Learning approaches: The behaviourist approach Flashcards
what is the behaviourist approach
Behaviourist approach is a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
what do behaviourists believe
Behaviourists believe all behaviour is learned and they describe a baby’s mind as a ‘blank slate’ and this is written on by experience.
Early behaviourists such as John B. Watson rejected introspection. As a result, behaviourists tried to maintain more objectivity and control within their research through lab studies.
what did behaviourists identify as two important forms of learning
classical conditioning and operant conditioning
classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is learning by association. This was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as food was given. Gradually, Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell (a neutral stimulus) with the food (an unconditioned stimulus) and would produce a salivation response every time they heard the bell.
Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus (bell) can elicit a conditioned response through association.
operant conditioning
Skinner suggested learning is an active process. In operant conditioning behaviour is shaped by its consequences.
Positive reinforcement – receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed, such as praise from a teacher for answering a question correctly.
Negative reinforcement – occurs when an animal/human avoids something unpleasant. Such as a student handing in homework to avoid getting told off.
Punishment – an unpleasant consequence of behaviour. Such as being shouted at by your parents for having a messy room.
Positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that behaviour will repeated. Punishment decreases the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated.
In Skinner’s research, a rat learned through negative reinforcement that pressing a leaver stopped electric shocks.
Evaluation of behaviourist approach (brief)
strength - based on well controlled research HOWEVER oversimplified learning process
strength - real life application
weakness - environmental determinism
strengths of behaviourist approach
the behaviourist approach is based on well-controlled research. Behaviourists focus on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings. Thus, all other possible extraneous variables were removed and allowed for cause-and-effect relationships to be established. For example, Skinner clearly demonstrated how reinforcement influenced an animals behaviour. Therefore, this increases the validity of the behaviourist approach as the experiments have scientific credibility. HOWEVER, behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process. By reducing learning to such simple components, behaviourists may have ignored the important influence of human thought. Other approaches such as, social learning theory and the cognitive approach have drawn attention to the mental processes involved in learning. Therefore, suggesting that learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone.
this approach has real-world application as the principles of conditioning have been applied to real-world behaviours and problems. For example, operant conditioning is the basis of the token economy system which is used successfully in prisons and psychiatric wards. They work by rewarding appropriate behaviours with tokens which can be exchanged for privileges. This increases the impact the approach has on the real world due to its widespread application.
weakness of behaviourist approach
the behaviourist approach has environmental determinism as it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences. Skinner suggested that everything we do is as a result of our reinforcement history. This approach ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour. Skinner himself said that free will is an illusion. This approach ignores the influence of conscious decision making processes on behaviour as suggested by the cognitive approach.
