THE BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH Flashcards
Main assumptions of behaviourism
- nearly all behaviour is learnt.
- animals and humans learn in the same way.
- the mind is irrevelant.
classical conditioning ( learning by association)
ivan pavlov
dog and bell research.
operant conditioning ( learning by reinforcement)
B.F skinner (1938) research on a skinner box.
evaluation of conditioning
- we dont only learn by conditioning, but also through observation as explained by the social learning theory.
- the findings cannot be generalised to humnas.
- unethical researches in animals.
- our genes can also infkuence our behaviour.
conditioning research in human
Little alberts study (1920) by watson and rayner
- the experiment was carried on a 11 month baby called little albert who showed no fear of any white fluffy objects at first.
- a white rat was placed infront of him and a loud metal bar was strucked everytime he tried to reach the white rat.
later on when showing white fluffy objects, he started to cry as he had learnt to condition his response to the stimulus.
- it was also even extended to santas white hat.
- this study showed that abnormal behaviour can be learned.
social learning theory
- can be seen as the bridge between behaviourist approacxh and cognitive approach.
- concerned with how people learn when they observe others.
slt and the behaviourist approach
like the behaviourist approach, it emphasises the importance of reinforcement and environment in learning.
slt and cognitive approach
like the cognitive approach, it acknowledges the important role that mental processes play in interpreting the environment.
key features of slt
- human learning is explained through observational learning or modelling which includes identification, imitation and reinforcement.
- cognitive factors also play an important role in observational learning which includes attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.
- in vicarious reinforcement, reproduction of behaviours can be motivated by observing role models receiving reinforcement.
- majority of slt involves laboratory experiments in which quantifiable behaviour is observed,.
mediational process proposed by bandura
attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.
attention
to what extent is the behaviour noticed or observed.
retention
how well is the observed behaviour remembered
reproduction
how able is the observer to reproduce the behaviour.
motivation
whether the behaviour was punished or rewarded.
vicarious reinforcement
seeing others being rewarded for a behaviour influences someone in whether they choose to imitate the behaviour. b
banduras research (1961) - imitation of aggression
- 36 boys and 36 girls aged about 52 months were the particupants un the study. they had a matched pair design where the childrens were ranked on rating of aggressive behaviours in a school nursery. the study had 3 conditions.
- children observed aggressive adult models in condition 1(hitting the bobo doll with a mallet)
- children observed non aggressive adult models in condition 2( playing with other toys and ignoring the bobo doll)
- control group where children had no exposure to the models.
- the childrens were then left in the play room for 20 minutes with aggressive and non aggressive toys.
result of banduras research
- children exposed to aggressive model imitated a lot of aggressive behaviour.
- children in the non aggressive and control group barely showed any kinds of aggressive behaviour.
conclusion of banduras research
aggressive behaviour is learned through imitation of others behaving aggressively.
evaluation of banduras research
- well controlled observational study with a clearly identified independent variable which means the experiment is replicable and can be replicated for reliability.
- low ecological validity as the research was not conducted in a natural behaviour.
- difficult to generalise the results because a limited sample was studied - childrens from the same school.
