behaviourist approach (learning approach 2/2)

Question 1

what does it study

Answer 1

observable & measurable behaviour

Question 2

behaviourists belief

Answer 2

• believe all behaviour is learned
• baby’s mind = ‘blank slate’
• basic processes which govern learning are same in all species

Question 3

behaviourists identified 2 important forms of learning

Answer 3

1. classical conditioning
2. operant conditioning

Question 4

researcher - classical conditioning

Answer 4

ivan pavlov (1927)

Question 5

classical conditioning

Answer 5

learning through association

Question 6

research by pavlov 1927 - classical conditioning

Answer 6

dogs associated bell with food & began to salivate at sound of bell

1. food (UCS) –> salivation (UCR)
2. bell (NS) –> no salivation
3. bell (NS) & food (UCS) –> salivation (UCR)
4. bell (CS) –> salivation (CR)

Question 7

researcher - operant conditioning

Answer 7

b.f. skinner (1953)

Question 8

what did skinner (1953) suggest

Answer 8

learning is an active process whereby humans & animals operate on environment

Question 9

3 parts of operant conditioning

Answer 9

1. positive reinforcement
2. negative reinforcement
3. punishment

Question 10

describe positive reinforcement

Answer 10

= receiving reward when certain behaviour performed
eg. praise from teacher for answering correctly

Question 11

describe negative reinforcement

Answer 11

= animal/human avoids something unpleasant & outcome is positive experience
eg. student hands in essay to not be told off
–> avoidance of something unpleasant = negative reinforcement

Question 12

describe punishment

Answer 12

= unpleasant consequence of behaviour
eg. shouted at by teacher for talking during lesson

Question 13

what do negative & positive reinforcement cause

Answer 13

increase likelihood behaviour will be repeated

Question 14

what does punishment cause

Answer 14

decreases likelihood behaviour will be repeated

Question 15

research by skinner (1953)

Answer 15

‘skinner boxes’ with rats in

A) every time rat activated lever = rewarded with food pellet
–> would continue to perform behaviour

B) rats conditioned to perform same behaviour to avoid unpleasant stimulus = electric shock

Question 16

AO3 (+) well controlled research

Answer 16

P: approach based on well-controlled research

E: behaviourists focused on measurement of observable behaviour in highly controlled lab settings. the behaviour was broken down into basic stimulus-response units & all other extraneous variables were removed, allowing cause-and-effect relationships to be established eg. skinner

T: behaviourist experiments have high credibility & increases validity of approach

Question 17

AO3 (-) counterpoint to well-controlled research

Answer 17

P: behaviourists may have over-simplified learning process

E: reducing behaviour to such simple components may have ignored importance influence on learning, which is the human thought. other approaches (eg. SLT & cognitive approach) have drawn attention to mental processes involved

T: suggests learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone & private mental processes are essential

Question 18

AO3 (+) real-world application

Answer 18

P: principles of conditioning have been applied to real-world behaviours & problems

E: eg. operant conditioning is basis of token economy systems which have been used successfully in institutions (eg. prisons & psychiatric wards). these work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens which can be exchanged for privileges.

T: increases value & usefulness of behaviourist approach as has widespread application

Question 19

AO3 (-) environmental determinism

Answer 19

P: behaviourist approach sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences

E: skinner suggested everything we do is sum total of our reinforcement history. when something happens we may think ‘i chose to do that’, but according to skinner, our past conditioning history determined this outcome. this ignores any possible influence of free will on behaviour

T: ignores influence of conscious decision-making process on behaviour