Ch 1-3 Flashcards
4 Prominent early Behaviourists:
- Pavlov
- Thorndike
- Watson
- Skinner
Behaviour Analysis
Natural science approach to study behaviour of organisms
Basic goal of psychology
Explain behaviour of organisms
-Explain= Predict & control
4 assumptions of behaviour:
- all behaviour is caused
- causes precede their effects
- most parsimonious preferred
- causes of behaviour include only natural phenomena
Cognitive psychology
Encourages unobservable constructs on basis of observable phenomena
Experimental Method
IV causes DV
Psychological Method
IV causes Invisible Process (cog process) which causes DV
Functional (causal) Relationship
Behaviour = f(organism, environment)
Behaviour
Anything an organism does that can be measured
Behaviour has measurable dimensions (5)
- frequency
- duration
- intensity
- latency
- topography
Operational Definition
Desc of variable in terms of operations used to establish or measure that variable
Ie-salivation;
Number of milligrams of saliva absorbed by cotton balls placed in mouth for specified time.
Operational def should be (6)
- precise
- inter observer reliable
- quantitative
- objective/unambiguous (no feelings)
- practical
- important
A-B-A-B Reversal experiment
Demonstrates functional (causal) relationship between manipulated variable and DV
Single-Case (subject) Designs
Within-subject, concerning principals & conditions that govern individual organism.
Learning
Chg in behaviour due to experience
