Paper 2 - Approaches - Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

What are the assumptions of the behaviouralist approach?

Answer 1

Behaviouralism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour
Psychology is a science
We are born with our mind as a bland slate (we are who we are due to nature)
There us little difference between learning in animals and humans
Behaviour is the result of stimulus-response
All behaviour is learnt from the environment

Question 2

What is a stimulus?

Answer 2

Anything internal or external, that brings about a response

Question 3

What is a response?

Answer 3

Any reaction in the presence of a stimulus

Question 4

What is reinforcement?

Answer 4

The process by which a response is strengthened

Question 5

What is an unconditional stimulus?

Answer 5

The stimulus that causes a reflex response before the conditioning

Question 6

What is a conditioned response?

Answer 6

The response that is of the result of a specific stimulius

Question 7

Which study do you need to know about CC?
State the name of the study as well as the researchers name?

Answer 7

Watson and Rayner
Little Albert

Question 8

What year did the Little Albert study happen in?

Answer 8

1920

Question 9

What was the method of the Little Albert study?

Answer 9

The participant was an 11-month-old boy called ‘little Albert’. He showed no fear of white fluffy objects such as rats or rabbits. The researchers tried to create a conditioned response to these objects. A white rat was placed in front of little Albert. As he reached out for it, a metal bar was struck loudly behind his head. This was repeated twice at first, then five more times a week later.

Question 10

What were the result of the Little Albert study?

Answer 10

When little Albert was shown a rat, he would start to cry. This also extended to other white fluffy objects, such as a white Santa Claus beard.

Question 11

What were the conclusions of the Little Albert study?

Answer 11

A fear response to white fluffy objects had been conditioned in little Albert, showing that abnormal behaviour can be learned

Question 12

What are the negative evaluations of the Little Albert study?

Answer 12

Very unethical
Not everyone. Has phobias so this can’t be the only/full explanation of phobias
Lab study - lacks ecological validity as the situation is artificial

Question 13

What are the positive evaluations of the Little Albert study?

Answer 13

Its findings support Pavlov’s idea of classical conditioning.

Question 14

Explain CC (you can include a diagram but learn it in words)

Answer 14

Question 15

What study was done about OC?
State the name of the researchers

Answer 15

Skinner

Question 16

When was the study about OC done?

Answer 16

1938

Question 17

State the method of Skinners study?

Answer 17

Question 18

What were the results of Skinners experiments?

Answer 18

Question 19

What were the conclusions of Skinners study?

Answer 19

Question 20

What were the positive evaluations of Skinners experiment?

Answer 20

Question 21

What were the negative evaluations of Skinners study?

Answer 21

Question 22

What did Skinner also test?

Answer 22

Negative reinforcement

Question 23

What did Skinner show about negative reinforcement?

Answer 23

He showed that rats could learn to prevent an electric shock by pressing the lever when a light came on

Question 24

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 24

A way of increasing the likelihood of a response happening because it involves a reward for desirable behaviour

Question 25

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 25

A way of increasing the likelihood of a response occurring because it involves the removal of or escaping from unpleasant consequences

Question 26

What is a punishment?

Answer 26

Where the consequence is receiving something unpleasant which decreases the probability of the behaviour occurring again

Question 27

What bneeds to be true in OC for it to work?
Why?

Answer 27

The conditioning needs to happen instantaneously so that a connection can be made between the desired event and the reward

Question 28

What are the strengths of the behaviouralism approach?

Answer 28

It is very scientific - theory’s are developed then tested where an experimental. Method is used to try and find a cause an effect relationship
It influences all areas of psychology
]it is reliable and it can be replicated consistently
Mainly quantitive data - so it is easy to analyse
An explain phobias as well as other real world applications as well as in education and child raising
It provides a strong argument to the nurture side of the nature vs nurture argument

Question 29

What are the weaknesses of the behaviouralism approach?

Answer 29

There is a mechanic view of behaviour
The cognitive approach and SLT shows that this isn’t entirely true
Most studies are done on animals so you can’t generalise them
It promotes Environmental Determinism
Skinner said “free will is a illusion”

Question 30

What is environmental determination?

Answer 30

The view that all behaviours are determined by past experiences that have been conditioned