The Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

Briefly describe Pavlo’s research into classical conditioning

Answer 1

• investigated the salivary reflex in dogs
• noticed that the animals not only salivated when food was placed in their mouths but they also reacted to other stimuli that was associated with food

Question 2

what is the unconditioned response

Answer 2

the natural response to the stimulus

salivation

Question 3

what is the neutral stimulus

Answer 3

the bell ringing

Question 4

what is the unconditioned stimulus

Answer 4

the natural stimulus (food)

Question 5

how do psychiatrist’s treat anxiety that is associated with phobias?

Answer 5

they eliminate the learned anxious response that is associated with the feared object. They replace the fear with relaxation.

Question 6

3 disadvantages of classical conditioning

Answer 6

• species face different challenges to survive, so have different capabilities to lean though cc.
• Pavlo tested this on dogs so cc might only work for lower species
• the relationship between the cs and the ucs can be difficult to establish for some species

Question 7

what is an advantage of classical conditioning ?

Answer 7

it has lead to the treatments for anxiety associate with phobias

Question 8

define operant conditioning

Answer 8

learning through reinforcement or punishment

Question 9

what is the basic idea behind skinner’s theory of operant conditioning in 1938

Answer 9

organism produce different behaviours which produce consequences that are either positive or negative

Question 10

explain the “Skinner box”

Answer 10

• the rat moves around the cage. when it accidentally presses the lever, a food pellet (the reinforcer) falls into the cage.
• the rat presses the leaver to get food.
• if the food pellet stops the rat will press it a few more times until leaving it (extinction)

Question 11

define reinforcement

Answer 11

something in the environment that strengthens a behaviour so that it is more likely to occur again

Question 12

define positive reinforcement

Answer 12

occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying for the organism

Question 13

describe negative reinforcement

Answer 13

removes something unpleasant so that the organism goes back to its “pre-aversive” state

Question 14

define punishment

Answer 14

when a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence. It decreases the chance of the behaviour recurring

Question 15

how do you avoid extinction

Answer 15

by using a partial reinforcement (e.g reinforcing every 10 minutes)

Question 16

a disadvantage of operant conditioning

Answer 16

• studies on rats can tell us little about human behaviour.

- Humans have free will rather than having their behaviour determined by positive/negative reinforcements

Question 17

an advantage of operant conditioning

Answer 17

• skinner relied on the experimental method which uses controlled conditions.
• this enable him to establish the relationship between the consequence of behaviour and it’s likely re-occurrence in the future

Question 18

Key terms and key evaluation points

Answer 18

• classical conditioning - Pavlov
• Operant conditioning - Skinner
• Behaviour is learnt
• Nomothetic
• scientific
• use of animals
• application - attachment, token economy, treatment of phobias