Section 5 : The Approaches In Psychology - Behaviourism Flashcards
What is behaviourism also known as
Learning theory
Where did behaviourism start
In America
When did behaviourism start
Early 1900s
Behaviourism started through the ideas of who
John Watson
What did Watson feel about the origins of psychology
He felt that earlier psychological research wasn’t as scientific as it should be
what are the three assumptions of behvaviourism
- nearly all behaviour is learnt
- animals and humans learn in the same way
- the mind is ‘irrelevant’
what is meant by the assumption ‘nearly all behaviour is learnt’
that learning ,and not genetics, is the cause of the majority of behaviours
what is meant by the assumption ‘animals and humans learn in the same ways’
humans can do much more complex things than animals but the principles by which we learn is the same
what is meant by the assumption ‘the mind is irrelevant’
we cannot observe and measure someone’s thinking so behaviourists obtain measurable data by studying behvaiour
what did the behaviourists propose
two types of conditioning
what are the two types of conditioning
classical
operant
what was Ivan Pavlov’s research about
studied how dogs salivation helped them digest food
what did Pavlov notice about what the dogs would do
he noticed they would salivate before they got food
what did pavlov realise because the dogs salivated before they got food
he realised that the dogs had associated food with another stimulus
what was the method of Pavlov’s experiment
-whenever he would give the dogs some food he would also ring a bell
-after repeating several times Pavlov then tried to ring the bell without giving the dogs food
what was the result of Pavlovs experiment
the bell alone caused salivation
what is the conclusions we can make about Pavlovs experiement
when dogs see food they salivate - this is an automatic unlearned response - a refelx
what is a reflex
an automatic unlearned response
what is a UCS
unconditioned stimulus
what is a UCR
unconditioned response
in pavlovs experiment what was the UCS and UCR
UCS - the food
UCR - salivation
what is a CS
a conditioned stimulus
in Pavlov’s experiment what was the CS
the bell
what is a CR
a conditioned response
what had become the CR in Pavlov’s experiment
the salivation
what are the five principles when dealing with classic conditioning
generalisation
discrimination
extinction
spontaneous recovery
higher order conditioning
what does generalisation mean
when stimuli similar to the original CS produce the CR
what does discrimination mean
when stimuli similar to the original CS don’t produce the CR. can be achieved by withholding the UCS when the similar stimulus is used
what does extinction mean
when the CR isn’t produced as a result of the CS. this happens when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS following it
what does spontaneous recovery mean
when a previous extinct CR is produced in response to the CS. this happens when the CS is presented again after a period of time during which it has not be used
what does higher order conditioning mean
when a new CS produces the CR because the animal associates it with the original CS. this can be achieved by consistently presenting the new CS before the original CS
what does classical conditioning apply to
reflexive responses
who studied how animals can learn from the consequences of their actions
B.F. Skinner
what can the consequences of B.F. Skinners study be classified as
positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
what is positive reinforcement
when something desirable is obtained in response to doing something
what is negative reinforcement
when something undesirable is removed when something happens
what was the method of Skinner 1938
- Skinner created a Skinner box
-placed one rat at a time in the skinner box
-each box contained a variety of different stimuli
-hungry rat was placed in skinner box
-the time taken for the rats to learn that pressing the lever would release the food was recorded
what were the stimuli used in skinner 1938
-a speaker
-lights
-floor which gave electric shock
-food dispenser which released food when lever was pressed
what were the results of skinner 1938
-Initially the rat would run around the cage until it accidentally pressed the lever and it was rewarded with food
-the more the rat was put back in the box the quicker they got at learning where the lever was
what was the conclusion of skinner 1938
-rats can learn behaviour through operant conditioning
-behaviour such as pressing a lever can be positively reinforced by receiving food
give the evaluations of skinner 1938
-hugely influential on idea of behavioural psychology
-experiment used animals meaning results might not be generalisable to humans
-sample size was also small reducing reliability of his results
what are the weaknesses of conditioning
-cant explain all human behaviour
-most conditioning research has involved animals meaning results cant be generalised
-different species have different capacities for learning by conditioning
