Behaviourist approach

Question 1

Who came up with the behaviourist approach?

Answer 1

Watson

Question 2

What behaviour does the approach study?

Answer 2

Behaviour that can be observed and measured (sees mental processes as irrelevant)

Question 3

Did Watson accept introspection?

Answer 3

No- ignored it as he thought the concepts were too vague and hard to measure.

Question 4

What studies and research do behaviourists use- why?

Answer 4

Lab studies- as controlled and objective.
Animal research is used as a basis of understanding human behaviour.

Question 5

Assumption: all behaviour is learned from…

Answer 5

the environment (education, peers, upbringing etc)

Question 6

What reference is used to describe how everyone is born?

Answer 6

Everyone is born a ‘blank slate’

Question 7

What are the behaviourists 2 forms of learning?

Answer 7

Classical conditioning (CC) and Operant conditioning (OC)

Question 8

Who’s research was the operant conditioning?

Answer 8

Skinners

Question 9

OC- learning via…

Answer 9

consequences

Question 10

OC- what is positive reinforcement?

Answer 10

performing a behaviour to experience positive consequences e.g. praise, treat etc

Question 11

OC- what is negative reinforcement?

Answer 11

performing a behaviour to avoid unpleasant consequences (avoidance behaviour shown) e.g. doing HW so you don’t get a detention, not going to sea so you don’t drown

Question 12

OC- what is a punishment?

Answer 12

an unpleasant consequence of behaviour e.g. getting told off by teacher, not being able to attend a party

Question 13

OC- Does positive and negative reinforcement increase or decrease the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated?

Answer 13

increases

Question 14

OC- Does punishment increase or decrease the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated?

Answer 14

decreases

Question 15

OC- what box did Skinner use in his experiment?

Answer 15

Skinners box

Question 16

OC- what did Skinner do for positive reinforcement?

Answer 16

placed a hungry rat in a box, if rat pressed a lever they got food (reward). After few times rat learnt that pressing the lever would mean they would get food.

Question 17

OC- what did Skinner do for negative reinforcement?

Answer 17

rat put in box and received an electric shock until they pressed the lever. Rats then quickly pressed lever to avoid the electric shock.

Question 18

OC- ethical concerns of the experiment?

Answer 18

Yes- animals were harmed etc.

Question 19

who’s research was classical conditioning?

Answer 19

Pavlov’s (1927)

Question 20

CC- learning via….

Answer 20

association

Question 21

what is CC?

Answer 21

when a neutral stimulus is substituted for the original unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response.

Question 22

what was Pavlov’s research (what happened, what did he do?)

Answer 22

• dogs can be conditioned to salivate to sound of a bell if repeatedly presented at same time as they were given food.
• dogs associated the sound of the bell (stimulus) with food= salivation response every time they heard the bell.

Question 23

what is extinction?

Answer 23

gradual weakening of a conditioned response causing the behaviour to stop or go extinct over time.

Question 24

what was the UCS, UCR, NS, NR, NS, CS, CR in Pavlov’s research?

Answer 24

UCS (food) —> UCR (salivation)
NS (bell) —> NR
NS (bell) + UCS (food) —> UCR (salivation)
CS (bell) —> CR (salivation)

Question 25

eval- point 1

Answer 25

scientific= increased reliability. Research was well controlled in a lab setting, extraneous variables removed –> cause and effect relationships could be established. Focuses on observable behaviour.

Question 26

eval- point 2

Answer 26

oversimplifies learning processes. Ignores mental processes. Suggesting learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone.

Question 27

eval- point 3

Answer 27

real world application- OC= token economy in prisons and psychiatric wards (appropriate behaviour is awarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges). CC= used to treat phobias.

Question 28

eval- point 4

Answer 28

environmental determinism- Skinner suggests our past conditioning history determines our outcome= ignores free will on our behaviour and conscious decision-making processes on behaviour.

Question 29

eval- point 5

Answer 29

uses animal research- animals are less complex/don’t have as sophisticated cognitive levels as humans.

Question 30

little albert study (OC)

Answer 30

Originally, Albert showed no fear of the white rat (CS) and played quite happily with it. However, after several pairing of the loud noise (UCS) and the white rat (CS), he displayed fear (UCR) in response to just the white rat.
Little Albert had learnt to fear and avoid white rats without the loud noise being present. He had been conditioned to associate white rats with fear. But Little Albert generalised this fear to other white fluffy things including Dr Watson wearing a white beard!