L3 - Behaviourist Approach: Operant Conditioning

Question 1

What is Operant conditioning?

Answer 1

• Organisms spontaneously produce different behaviours which produce consequences.
• These may be positive or negative.
• If positive, the behaviour is more likely to be repeated. If negative, the behaviour is les likely to be repeated

Question 2

What is Reinforcement?

What are the two types?

Answer 2

Reinforcement - something in the env that strengthens a particular behaviour

Positive Reinforcement: Behaviour produces a consequence that is pleasant

Negative Reinforcement: Behaviour removes something aversive and returns the organism to the pre-aversive state. (e.g turning off the alarm clock to stop noise)

Question 3

What is Punishment?

What are the two types?

Answer 3

Punishment - occurs when a behaviour has an unpleasant consequence, decreasing likelihood of the behaviour occurring again

Positive Punishment - Something unpleasant is added to a person’s life that was not there before e.g detention

Negative Punishment - Something pleasant is removed from a person’s life e.g confiscating phone

Question 4

Describe Skinner’s Experiment (1953)

Answer 4

• Study in rats in a Skinner Box
• Skinner box: cage with speakers, lights, lever, door & floor that could be electrified

1) One hungry rat was placed in the box and could run around freely.
2) The rat accidentally May press the lever and be rewarded by a food pellet (+ reinforcement)
3) Rat would keep pressing lever for food, and would learn it leads to a reward.
4) Rat also learned that they could avoid something unpleasant by pressing the lever e.g stop getting an electric shock (- reinforcement)

Question 5

Evaluation of Behavioural Approach

Answer 5

+ Enhanced scientific status of psych by using strict scientific methods + being objective
+ Developed laws and principles that enable psychologists to predict & control behaviour (-) Unethical to control people against their will
+ Led to useful treatments e.g systematic desensitisation and token economy (-) Treatments don’t get to the root of the problem so could re-emerge later

• Environmentally Reductionist as it focuses on a lower level of explanation to other approaches. It cannot explain complex behaviours like attachment
• Environmentally Deterministic as ignores free will
• Uses Non-humans, and humans have cognitive factors and emotional states that influence behaviour