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Pyschology > The Behaviourist Approach > Flashcards

The Behaviourist Approach Flashcards

1
Q

what are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

A
  1. humans are born a blank slate (tabula rasa)
  2. behaviour is learned through conditioning
  3. humans and animals learn in similar ways
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2
Q

what is environmental determinism?

A

ignorance of natural factors in explaining behaviour (eg. evolution, genetics)

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3
Q

what is the process of classical conditioning?

A

US —> UR
NS + US —> UR
CS —> CR

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4
Q

what is the definition of classical conditioning?

A

behaviours are learnt through associations

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5
Q

what is operant conditioning?

A

behaviours are learnt though reinforcement

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6
Q

what is positive reinforcement?

A

rewarding of behaviour, increases change of reoccurrence

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7
Q

what is negative reinforcement?

A

strengthens behaviour through an avoidance of something unpleasant (eg. completion of homework to avoid punishment)

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8
Q

what is punishment?

A

weakens behaviour, decrease likelihood of reoccurrence (opposite of reinforcement)

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9
Q

who demonstrated classical conditioning?

A

Ivan Pavlov (1902)

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10
Q

who demonstrated operant conditioning and how did he do it?

A

B.F Skinner (1938):
- skinner box
- animal performs behaviour that accidentally begets reward
- repeats behaviour (avoids for punishment)

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11
Q

what is an example of an application of classical conditioning?

A

systematic desensitisation

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12
Q

what is an example of an application of operant conditioning?

A

token economies
(desirable behaviour is reinforced with tokens exchanged for rewards)

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13
Q

what is an attachment bond?

A

attachment explained through classical conditioning

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14
Q

what is ‘cupboard love theory’?

A
  • infant UCS (food) produces pleasure response (UCR)
  • mother herself is associated with pleasure (CS) and becomes a source of it herself (CR)
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15
Q

what did Harlow and Harlow (1962) show about attachment?

A

that it is not based upon the supply of food, but the supply of comfort
(used monkeys)

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16
Q

how do Dollard and Miller (1950) explain the attachment between parent and child?

A
  • through operant conditioning
  • baby enters a drive state when hungry, motivated to lessen hunger
  • being fed —> drive reduction —> rewarding
  • food is primary reinforcer, parent giving food becomes secondary reinforcer
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17
Q

what is reciprocal inhibition?

A

cannot feel both anxiety and relaxation, one must eliminate the other (incompatible emotions)

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18
Q

what is in vivo desensitisation?

A
  • learning to relax in presence of feared stimulus
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19
Q

what is in vitro desensitisation?

A
  • patient learns to relax while imagining feared stimulus
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20
Q

what is counterconditioning?

A

the acquisition of a new stimulus-response link
(reacts to feared object with relaxation instead of anxiety)

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21
Q

what is a desensitisation hierarchy?

A

hierarchy of stimulus from least to most fearful

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22
Q

what are the steps of systematic desensitisation?

A
  1. patient taught how to relax
  2. therapist and patient create desensitisation hierarchy
  3. work way through hierarchy
  4. once step is mastered in hierarchy, move on to next one
  5. eventually masters most feared stimulus
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23
Q

what are the pros of systematic desensitisation?

A
  • successful when phobia is learned (Capafins et al, 1998 - patients with fear of flying showed less fear after 12-25 week treatment m)
  • ethical: controls anxiety (unlike flooding), valid consent (mainly patients with phobias + attendance allows free will)
24
Q

what are the cons of systematic desensitisation?

A
  • not appropriate for all phobias: Seligman (1970) ancient fears cannot be solved; not as effective for generalised fears (eg. agoraphobia)
  • symptom substitution can lead to reappearance of underlying problem in another form (psychodynamic, Freud: projection)
25
Q

what is the methodology of Watson and Rayner (1920)?
(classic evidence)

A

controlled observation

26
Q

what objects were used to test Albert’s emotional responses? (name 3)

A
  • white rat
  • rabbit
  • dog
  • monkey
  • masks (with and without hair)
  • cotton wool
  • burning newspapers
27
Q

what age was Albert when the first session took place?

A

11 months and 3 days

28
Q

what was the ‘joint stimulation’?

A

Albert reaching for the rat, then a steel bar being struck behind his head (eg. rat + bar)

29
Q

what age was Albert during the last session (5)?

A

12 months and 21 days

30
Q

what objects was Albert’s fear generalised to?

A
  • white rabbit (most extreme)
  • dog
  • fur coat
    (furry objects)
31
Q

did Albert’s fear persist after a length of time (during session 5)?

A
  • yes (to an extent)
  • during session 5, his reactions were less extreme but he avoided the furry objects and occasionally whimpered
32
Q

what conclusions can be made based on Watson and Rayner (1920)?

