the behaviourist approach Flashcards
behaviourist approach
suggests psychology should be the study of observable behaviour rather than the inner workings of the mind
has a scientific method as its based on observation and measurement in a laboratory
according to this model, all behaviour, both normal and abnormal is learnt by the process of conditioning.
behaviourist approach 2
rather than behaviour being innate (born with), behaviourists believe we are born blank slates, Tabula rasa, and we learn behaviour from the environment
classical conditioning - learning by association
proposed by Pavlov
all animals and humans born with natural reflexes e.g. salivation when food is placed in mouth
these reflexes are made up of a stimulus and its naturally associated response
when other stimuli are present and associated with this stimulus, they can eventually trigger the same response
the animal is ‘classically conditioned’
pavlov’s research
before conditioning - food is the unconditioned stimulus (US). always elicits an unconditioned response (salivation). the salivation is a reflex response.
the whistle is the neutral stimulus and elicits no response
during conditioning - food and whistle are paired. whistle takes on the prophecies of the food. association forms.
the unconditioned stimulus is both the food and wastle which elicits the unconditioned response is the salivation
after conditioning - the whistle alone elicits salivation after pairing the 2 several times.
the response has been learnt - whistle becomes conditioned stimulus and salivation the conditioned response.
strength of classical conditioning
P - A strength of CC is that it has been applied in the development of treatments for the reduction of mental disorders such as anxiety and phobias
E - systematic desensitisation works by eliminating the anxious response (CR) that is associated with the feared object/situation (CS)
E - it then replaces the anxiety with a feeling of relaxation and the patient learns to not be anxious in the presence of the feared object/situation
L - this matters because it suggests that not only is CC accurate as a way of learning, but it can also be used to effectively tackle a range of phobias such as spiders, flying and agoraphobia. therefore, CC is useful
weakness of CC
P - a weakness of CC is that it can be seen as way too simplistic
E - for example, Pavlov believed that complex behaviour could be broken down into smaller stimulus and response units of behaviour.
E - This matters because this theory does not consider the role that other factors have on our behaviour such as our thought processes and oversimplifies complex human behaviour
L - therefore, the approach is reductionist.
reductionist
oversimplifying complex human behaviour into basic units e.g. stimulus and response units
operant conditioning - learning by consequences.
Skinner (1938) suggested that animals spontaneously produce different behaviours and the behaviour can have consequences for the animal
the likelihood of repeating the behaviour depends on the consequences.
e.g. gaining a reward vs a punishment
there are 4 TYPES
positive reinforcement
adding a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour
e.g. a teacher will give her students a sticker (reward) when they achieve an A. - will increase the likelihood of their students receiving an A again in future.
negative reinforcement
removal of a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour. typically unpleasant so the animal can return to its pre-aversive state
e.g. when you enter a car and don’t put your seatbelt on, the seatbelt alarm (unpleasant) will go off. this will make u want to put ur seatbelt on. - increases the likelihood of putting ur seatbelt on in the future so u can return to the pre-aversive state
positive punishment
adding of a stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour (unpleasant)
e.g. a teacher will shout at a student who didn’t do homework. will decrease the likelihood of student not doing homework in the future
negative punishment
removal of a stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour (something desirable is taken away)
e.g. a parent will take away their child’s phone when they’ve left their room in a mess. will decrease the likelihood of the child being messy again
Skinner’s research - Skinner box
one experiment involved a rat in the box with a lever. rat presses the lever accidentally and is given a food pellet. the rat learns to press the lever to receive the food. this is positive reinforcement
another experiment, rats were placed in the box with an electrified grid on the floor and a ledge. a red light would appear and the electrified grid activates electrocuting the rat. accidentally the rat jumps on the ledge. rat learns to jump on the ledge to avoid getting hurt.
this is negative reinforcement
a strength of OC
P - A strength of OC is that it was investigated using the experimental method
E- the use of controlled conditions means that casual relationships are more easily tested and established, and helps psychology develop as a science and all the benefits of using the scientific approach mentioned above. also, extraneous variables can be controlled
E- an example of this is the use of Skinner’s box - by manipulating the consequences of behaviour (IV), he was able to accurately measure the effects on the rat’s behaviour (DV)
L - therefore, it allows us to see the cause and effect relationships, allowing us to make predictions on future behaviour. it is also going to be high in validity
