the behaviourist approach

Question 1

what is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

what type of behaviour is the behaviourist approach interested in?

Answer 2

observable and measurable

Question 3

what is seen as irrelevant in the behaviourist approach?

Answer 3

mental processes

Question 4

what do behaviourists want to maintain throughout reasearch and how?

Answer 4

control and objectivity through lab studies

Question 5

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

Answer 5

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

Question 6

what 2 types of learning have behaviourists identified?

Answer 6

classical and operant conditioning

Question 7

what is classical conditioning based on?

Answer 7

learning through association

Question 8

who demonstrated classical conditioning?

Answer 8

pavlov

Question 9

describe pavlov’s research

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

what did Pavlov show through his research?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

who demonstrated operant conditioning?

Answer 11

skinner

Question 12

what did skinner suggest?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

what is positive reinforcement?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

what is negative reinforcement?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what is punishment?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

explain skinners experiment

Answer 16

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

Question 17

explain one strength of the behaviourist approach (research)

Answer 17

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

Question 18

explain one limitation of the behaviourist approach (simple)

Answer 18

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

Question 19

explain one strength of the behaviourist approach (real world)

Answer 19

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 poisons to reward good behaviour with tokens tat ca be exchanged for privileges. This increases the value of the approach because it has widespread application

Question 20

explain one limitation of the behaviourist approach (past)

Answer 20

it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences. Skinner suggested that everything we do is a sum of our reinforcement history and this determines the outcome of our behaviour, not making the decision to act a certain way. This ignores any influence of free will and conscious decision making process on behaviour