the behaviourist approach Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the behaviourist approach?

A

a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning

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2
Q

what type of behaviour is the behaviourist approach interested in?

A

observable and measurable

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3
Q

what is seen as irrelevant in the behaviourist approach?

A

mental processes

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4
Q

what do behaviourists want to maintain throughout reasearch and how?

A

control and objectivity through lab studies

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5
Q

what are used as experimental subjects in behaviourist research? why?

A

animals replace humans as behaviourists suggest that the basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species

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6
Q

what 2 types of learning have behaviourists identified?

A

classical and operant conditioning

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7
Q

what is classical conditioning based on?

A

learning through association

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8
Q

who demonstrated classical conditioning?

A

pavlov

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9
Q

describe pavlov’s research

A

pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food. Gradually the dogs learned to ASSOCIATE the sound with food and would salivate whenever they heard the bell even ion there wasn’t any food.

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10
Q

what did Pavlov show through his research?

A

showed how a neutral stimulus, the bell, can come to elicit a new learned response, a conditioned response, through association

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11
Q

who demonstrated operant conditioning?

A

skinner

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12
Q

what did skinner suggest?

A

learning is an active process whereby humans and animals OPERATE on their environment. Behaviour is shaped by its consequences

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13
Q

what is positive reinforcement?

A

receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed, eg answering a question correctly and receiving praise from teacher

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14
Q

what is negative reinforcement?

A

occurs when an animal or human avoids something unpleasant so the outcome is positive. Eg, handing in homework to avoid being told off

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15
Q

what is punishment?

A

an unpleasant consequence of behaviour, eg being shouted at for not handing in homework

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16
Q

explain skinners experiment

A

rats were placed in skinner boxes. Every time the rat activated a lever they were rewarded with a treat, therefore it would repeat this action. It had ben positively reinforced. He also would given the rats an electric shock when they didn’t press the lever so they repeat the behaviour in that sense to avoid punishment. This is negative reinforcement

17
Q

explain one strength of the behaviourist approach (research)

A

it is based on well controlled research. Behaviourists focused on the measurement of the observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings. All extraneous variables were removed as behaviour is broken down so a cause and effect relationship can be established eg that demonstrates reinforcement. This suggests that behaviourists experiments have scientific credibility

18
Q

explain one limitation of the behaviourist approach (simple)

A

behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process. By reducing behaviour into its simple components, behaviourists may have ignored the influence of human thought on behaviour. This has been considered by other approaches such as the cognitive theory. This is a limitation because behaviour is more complex than what behaviourists assume and that mental processes are essential it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences. This ignores any influence of free will and conscious decision making process on behaviour

19
Q

explain one strength of the behaviourist approach (real world)

A

principles of conditioning have been applied to real world behaviours and problems. For example, teachers use positive reinforcement in schools by rewarding children who behave correctly and use punishment or negative reinforcement when a child disobeys the rules. Its used in prisons to reward good behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges. This increases the value of the approach because it has widespread application