behaviourist approach Flashcards
what is mean by classical conditioning?
learning through association
what is meant my operant conditioning?
learning through reinforcement
what is meant by reinforcement?
a consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated. can be positive or negative.
what are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
(x4)
- controlled lab experiments
- all behaviour is learnt, we are born a ‘blank slate’
- interested in behaviour that can be directly observed and measured
- experiment on animals and extrapolate
Pavlov : classical conditioning
before:
NS-bell UCS-food UCR-salivation
during:
UCS-bell&food UCR-salivation
after:
NS-food CS-bell CR-salivation
(doesn’t remove UCS of food)
what is meant by positive reinforcement?
being rewarded for performing a certain behaviour. increases likelihood of repetition
what is meant by negative reinforcement?
removal of something negative as a result of behaviour. increases likelihood of repetition.
what is meant by punishment?
a negative consequence for a certain behaviour. decreases likelihood of repetition
Skinner : operant conditioning
skinners rat box
pos - rat presses lever & gets food
neg - rat presses lever to stop shocks
pun - rat presses lever & gets shocked
AO3 - RWA
token systems in prisons reflect operant conditioning. people are rewarded for good behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
AO3 - well controlled research
behaviourists focus on measurement of observable behaviour with highly controlled lab settings. This reduces the effect of the effect of extraneous variables, establishing a cause and effect relationship.
however, behaviourist studies are carried out on animals and extrapolated to humans, must be done with caution, may not accurately represent human behaviour.
AO3 - environment determinism
behaviourists state that all behaviour is conditioned by past experiences. we may think we have made a decision but our past conditioning history has determined the outcome (skinner). this ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour . extreme position, ignores influence of conscious decision making processes on behaviour.
AO3 - environment determinism
behaviourists state that all behaviour is conditioned by past experiences. we may think we have made a decision but our past conditioning history has determined the outcome (skinner). this ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour . extreme position, ignores influence of conscious decision making processes on behaviour.
