Behavourist Flashcards
What did the behavourist approach do in terms of introspection?
Rejected it. Focuses instead on observable events (e.g. stimuli and responses) and the conditions where learning is most likely to occur.
What is the behaviourists approach sometimes referred to as?
The learning theory
How did behaviourists explain human behaviour?
Conditioning, which involved the formulation of learned associations between stimuli in the environment an an organism’s response.
Who are the researchers?
Pavlov (Classical conditioning)
Skinner (Operant conditioning)
What is classical conditioning?
When a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus so that it eventually takes on the properties of this stimulus and is able to produce a conditioned response.
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement or punishment. If a behaviour is followed by a desired consequence, then that behaviour is likely to be repeated.
What is the process of classical conditioning?
•An uncontrolled stimulus (such as food) produces an uncontrolled response (salivating)
•A neutral stimulus (a bell) does not trigger a response
•Pairing the uncontrolled stimulus with the neutral stimulus causes the subject to have an uncontrolled response due to the uncontrolled stimulus
•Eventually, the neutral stimulus becomes a controlled stimulus as it creates a controlled response (salivation)
What was Pavlov’s procedure? (Classical conditioning)
Pavlov’s dog - Used classical conditioning on a dog, the dog salivated when presented food but not when a bell was rung. Bell and food were paired. Dog eventually salivated to just the sound of the bell.
What is the timing feature of Classical conditioning?
If the neutral stimulus cannot be used to predict the uncontrolled stimulus (if the neutral stimulus is used after presenting uncontrolled stimulus or too long before) then conditioning will not take place
What is the extinction feature of Classical conditioning?
The controlled response is not permanent as a response. After using the controlled stimulus without the uncontrolled stimulus a few times, the controlled response will not occur anymore.
What is the spontaneous recovery feature of Classical conditioning?
(Following extinction) if the controlled stimulus and uncontrolled stimulus are paired together once again, the link between them is made quickly.
What is the stimulus generalisation feature of Classical conditioning?
Once an animal has been conditioned, they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the controlled stimulus.
What was Skinner’s procedure?
Skinner’s rat / Skinner box - A rat was put into the box and moves around it. When it accidentally presses the lever in the box, a food pellet (reinforcer) drops into the box. The rat then continues to press the lever for food, when the food ceases, the rat presses the lever a few more times before abandoning it.
What are the two types of reinforcement?
Positive and negative.
What is positive reinforcement?
When a behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism (praising a child for being kind)
What is negative reinforcement?
Removing something unpleasant from the organism and returns to the more pleasant state beforehand (e.g. turning off an alarm restores the organism to the pre-alarm state)
What is the schedule of reinforcement feature in Operant conditioning?
Although a continuous reinforcement schedule (e.g. the rat getting food every lever push) is effective in establishing a particular response, a partial reinforcement schedule (e.g. every 3rd lever push or minute) is more effective in maintaining a response and avoiding extinction
What is the punishment feature in Operant conditioning?
Where a behaviour is followed by a consequence that is unpleasant or undesired for the organism. This decreasing the chance of that behaviour reoccuring.
What are the two types of punishment? (Operant conditioning)
Positive and negative
What is positive punishment (Operant)?
Adding something unpleasant as a consequence (e.g. a slap)
What is negative punishment (operant)?
Taking something pleasant for the organism away (e.g. the ability to hang out with friends)
What is a strength of the behaviourist approach?
Classical conditioning has been applied to therapy (systematic desensitisation) that can be used to remove anxieties or fears - found effective for a range of phobias such as spiders and flying.
What is a weakness of the behaviourist approach?
Accused of ignoring other levels of explanation such as those that emphasise the importance of cognivitive factors or emotional states. Skinner argued that behaviour can be better understood by studying the reinforcement history of a person.