A
  • that a fear response can be created with general ease
  • learned responses generalise to similar stimuli
33
Q

what did Watson and Rayner suggest about the results of the study?

A
  • that it is ‘probable’ that many phobias are acquired this way
  • that persistence of early conditioned responses would only be found in persons who are ‘constitutionally inferior’
34
Q

what are the pros of Watson and Rayner (1920)?

A

controlled study:
- extraneous variables controlled
- baseline established
- control condition (building blocks)
- finding can be confirmed (recordings)

35
Q

what are the cons of Watson and Rayner (1920)?

A
  • the sample (one person, can’t be generalised)
  • ethical issues: excessive creation of fear and psychological harm, lasting effects
36
Q

what are alternative explanations/evidence to Watson and Rayner (1920)?

A
  • the two process theory: classical conditioning creates response, operant conditioning maintains it (through negative reinforcement)
  • biological preparedness
  • not all traumatic experiences create phobias
37
Q

what topics are discussed in the debate around the appropriateness of conditioning techniques for controlling children?
(debate)

A
  • home
  • school
  • peers
  • vulnerable groups of children
38
Q

what conditioning techniques are proposed to be used in the home?

A
  • the ‘naughty step’ (Supernanny Jo Frost) was designed to stop positive reinforcement of negative behaviour (through attention)
  • chore completion in exchange for money (Gill, 1998) as a form of positive reinforcement
39
Q

what are criticisms of the ‘naughty step’?
(debate; at home)

A
  • Morris (2014): can have long term emotional effects, children cannot reflect on or verbalise feelings, can have negative effect on development
  • consistency: parents probably cannot be consistent with punishment, reducing effectiveness
40
Q

what did McAllister et al (1969) find about the use of operant conditioning in classrooms?
(debate; in school)

A
  • use of ‘teacher praise’ and ‘teacher disapproval’ led to a decrease in ‘inappropriate talking’ in high school english classes
  • there was no decrease in the control condition
41
Q

what did LeFrancois (2000) suggest about the use of classical conditioning in classrooms?
(debate; in school)

A

proposes that teachers should:
- maximise pleasant classroom stimuli
- minimise unpleasant classroom stimuli
students associate positivity with the work environment, increasing motivation and behaviour

42
Q

what did Lepper et al (1973) discover about rewards?
(debate; in school)

A
  • that they can decrease internal motivation
  • asked nursery to draw nice pictures in exchange for rewards
  • children promised a reward spent half the time drawing than children who were not
43
Q

what did Lewis (1995) observe about other cultures?
(debate; in school)

A
  • conducted observations in Japanese elementary schools
  • use of reward systems or praise was rare
  • children appeared to be internally motivated
44
Q

how can peer groups affect behaviour?
(debate; peers)

A

desire to increase positive sanctions and decrease negative sanctions causes children to imitate the actions of their peers, acting to condition behaviour

45
Q

what did Bricker et al (2006) discover?
(debate; peers)

A

children as young as 10 were more likely to try smoking if members of peer group did (desire for peer group reinforcement/approval is not always positive)

46
Q

what did Robinson et al (1981) discover?
(debate; vulnerable children)

A

that the use of token economies can improve performance in reading and vocabulary-related tasks for children with hyperactivity issues

47
Q

what did Chaney et al (2004) report on?
(debate; vulnerable children)

A

use of ‘Funhaler’ by children with asthma decreased issues with medicating and induced a more positive response to treatment (the fun of use is positively reinforcing)

48
Q

what is an issue with conditioning treatment for groups of vulnerable children?
(debate; vulnerable children)

A
  • treatment only deals with symptoms
  • undesirable behaviour may return when reinforcement is removed
49
Q

what are the strengths of the behaviourist approach?

A
  1. scientific approach
  2. focus on here and now
  3. successful applications
50
Q

how is the behaviourist approach scientific?

A

studies behaviour that is observable and directly measurable; seeks to quantify and compare behaviour

51
Q

what is aversion therapy?

A
  • behaviourist therapy
  • uses classical conditioning
  • teaches person new stimulus-response link between alcohol and nausea
  • used to treat alcoholism
52
Q

what are the weaknesses of the behaviourist approach?

A
  1. emphasis on nurture
  2. determinist approach
  3. more relevant to animals (than humans)
53
Q

what does complete environmental determinism ignore?

A

free will (implies we have no choice or moral responsibilities for our behaviour)

54
Q

what concept was discovered by Wolpe (1958)?

A
  • reciprocal inhibition (phobia was created in cats, food was used to create new association)
  • used to develop SD
55
Q

what example did Wolpe (1973) give of SD failing?

A
  • SD did not cure woman with insect phobia
  • had marital problems with husband names after insect
  • recommended marital counselling, which succeeded
    (only treats symptoms, ignores cause - focus on here and now)

Pyschology (3 decks)

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