outline and evaluate the behaviourist approach in psychology #

Question 1

outline

Answer 1

suggests we are not born with any predisposed traits or abilities; all human behaviour is acquired and maintained through operant and classical conditioning

classical conditioning: learning which occurs through associations made between UCS and NS. shown by pavlovs dogs
- conditioned dogs to salivate upon hearing a bell

BC: UCS (food) produced UCR (salivation)
DV: UCS repeatedly paired with NS (bell) to produce same UCR of salivation
AC: NS becomes conditioned stimulus, producing CR of salivation

operant conditioning: learning in which behaviour is acquired and maintained based on its consequence

reinforcement - increases likelihood of observed behaviour being repeated, whilst punishment (unpleasant consequence) decreases likelihood
- pos rein: carry out behaviour to receive reward
- neg rein: carry out behaviour to avoid consequence

skinners box: demonstrated using rat the mechanisms of pos & neg rein

pos - shown when rats pressed down on level to receive food as reward, learning to repeat action to increase rewards

neg rein - shown when rat learnt to press down on level to avoid unpleasant consequence of electric shock

Question 2

strength

Answer 2

practical applications - principles of approach can be put into practice outside of lab

e.g. token economies have been used in prisons and psych hospitals to encourage positive behaviour, giving patients a token when they engage in desirable behaviour

due to success of these treatments, its clear that humans behave in a way predicted by the theory, therefore contributing to our understanding of human behaviour

Question 3

strength 2

Answer 3

scientific

due to learning approach being based on scientific and objective measures that are controlled and rigorous, allowing it to be replicated

eg. behaviourism focuses on measuring observable behaviour within highly controlled and artificial laboratory settings

this brought the language and methods of the natural sciences (sciences which attempt to understand how the world around us works) into psychology, giving it greater credibility and status

Question 4

limit

Answer 4

environmentally determinist

when an approach suggests that behaviour is caused by external factors and only these factors shape our behaviour

eg not all children who are punished for undesirable behaviours will stop doing them, some children may choose to continue to behave in this way despite the punishment received.

this suggests that humans do have free-will to choose and that we are not just a sum total of the reinforcements we receive, casting some doubt over the assumptions of the learning theory.