The Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

What did the behaviourist response reject

Answer 1

The vagueness of introspection and instead focused on observable results and responses

Question 2

What does the behaviourist approach focus on

Answer 2

Learning

Question 3

How do behaviourists believe most human behaviour can be explained

Answer 3

Through conditioning, which involves associations between stimuli in the environment and an organisms response.

Question 4

Who studied classical conditioning

Answer 4

Pavlov in his study on dogs

Question 5

How do organisms naturally respond to stimuli

Answer 5

The theory suggests that all animals are born with natural reflexes, which occur when a suitable stimulus is presented.

Question 6

What was Pavlov’s study on dogs

Answer 6

Pavlov noticed his dogs reacted to stimuli associated with the presentation of food, such as the food bowl. He presented a neutral stimulus (a bell), shortly before the UCS of food. The bell then became a conditioned stimulus which elicited the conditioned response

Question 7

What happens if there is too long a gap between the NS and the UCS

Answer 7

Conditioning doesn’t occur if the NS cannot be used to predict the UCS

Question 8

What happens if the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS

Answer 8

It loses it’s ability to elicit the CR, showing that unlike the UCR, the CR response is not permianent

Question 9

What is extinction (Behaviourism)

Answer 9

When the association between the CS and the UCS is lost

Question 10

What is it called if the CS and UCS are paired together once more after extinction

Answer 10

Spontaneous recovery

Question 11

What is special about spontaneous recovery

Answer 11

The link between the UCS and the NS is made much more easily

Question 12

What is generalisation in Pavlov’s experiment

Answer 12

Dogs would respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS

Question 13

Who developed operant conditioning

Answer 13

Skinner

Question 14

What is the idea behind operant conditioning

Answer 14

Organisms spontaneously produce different behaviours and these produce consequences for the organism, some of which are desirable and some are not. Repetition depends on the consequence

Question 15

What did Skinner do to test operant conditioning

Answer 15

He developed Sinner’s box, with a rat in it. The rat would move around the cage and accidentaly press a lever, and a food pellet would drop. The rat would press the lever to get more food, until the food stops, at which point extinction occurs

Question 16

What is reinforcement in operant conditioning

Answer 16

An consequence which determines whether a behaviour occurs again

Question 17

What are the two kinds of reinforcement

Answer 17

Positive Reinforcement - when an action elicits or adds a positive consequence
Negative Reinforcement - When an action results in the removal of something negative
(turning off alarm clock)

Question 18

What does negative reinforcement result in

Answer 18

An organisms return to its ‘pre-adversive’ state

Question 19

What is an element in operant conditioning, other than reinforcement, that determines if a behaviour is repeated

Answer 19

Punishment, which is when a behaviour is followed by a consequence that is undesirable or unpleasant for the organism

Question 20

How does punishment differ from reinforcement

Answer 20

Reinforcement increases the likelyhood of a behaviour re-occuring, whereas punishment decreases the likelyhood of a behaviour reoccuring

Question 21

What are the two types of punishment

Answer 21

Positive - Applying something unpleasant
Negative - Taking away something pleasant

Question 22

What did Skinner find was most effective for maintaining a response

Answer 22

A reinforcement schedules (e.g every third press of a lever)

Question 23

How has the behavioural approach found utility in the real world (eval)

Answer 23

Through the treatment of anxiety related to phobias. SD was developed with classical conditioning tech. Replaces the CR of fear with relaxation through counterconditioning. Found to be effective

Question 24

What is an issue with the use of animals in the Behavioural approach (eval)

Answer 24

It has an overreliance on animal research. Critics claim that Skinner’s studies on rats and pidgeons tell us litte about humans, who have free will rather than their actions being dictated by reinforcement

Question 25

What did Skinner argue in response to the claim that his animal studies have little effect on humans

Answer 25

That free will is merely an illusion and that we are the product of external influences which guide our daily behaviour.

Question 26

What is a strength of Skinner’s research (eval)

Answer 26

His reliance on the experimental method and controlled conditions to discover the relationship between variables. Skinner’s box is a good example, as by manipulating the consequences of a behaviour (the IV) he was able to measure effects on the rats behaviour (the DV). Allowed for cause and effect relationship

Question 27

Why is the behaviourist approach criticised for ignoring other levels of explination (eval)

Answer 27

It ignores levels like cognitive factors behind depression. Treating human beings as a product of conditioning alone ignores the evidence of these other factors in shaping behaviour.

Question 28

What did Skinner argue in response to those who claimed that the behaviourist approach ignored other levels of explination

Answer 28

Skinner argued that these internal states are scientifically untestable, and that even complex behaviours could be better understood by studying the reinforcement history of the individual