Chapter 10 & 11 Flashcards
Who was Little Albert?
A 9-month-old infant used in an experiment to study conditioned emotional responses
Albert was initially unafraid of a white rat until conditioned to fear it.
What experiment did John B. Watson conduct with Little Albert?
Watson paired the sight of a white rat with a loud noise to condition fear in Albert
The noise was created by striking a steel bar with a hammer.
What was the outcome of the Little Albert experiment?
Albert associated the rat with fear and began to cry when seeing the rat or other fuzzy objects
Fear generalized to other stimuli like dogs and Santa Claus masks.
What conclusion did Watson draw from the Little Albert experiment?
Adult fears and phobias are conditioned responses established early in life
Watson rejected the notion of the unconscious mind.
What was John B. Watson’s major contribution to psychology?
Founding behaviorism and promoting a focus on observable behavior rather than consciousness
He published ‘Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It’ in 1913.
What were the basic tenets of Watson’s behaviorism?
Focus on observable actions driven by stimuli rather than conscious thought
This included the rejection of introspection and the study of consciousness.
What was Watson’s view on child-rearing?
Advocated for strict behaviorism in childrearing, treating children as mini adults
He published ‘Psychological Care of the Infant and Child’ in 1928.
Watson’s childrearing practices effect on his children?
His children reported emotional unresponsiveness and difficulties expressing feelings
Watson’s methods led to issues like depression in his children.
What were the three primary unconditioned emotional responses identified by Watson?
- Fear
- Rage
- Love
These responses could be elicited in infants through specific stimuli.
What is systematic desensitization?
A behavioral therapy technique demonstrated by Mary Cover Jones to reduce fear responses
It involved gradual exposure to the feared object, supporting Watson’s theories.
True or False: Watson believed that thoughts could not be studied scientifically.
False
He argued that thoughts could be reduced to speech reactions.
What did the Law of Mass Action state?
The efficiency of learning is a function of the total mass of cortical tissue
This was proposed by Karl Lashley.
What was Watson’s stance on instincts?
Described instincts as socially conditioned responses rather than inherited traits
He emphasized the importance of environmental influences over genetic factors.
Fill in the blank: Watson’s behaviorism was eventually challenged by the principles of _______.
[Karl Lashley]
What did Watson argue about phobias?
All phobias are learned reactions and not derived from the unconscious
He believed fear could be generalized to similar stimuli.
Who was Mary Cover Jones?
Known as the mother of behavior therapy, she demonstrated systematic desensitization
She conducted experiments to alleviate phobias in children.
What was Watson’s view on women’s roles?
He held misogynistic views and argued against women’s rights, claiming they lost attractiveness with age
His writings reflected these biases.
How did Watson’s behaviorism influence public perception of psychology?
It popularized psychology as a path to happiness and well-being
People were drawn to behaviorism for solutions to personal issues.
What was the significance of the Watson-McDougall debate?
McDougall won by arguing for the necessity of introspection and free will in understanding human experience
This debate highlighted the limitations of Watson’s behaviorism.
What did Watson propose about the role of the experimenter?
The experimenter plays a more important role than the subject
Subjects respond to stimuli rather than providing introspective observations.
What were the three stages of behaviorism?
- Stage 1: Watson’s behaviorism
- Stage 2: Neo behaviorism (Tolman, Hull, Skinner)
- Stage 3: Further developments in behaviorism
The stages reflect the evolution of behaviorist thought.
Who established the IQ Zoo?
Keller and Marian Breland
They applied conditioning techniques to animal behavior, creating trained-animal shows.
Who are Keller and Marian Breland?
Former psychologists who applied conditioning techniques to animal behavior
They were trained in basic conditioning techniques from B. F. Skinner.
What is Operationism?
The validity of any scientific finding is based on the validity of the methods used to arrive at that conclusion
Promoted by Percy Bridgman and embraced by neobehaviorists.
Who is Edward Chace Tolman?
Psychologist who conducted research on learning in rats and developed purposive behaviorism
He received his PhD from Harvard in 1915.
What is purposive behaviorism?
Combining the objective study of behavior with the consideration of goal orientation
Tolman believed all actions are oriented towards achieving a goal.
What are intervening variables?
- Set of unobservable and inferred factors within an organism that connect the stimulus and response
- Need to be operationalized (e.g., hunger measured by length of time between meals)
Examples include cognitions, expectancies, purposes, and appetite.
