The Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

Who founded The Behaviourist Approach?

Answer 1

JB Watson in 1915

Question 2

What does the Behaviourist Approach reject and focus on?

Answer 2

• It rejects the vagueness of introspection
• It focuses on how we are a product of our learning, experience and environment

Question 3

What are the assumptions of the Behaviourist Approach?

Answer 3

• Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour, as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion
• When born, our mind is a blank slate
• There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals
• Behaviour is the result of a stimulus - response

Question 4

What is Tabula rasa?

Answer 4

You are born as a blank slate

Question 5

What is a stimulus?

Answer 5

Anything, internal or external, that brings about a response

Question 6

What is a response?

Answer 6

Any reaction in the presence of the stimulus

Question 7

What is reinforcement?

Answer 7

The process by which a response is strengthened

Question 8

To study behaviour is….

Answer 8

Objective

Question 9

State JB Watson’s famous quote.

Answer 9

“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select: Doctor, Lawyer, Artist, Master Chief and yes even beggar man and thief. Regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors”

Question 10

What is a UCS?

Answer 10

An unconditioned stimulus

Question 11

What is a UCR?

Answer 11

An unconditioned response

Question 12

What is a NS?

Answer 12

A neutral stimulus

Question 13

What is a CR?

Answer 13

A conditioned Response

Question 14

What is a CS?

Answer 14

A conditioned Stimulus

Question 15

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 15

• Learning through association and refers to the conditioning of reflexes and involves associating a new stimulus with an innate bodily reflex

Question 16

Who was Ivan Pavlov?

Answer 16

An individual who accidentally discovered classical conditioning when he realised that his dogs could associate food with another stimulus, causing them to salivate when the other stimulus occurs.

Question 17

Explain Classical Conditioning with Pavlov’s dogs as the example

Answer 17

• First Pavlov established that food (Unconditioned Stimulus) caused the dog to salivate (Unconditioned Response)
• Then Pavlov established that a tone did not cause the dog to salivate
• He then presented the tone with the food. After a number of trials the dog is salivating in response to the food at this time
• Unconditioned Stimulus (FOOD) + Neutral Stimulus (BELL) = Unconditioned Response (SALIVA)
• After several pairings of the tone and food, Pavlov found that the dog would Salivate to the tone when it was presented alone
• Conditioned Stimulus (BELL) = Conditioned Response (SALIVA)

Question 18

Explain Classical Conditioning with Pavlov’s dogs as the example (Abbreviated)

Answer 18

• Food (UCS) = Salivation (UCR).
• Food (UCS) + Bell (NS) = Salivation (UCR).
• Bell (CS) = Salivation (CR).

Question 19

What is the rule on the Neutral stimulus?

Answer 19

The Neutral Stimulus will always become the Conditioned Stimulus

Question 20

A child is afraid of spiders. One day he is in a lift and notices a spider. Now he is afraid of lifts. What is the classical conditioning?

Answer 20

• Spider (UCS) = Fear (UCR).
• Spider (UCS) + Lift (NS) = Fear (UCR).
• Lift (CS) = Fear (CR)

Question 21

What is an advantage of classical conditioning?

Answer 21

• Provided therapies for conditions such as phobias and addictions.

Question 22

What is a disadvantage of classical conditioning?

Answer 22

• Dogs (unlike humans) can’t talk and don’t have conscious thoughts
• There is ambiguity on whether the same experiment on humans would produce the same results

Question 23

Who conducted the Case Study of Little Albert?

Answer 23

Watson and Rayner (1920)

Question 24

What was the aim of the Little Albert Case Study?

Answer 24

To investigate whether an emotional response, such as fear, could be conditioned in a human being

Question 25

What was the method/design of the Little Albert Case Study?

Answer 25

• The participant was Albert (11 months old)
• Watson and Rayner would place a white rat in front of Albert but when Albert went to reach the rat, Watson simultaneously would strike a metal bar with a hammer, creating a loud noise
• This was repeated for many weeks

Question 26

What were the results of the Little Albert Case Study?

Answer 26

Watson and Rayner found that when the rat was presented alone, Albert became frightened and tried to get away from the rat

Question 27

What was the conclusion of the Little Albert Case Study?

Answer 27

Watson and Rayner demonstrated that behaviour is learnt and that a phobia of rats could be conditioned in a human being

Question 28

What was the evaluation of the Little Albert Case Study?

Answer 28

• The study raises huge ethical implications as Little Albert showed evidence of fear months after the experiment
• But it does show Classical Conditioning in Humans

Question 29

Explain Classical Conditioning with Little Albert as the example (Abbreviated)

Answer 29

• Neutral Stimulus (NS) = No fear of rats (before conditioning)
• A loud bang (UCS) = Causes fear and anxiety (UCR) (before conditioning)
• Rat (NS) and loud bang (UCS) = fear (UCR) (during conditioning)
• Rat (CS) = fear (CR) (evidence of conditioning)

Question 30

Who conducted Operant Conditioning?

Answer 30

B.F. Skinner

Question 31

What is Operant Conditioning?

Answer 31

Learning through the consequences of behavioural responses

Question 32

What is Positive Reinforcement?

Answer 32

Receiving something pleasant when a behaviour is performed that increases the chance the behaviour is repeated.e.g. a dog getting a treat for sitting when commanded to do so

Question 33

What is Negative Reinforcement?

Answer 33

Avoiding or removing something unpleasant when a behaviour is performed that increases the chance that the behaviour is repeated.e.g. student does homework to avoid punishment (detention)

Question 34

What is Punishment?

Answer 34

Anything which has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are unpleasant e.g. getting a detention for not doing homework so to avoid punishment do homework in future

Question 35

How did Skinner show Positive reinforcement in his experiment?

Answer 35

• A hungry rat was placed in a Skinner box.
• The box contained a lever in the side and as the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever.
• Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever.
• The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.

Question 36

How did Skinner show Negative reinforcement in his experiment?

Answer 36

• A rat was placed in a Skinner box and then was subjected to unpleasant electric shocks which caused it discomfort.
• As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever.
• Immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off/prevent electric shock.
  -The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.

Question 37

What are Strengths of the Behaviourist Approach?

Answer 37

• Very scientific with its experimental methodology: theories are testable and supported by experimental research.

-Behaviourist explanations can be applied to the real world to explain every day behaviour (e.g. phobias)

Question 38

What are the limitations of the Behaviourist Approach?

Answer 38

-Much of the data has been obtained from species such as rats dogs and pigeons.

-Lack of ecological validity.