the behaviourist approach Flashcards
how is human behaviour learnt?
experience
what is operant conditioning?
learning by consequence
—> positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment.
what is classical conditioning?
learning by association
—> when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together
what is valid to study due to having “same principals of learning”
animals
what type of behaviour can be studied scientifically?
observable
what are humans born as?
tabula rasa (blank slate)
who demonstrated classical conditioning?
Pavlov - Pavlov’s dogs (1927)
who demonstrated operant conditioning?
Skinner - Skinner box (1953)
what is positive reinforcement?
receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
what is negative reinforcement?
performing a task to avoid something unpleasant e.g. doing homework to avoid being told off
what is punishment?
an unpleasant consequence of behaviour
how does conditioning work?
UCS —> UCR
NS & UCS (are paired) —> CR
NS —> CR
what are the types of reinforcement schedules?
- continuous: reinforcing every time behaviour is performed
- fixed: fixed number of responded before reinforcement
- variable: only a proportion of responses are reinforced. no fixed pattern
- ratio: reinforcement occurs after a certain number of responses have been performed
what do behaviourists not consider?
- internal mental processes
- introspection
