Behaviourist approach Flashcards
Who was it founded by, and when?
JB Watson in 1915
What were the main aspects?
Rejected the vagueness of introspection, and tried to maintain control by focusing on lab studies
What do behaviourists believe?
That all behaviour is learnt - a baby’s mind is a ‘clean slate’
Who demonstrated classical conditioning?
Pavlov
Who demonstrated operant conditioning?
Skinner
What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association - dogs were conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food
Explain the ‘Pavlov’s Dogs’ experiment
Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (stimulus) with the food (another stimulus) and would produce the salivation response everytime they heard the sound. Thus, Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus, in this case a bell, can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association.
What is operant conditioning?
A behaviourist approach that is shaped by its consequences (eg. behaving a certain way because you get a reward for it)
Explain the ‘Skinner’s Rats’ experiment
Every time the hungry rat activated the lever within the box, it was rewarded with a food pellet. From then on the rat continued to perform the behaviour, as it knew it received a reward of food.
What is positive reinforcement?
A reward for certain behaviour that increases the likelihood of the person performing that behaviour again
Give 2 strengths of Pavlov’s and Skinner’s experiments
- Well-controlled research - focus on measuring observable behaviour in highly controlled lab settings, and extraneous variables are removed
- Real world application - operant conditioning has been used in institutions like prisons and psychiatric wards
Give 2 weaknesses of Pavlov’s and Skinner’s experiments
- Behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process. They might have ignored an important influence on learning like “the human thought”
- Ethical issues - skinner’s experiment allowed animals to be housed in cramped conditions and kept hungry
