LS3 - Operant Conditioning

Question 1

Skinner (1938)

Answer 1

Suggested organisms spontaneously produce different behaviours and these behaviours produce consequences for that organism that can be positive or negative.

Question 2

Responses

Answer 2

Responses are reinforced in operant but not classical conditioning. Classical conditioning explains the acquisition of a response whilst operant conditioning explains the maintenance of a response.

Question 3

Reinforcement

Answer 3

Strengthens a particular behaviour.

Question 4

Positive Reinforcement

Answer 4

When behaviour produces pleasant consequences.

Question 5

Negative Reinforcement

Answer 5

When behaviour removes something unpleasant and the person goes back to their original state.

Question 6

Punishment

Answer 6

When a behaviour leads to an unpleasant consequence.

Question 7

Positive Punishment

Answer 7

When something unpleasant is added to a person’s life that wasn’t there before e.g. detention

Question 8

Negative Punishment

Answer 8

When something pleasant is removed from a person’s life e.g. confiscating phone.

Question 9

Skinner (1953) Method

Answer 9

Put one hungry rat at a time in a Skinner box allowing them to freely run around freely.

Question 10

Skinner Box

Answer 10

A box with speakers, lights, a lever, a door and a floor which could be electrified.

Question 11

Positive Reinforcement Example Skiner

Answer 11

If the rat accidentally pressed the lever, they’d be rewarded with food causing them to repeat it.

Question 12

Negative Reinforcement Example Skinner

Answer 12

The rat could be electrified by pressing the level causing them to stop pressing it.

Question 13

Behaviourist Approach Strengths

Answer 13

Enhanced Psychology
Laws and Findings
Treatments

Question 14

Behaviourist Approach Weaknesses

Answer 14

Environmentally Reductionist
Doesn’t Use Humans

Question 15

Behaviourist Approach Strengths

Answer 15

Enhanced Psychology
Laws And Findings
Treatments

Question 16

Behaviourist Approach Weaknesses

Answer 16

Environmentally Reductionist
Doesn’t Use Humans

Question 17

Enhanced Psychology (+)

Answer 17

It enhanced the scientific status of Psychology by using strict scientific methods, being objective and producing verifiable findings.

Question 18

Laws and Findings (+)

Answer 18

It’s developed laws and findings that’ve enabled psychologists to predict and control behaviour.

Question 19

Treatments (+)

Answer 19

It’s lead to treatments such as systematic desensitisation and token economy (operant conditioning) - however they don’t get to the root cause of the problem.

Question 20

Environmentally Reductionist (-)

Answer 20

It’s environmentally reductionist as it focuses on lower level explanations but also environmentally determinist as it’s entirely determined by the environment.

Question 21

Doesn’t Use Humans (-)

Answer 21

The Skinner study doesn’t use humans meaning it tells us little about human behaviours.