Lesson 2: Behaviourist Approach (classical)

Question 1

Key assumptions of Behaviourist approach:

Answer 1

• Concerned with observable behaviour that can be objectively and scientifically measured
• All behaviour is learned from the environment and can be reduced ed to a stimulus-response association
• There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and non-human animals

Question 2

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 2

• Behaviourist approach suggests that all behaviour is learnt rather than being innate or inherited from parents. One way in which behaviour can be learned is via classical conditioning, which is learning through association. A stimulus produces the same response as another stimulus because they have been consistently presented at the same time.

Question 3

Pavlov (1927)

Answer 3

• Ivan Pavlov is credited with discovering the process of classical conditioning. He was investigating the salivating reflex in dogs when he noticed that dogs would not only salivate when food was placed in their mouths but also when certain stimuli appeared, such as their dog bowl or the person who usually fed them. This led Pavlov to explore how the dogs had learnt that these stimuli meant food was on the way.

Question 4

Pavlov’s experiment

Answer 4

1. Before conditioning - food was an unconditioned stimulus that produced the reflex of salivating, which is an unconditioned response. The bell was a neutral stimulus that provide no conditioned response.
2. During conditioning - the unconditioned stimulus was repeatedly paired with the neutral stimulus. Eventually the dog associated the bell with food.
3. After conditioning - the bell was a conditioned stimulus that produced salivating in the dogs as a conditioned response.