The Behaviourist Approach* Flashcards
Give the key assumption of the behaviourist approach.
All behaviour is learnt from experience and therefore can be changed.
Briefly outline Pavlov’s study.
UCS (Food) = UCR (Salivation)
UCS + NS (Bell) = UCR
CS (Bell) = CR (Salivation)
What does Pavlov’s study corroborate?
Classical Conditioning.
Define Positive Reinforcement.
What an individual gains something rewarding for the result of a particular behaviour.
Define Negative Reinforcement.
The rewarding consequence is taking away something unpleasant.
Outline Skinner’s Rats study.
The Rats would push a leaver in order to dispense a treat. (Positive reinforcement) Then the rats would press the leaver to stop an electric shock (negative reinforcement).
Give 2 advantages of the Behaviourist approach.
Advantages:
- Practical validity - led to creation of many therapies e.g. systematic desensitisation - shown to be effective (Barlow et al. 60-90% effective) - also led to creation of workable reward systems e.g. token economy - also shown to be effective (Gromacki et al.)
- Empirical methodology - relies heavily on lab experiments - e.g. Pavlov and Watson and Raynor - giving credibility to their methods.
Give 2 disadvantages of the behaviourist approach.
Disadvantages:
- Relies heavily on animal studies - not appropriate due to the complexity of human behaviour and animal behaviour - though it is more ethical to test animals than humans.
- Deterministic - humans have no control over our behaviour - goes against the criminal justice system which requires some degree of personal control - thus this approach lacks application to real life.
Define temporal contiguity.
An association is only made if the UCS and NS are presented at the same time.
Name the 5 types of reinforcement schedule.
1) Continuous reinforcement
2) Fixed interval
3) Variable interval
4) Fixed ratio
5) Variable ratio
Define continuous reinforcement.
Every single response is reinforced - e.g. getting a high grade in every assessment.
Define fixed interval reinforcement.
A reinforcement is given once at the end of a certain time period - e.g. being paid weekly.
Define variable interval reinforcement.
A reinforcement is given at a particular time interval though this is not the same in each trial - e.g. self-employed people gaining payment when a customer buys something.
Define fixed ratio reinforcement.
A reinforcement is given for a fixed number of responses. E.g. Piece work (the more work done, the more money earned).
Define variable ratio reinforcement.
A reinforcement is given after a certain number of responses but the number varies trial to trial. e.g. Gambling.
