Component 2: The Behaviourist Perspective

Question 1

What are the principles of the behaviourist perspective?

Answer 1

1. All behaviour is learned from our experiences and interactions with our environment.
2. Everything we do (including acting, thinking and feeling) can, and should be regarded as behaviours that can be studied and explained through observable events.
3. The mind is irrelevant.
4. Bahviour can be shaped (and changed) through reinforcement strategies.

Question 2

What is the behaviourist perspective also known as?

Answer 2

Learning theory

Question 3

How did the behaviourist perspective become a thing?

Answer 3

It was a reaction against the psychodynamic movement, which was regarded as unscientific and too subjective. It emerged in the early 19th century, through the work of Ian Pavlov, John Watson and B.F. Skinner.

Question 4

What is conditioning and what are the two types?

Answer 4

It is learning through association and the two types are classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Question 5

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 5

It is learning by association and it was discovered by Pavlov, a Russian psychologist. Two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal.

Question 6

Explain Pavlov’s dogs experiment (the most famous example of classical conditioning)

Answer 6

1. Before conditioning:
   Unconditioned stimulus (food) and the undconditioned response (salivation)
2. Before conditioning:
   Unconditioned stimulus (food) + neutral stimulus (bell) created the unconditioned response (salivation)
3. During conditioning
   unconditioned stimulus (bell) + unconditioned response (salivation)
4. After conditioning:
   Conditioned stimulus (bell) and conditioned response (salivation)

Question 7

How did the Little Albert study demonstrate how a new behaviour (phobia) can be learned?

Answer 7

Little Albert did not have a phobia of white rats when the experiment began. However, when it was paired with the neutral stimulus (the rod) the unconditioned stimulus (the white rat) he became upset. This was repeated until he became upset (conditioned response) at just the white rat.

Question 8

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 8

This is the process of learning through consequences and was introduced by B.F. Skinner.

Question 9

How did Skinner study operant conditioning?

Answer 9

He used animals which he placed inside a ‘Skinner box.’ This is also known as an operant conditioning chamber. It is a device used to objectively record an animals behaviour in a compressed time frame. An animal can be rewarded or punished for engaging in certain behaviours, such as lever pressing (for rats) or key pecking (for pigeons.)

Question 10

What is postive reinforcement?

Answer 10

This is a term used by B.F. Skinner in his theory of operant conditioning. In positive reinforcement, a response or behaviour is strengthened by rewards, leading to repetition of desired behaviour. The reward is reinforcing stimulus. E.g. youre given £5 every time you do your homework, meaning you will be more likely to repeat this behaviour.

Question 11

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 11

This is the termination of an unpleasant state following a response. This is the removal of an adverse stimulus which is ‘rewarding’ to the animal or person. E.g if you dont do your homework, you give your teacher £5, meaning you are more likely to do your homework.

Question 12

What is the social learning theory?

Answer 12

This is the idea that children learn from observing others.It is usually observed from a role model and then the child will immitate this behaviour.

Question 13

What are the four elements of the social learning theory?

Answer 13

1. Attention - Children cannot leanr if they are not focused on the task. Students who see something unique or different are more likey to focus on it, helpingh them to remember it.
2. Retention - People learn by internalizing information. To learn form what we see; we must retain that information.
3. Reproduction - We reproduce our previously learned behaviour or knowledge when it’s required. Practicing our response in our head or in actions can improve the way we respond.
4. Motivation - Motivation is required to do anything. Usually, our motivation come from seeing someone else be rewarded or punished for something they have done. This can motivate us to do or not do the same thing.