-Tolman
Tolman’s Learning Theory
- Rejected Thorndike’s law of effect:
- Tolman believed that reward or reinforcement has little influence on learning
- Instead, reward or reinforcement enhances performance by influencing motivations
Created rat maze to test this
What was Tolman’s conclusion about learning?
Rat maze
Behaviorist conclusion:
- Group A learned, Group B did not learn
Tolman conclusion:
- Group B rats did learn in unrewarded runs
- Indicates latent learning in unrewarded runs
This suggests that cognitive maps are formed through exposure.
Who is Clark Leonard Hull?
Psychologist known for contributions to various areas including motivation and learning
He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1918.
What is Hull’s Law of Primary Reinforcement?
Learning cannot take place in the absence of reinforcement, and the reinforcement must satisfy a drive
This principle emphasizes the role of drives in motivation.
What are primary drives?
Innate biological needs that are vital to survival
- Hull
Examples include food, water, and sleep.
What are secondary drives?
Stimuli associated with the indirect reduction of primary drives
Examples include the desire for wealth and fear of pain.
Who is B. F. Skinner?
Influential psychologist known for his work in behaviorism and operant conditioning
He authored ‘The Behavior of Organisms’ and ‘Walden Two’.
What is Skinner’s “empty organism” approach?
A behaviorist approach focused only on observable behavior, ignoring internal mental processes.
How did Skinner view internal mental states in behaviorism?
He dismissed them as unnecessary and believed behavior is fully controlled by environmental forces
Why did Skinner prefer single-subject designs?
They allowed for controlled, in-depth analysis of behavior patterns over time.
What is operant conditioning?
A behavior occurs spontaneously, without an observable stimulus (e.g., rat presses lever then food comes out)
Skinner referred to this as ‘operant behavior’.
What are the four schedules of reinforcement?
- Fixed ratio schedules
- Variable ratio schedules
- Fixed interval schedules
- Variable interval schedules
These schedules determine how and when reinforcements are delivered.
What is shaping in behaviorism?
Reinforcement changes in successive stages as the individual approaches the final desired behavior
This method is also known as successive approximation.
What is the Language Acquisition Device?
Chomsky’s theory that humans are born with a language ability that develops
This concept challenges behaviorist views on language learning.
What is behavior modification?
Modify behavior using positive reinforcement
Undesirable behaviors should not be punished but ignored.
What are token economies?
Behavior reinforced through tokens that can be exchanged for items
Commonly used in hospitals and schools.
Who is Albert Bandura?
Psychologist known for his work on social cognitive theory and modeling
He earned his PhD at the University of Iowa in 1952.
What is social cognitive theory?
A less extreme form of behaviorism that incorporates cognitive aspects
Emphasizes the role of beliefs and expectations in behavior.
What is self-efficacy?
One’s sense of self-esteem and confidence in dealing with life’s problems
Higher self-efficacy is associated with better life outcomes.
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Learning can occur by observing the behavior of others and its consequences
An example is learning not to touch a hot stove by watching someone else get burned.
Describe an example of Bandura’s modeling in overcoming fear.
A subject watches a model play with a snake from a distance, then is prompted to move closer progressively.
What reinforces the subject’s movements towards the snake in Bandura’s example?
Praise and encouragement.
How did Julian Rotter’s early life influence his views?
He suffered financial hardship during the Great Depression, influencing his views on social injustice.
What did Rotter promote in behaviorism?
The inclusion of cognitive experiences.
Rotter and Cognitive Processes
- Promoted the inclusion of cognitive
experiences in behaviorism - Emphasized that internal cognitive states
(such as subjective expectations and values)
influence the effect of external experiences
This also varies between people
What is the locus of control?
The perceived control individuals feel over events in their lives.
Define internal locus of control.
Belief that reinforcement depends on one’s own behavior.
Define external locus of control.
Belief that reinforcement depends on outside forces.
How does locus of control relate to health?
Internal locus of control tends to be associated with better physical and mental health.
What was the fate of behaviorism after Skinner’s influence?
Began to decline with sociobehaviorism and the reintroduction of the cognitive approach.
What was Skinner’s final article about?
It questioned whether psychology could be a science of mind.
What remains vital to modern psychology from behaviorism?
Applied behavioral analysis.
True or False: Skinner’s behaviorism was dominant until his death in 1990.
True.
