Learning Approach: Behaviourist Approach Flashcards
When does classical conditioning occur?
When a person makes an association between a stimulus and a response
What did Pavlov do?
Researched the salivary reflex in dogs when he discovered that the dogs not only salivated when the food was placed in their mouths but also in reaction to a stimulus which occurred with the presentation of the food (bowl)
What was the process of classical conditioning for Pavlov’s dogs?
UCS (food) —> UCR (salivation)
NS (bell) —> X (no response)
UCS + NS —> UCR
CS (bell) —> CR (salivation)
What 4 other factors relate to classical conditioning?
- Timing
- Extinction
- Spontaneous Recovery
- Stimulus Generalisation
How is timing related to classical conditioning?
If the NS occurs to late or to far away form the UCS conditioning does not take place
How is extinction related to classical conditioning?
Pavlov discovered that the CR is not a permanent response, after time if the CS is not presented with the UCS it will lose its ability to produce the CR
How is spontaneous recovery related to classical conditioning?
Following extinction, if the CS and UCS are paired together once again the link between them is established much more quickly than the previous conditioning
How is stimulus generalisation related to classical conditioning?
Once an animal has been conditioned they will also show a CR to other stimuli that are similar to the CS
What is Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning?
Based on the idea that people and animals spontaneously produce different behaviours and these behaviours have consequences for that person/ animal
What will the consequences predict?
The likelihood of the action being repeated, there can be positive or negative consequences
What happened when the rats pressed the lever?
A food pellet would drop on the cage, the reward of the food acts as positive reinforcement for the action and the rat will continue to press it
What is reinforcement?
Something in the environment that strengths a particular behaviour and makes it more likely to reoccur
What is postive reinforcement?
When a behaviour produces a consequence which is pleasant or satisfying
What is an example of postive reinforcement?
In Skinner’s rats box when they press the lever they get food which is a reward
What is negative reinforcement?
When behaviour produces a consequence which removes something which is unpleasant
