30 seconds provided the response occurs at least once during that time
-response rate speeds up as the next reinforcement becomes available, but is still fairly low
-fairly low resistance to extinction
-eg being paid every month for work
what is variable interval reinforcement?
-reinforcement given (for ex) on average every 30 seconds but varies each time (unpredictable)
-stable response rate
-very high resistance to extinction (slowly resistant)
-eg self-employed irregular payments
what is fixed ratio reinforcement?
-reinforcement given for a fixed number of responses eg 1 every 10
-high response rate coming up to the next reinforcement
-fairly low resistance to extinction
-eg commission in sales (extra money for a certain amount of sales)
