Comparison between the biological and behaviourist approach

Question 1

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Answer 1

The central claim of the behaviourist approach is that almost all human behaviour is the result of learning. One of the first behaviourists to explore the relationship between learning and behaviour was Pavlov. Pavlov developed the theory of classical conditioning and famously tested it using his dogs, who were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell with food. This resulted in the dogs producing a salivation response at the sound of a bell even when no food was present. Pavlov demonstrated that repeated exposure to an event leads to a learned and uncontrollable behaviour.

Question 2

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Answer 2

Skinner suggested that behaviour was the result of learning through the consequences of our actions. Skinner conducted research into his operant conditioning theory using rats, and found that three types of consequences will affect behaviour: positive reinforcement involves rewarding a behaviour, which increases the likelihood of it being repeated; negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant outcome to increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated; punishment involves adding an unpleasant outcome to a behaviour, which reduces the likelihood of it being repeated. For Skinner, behaviour is the result of learning and remembering the consequences of previous behaviours.

Question 3

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Answer 3

While the behaviourist approach may appear strikingly different to the biological approach, these two approaches do share some similarities. For example, both approaches argue that behaviour is, to some extent, determined. Behaviourists argue that behaviour is determined by the environment and is a product of stimulus-response associations, while biological psychologists argue that behaviour is the product of internal biological factors (e.g. genes, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc.). As a result, it is clear that both approaches argue that behaviour is determined, although they differ in their belief about the origins of behaviour.

Question 4

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Answer 4

Furthermore, both approaches take a nomothetic approach when studying human behaviour. Both behaviourists and biological psychologists investigate behaviour in an attempt to create universal laws that apply to all human beings. Behaviourists argue that this is possible because human beings share similar physiologies, and behaviourists argue that this is possible because all behaviour is the result of learning and stimulus-response associations. Therefore, the aim of generating universal laws that apply to all humans is another similarity between the behaviourist and biological approaches.

Question 5

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Answer 5

Despite their similarities, the behaviourist approach and biological approach are different in their position on the nature-nurture debate. Behaviourist views rest firmly on the nurture side of the debate, and John Locke famously argued that human beings are born a tabula rasa (blank slate) and that all behaviour is learned. Biological psychologists, on the other hand, would argue a nature-based view of behaviour. They posit that behaviour is the result of innate biological factors (e.g. genes, hormones, neurotransmitters. etc.) and is, therefore, the product of nature and not nurture. Therefore, despite their similarities in terms of determinism and their approach to investigation, the behaviourist and biological approaches are radically different in terms of their position on the nature-nurture debate.