-genetics seem to influence and limit what different species can learn by conditioning
-experiments on animals can be seen as unethical
who conducted the ‘little albert’ study
Watson and Rayner
when was watson and rayner
1920
what was the method of little albert
-participant 11 month old baby
-showed no fear of white fluffy objects
-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
what were the results of little albert
-when little albert was shown a rat he would start to cry
-this extended to other white fluffy objects such as white Santa Claus beard
what was the conclusion of little albert
a fear response to white fluffy objects had been conditioned in little albert showing that abnormal behaviour can be learned
give the evaluations of little albert
-very unethical
-not everyone goes onto develop a fear or phobia after a negative situation
-lab study so lacks ecological validity
-supports pavlovs idea of classicla conditioning
why have behaviourists been criticised
because there is research which shows things like:
-our genes can influence our behaviour
-w can learn in ways other than conditioning
-mental, cognitive process are relevant to understanding behaviour
what theory expands on behaviourists theories
social learning theory
who developed the social learning theory
Bandura
what does the social learning theory state/suggest
-it agrees with the idea that people can learn by conditioning but also claims that people learn a lot from role models
-some cognitive
The social learning theory proposes that several process take place for learning to happen what are they
Modelling
Reinforcement
Vicarious Reinforcement
What is modelling
This involves observing and imitating another person. It requires identification with the model. If you identify with the model you can copy and learn from their behaviour
What is meant by identification in modelling
Where certain attractive qualities and characteristics are picked up on
What is meant by reinforcement
Positive and negative reinforcement makes the behaviour more likely to happen again in the future
What is vicarious reinforcement
Seeing others being rewarded for a behaviour influences someone in whether they choose to imitate the behaviour
The SLT is also mediated through cognitive processes what are they
Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation
What is meant the cognitive process: attention
To learn a behaviour you have to pay attention - once you notice your role model you have to give your full attention to their behaviour
What is meant the cognitive process: Retention
You need to be able to remember what you observed to be able to model it
What is meant the cognitive process: reproduction
You judge whether you have the ability to reproduce behaviour - if you think you can you’re far more likely to do it
What is meant the cognitive process: motivation
You evaluate the direct or indirect results of imitating the behaviour
The social learning theory is….
Reductionist
What does it mean for the SLT to be reductionist
It explains things through a very basic cause and effect mechanism. It ignores any biological explanation
Who studied migration of aggression
Bandura
What was the method Bandura used
-36 girls and boys with a mean age if 52mnths
-matched participants design
-three conditions
- children’s behaviour was then observed for 20mins in a room containing aggressive toys and non aggressive toys
What was the first condition in Bandura 1961
Children observed aggressive adult models playing with a bobo doll E.g. hitting doll with mallet
What was the second condition of Bandura 1961
The children observed non aggressive models playing with other toys and ignoring the bobo doll
What was the third condition of Bandura 1961
It was a control condition in which children had no exposure to the models
What was the results of Bandura 1961
-Children exposed to aggressive behaviour models imitated a lot of aggressive behaviour
-Children in the non aggressive and control conditions showed barely any aggressive behaviour
-Aggressive behaviour was slightly higher in the control condition than in the non aggressive condition
What is the conclusion of Bandur 1961
Aggressive behaviour is learned through imitation of others behaving aggressively
Give the evaluations of Bandura 1961
-Study provide evidence for social learning theory
-Strict control of variable - reliable results and can be replicated
-Low ecological validity
-Difficult to generalise - limited sample was studied
-Potential ethical problem - encouraged aggressive behaviour
What did bandura’s study show
That reinforcement isn’t needed for learning, we can learn by observing
What could be said about Bandura 1961
Bobo dolls are made for aggressive play, as well as this children were shown how play with the doll so this study may actually be a test of obedience
What is difficult to conclude about Bandura 1961
Difficult to conclude that observational learning has taken place. Sometimes behaviours can be repeated a long time after they’ve been observed
