Behaviourist approach Assumptions Flashcards
Behaviourist approach intro
- purely interested in explaining behaviours
- can count, not thoughts, feelings, anxiety, depression
- agression
background on behaviourist
- The BA developed as an attempt to find a more scientific explanation of behaviour
- It is based on the idea that behaviour is the result of how we RESPOND to events or triggers (stimuli) in the ENVIRONMENT around us
Assumption 1 name
BLANK SLATE
Environmental determinist def
Environment determines everything
which side of the nature vs nurture argument are behaviourists on?
nurture
Assumption 1 explanation
- babies re born into the world as a blank slate or tabula rasa
- argue newborns are born with only a handful of basic innate reflexes e.g. crying, pain, hunger, ect which help infants from birth to communicate, eat and survive
- any behaviour is seen as LEARNED response to a stimulus - notjing is innate
blank slate example
Social Leaning Theory - aggressive behaviour is learned through observation and imitation of role models
Summary of bobo doll study:
- 36 kids 3-6 yrs
- watched an adult role model play aggressively or non aggressively with a bobo doll
- found kids that OBSERVED agressive role model were much more likley to play agressively with bobo themselves compared to the group who had watched the role model play non agressively
THE CHILDREN MODELLED BOTH PHYSICAL AGRESSION (KICKING, HITTING) AND VERBAL AGRESSION (BASH, POW)
name of assumption 2
BEHAVIOUR IS LEARNT THROUGH CONDITIONING
ClASSical conditioning
ASSociations
opeRant conditioning
Rewards, Reinforcement
Classical conditioning definition?
new behaviours are learned through forming an association between stimulus and response
what did pavlov do?
- classical conditioning with animals
- Russian physiologist investigating the digestive system of dogs. he found that dogs salivate when presented with food. he then found that if a bell rang at the same time as the food is presented, the dog will salivate at the sound of the bell even when food is no longer present
Operant conditioning definition
new behaviours are learned through the consequences of actions /rewards/ reinforcements and punishments)
is negative reinforcement a reward?
YES
if we are punished for behaving a certain way…
there is a decrease in the probability that the behaviour will reoccur
if the behaviour is reinforced…
(positive or negative reinforcement) the probability of the behaviour being repeated again in the future increase
positive reinforcement
gaining something pleasant
negative reinforcement
avoid an unpleasant situation
example that behaviour is learnt through conditioning: skinner’s rats
- The rat might first be reinforced for pressing the lever - pos - food reward
Neg- avoiding electric shock from the electrodes
punishment = pressing lever causes an electric shock -. learn to stop pressing it -. reduced frequency of lever presses
Assumption 3
Humans and Animals learn in similar ways
ass 3 explain
- behaviourists assume that the same basic principles (processes) of learning are common to all species -> humans learn in the same way as other animals
- behaviourists believe that there are only QUANTITATIVE DEFFS BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS E.G. BRAIN SIZE
- so behaviourists argue that many animals are so like us genetically (e.g. same nervous system, brain, ect) and learn in thesame way that it is appropriate to use them and generalise/ EXTRAPOLATE the findings of human behaviour
assumption 3
little albert
