The Behaviourist Approach Flashcards
What is classical conditioning?
When a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditoned stimulus
Eventually takes on properties of this stimulus and able to produce a conditioned response
What did Pavlov investigate?
The salivary reflex in dogs
What is a neutral stimulus?
An event that does not produce a response
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
An event that produces an innate, unlearned reflex response
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
An event that produces a learned response
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
An innate, unlearned reflex behaviour that an organism produces when exposed to an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned Response (CR)
A learned physical reflex behaviour that an organism produces when exposed to a conditioned stimulus
What did Pavlov use as a Unconditioned Stimulus?
Dog food
What did Pavlos use as a Unconditioned response?
Dog Salivating
What did Pavlov use as a neutral stimulus?
A bell
What became a conditioned stimulus?
The bell
What became the conditioned response?
The dog salivating when hearing the bell
Criticism of classical conditioning?
Only appropriate for some learning
- Different species face different challenges
- Seligman, animals are prepared to learn associations in terms of servival
- Unprepared to learn associations that are not significant
Suggesting appropriate for learning specific types of association
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement or punishment
What is the idea behind Skinner’s theory?
Organisms spontaneously produce different behaviours and these behaviours produce consequences ( positive or negative)
What did Skinner use his box for?
Investigate operant conditioning in rats
What happened inside Skinner’s box?
Rat moves around the cage and when it accidently presses the lever food is given
Rat continues to press lever
When food stops falling the rat stops
What is reinforcement?
Something that strengthens a response and increases the likelihood that it will occur in the future
What is positive reinforcement?
when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasent for organism
What is negative reinforcement?
remove something unpleasent ancd restore organism to pre-aversive state
What are other important features of operant conditioning?
Schedules of reinforcement
Punishment
Classical conditioning has been applied to therapy?
Classical conditioning has been applied in the development of treatments for the reduction of anxiety associated with phobias
- Systematic desensitisation is a therapy
- Eliminates the learned anxious response, associated with a feared object or situation
Classical conditioning-based on approach has beenn found effective for a range of phobias such as fear of spiders
Classical conditioning only appropriate for some learning
Different species face different challenges to survive
- Seligman ( 1970), concept of preparedness to explain
- Animals are prepared to learn associations that are significant in terms of their need for survival
- Unprepared to learn associations that are not significant in this respect
Classical conditioning may be more appropriate in the learning of specific types of association
LINKS TO SPECIES EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
Over-reliance on non-human animals in research
Skinner’s research received criticism because his experiments involved the study of non-himan animals rather than humans
- His reliance on rats and pigeons means that Skinner’s studies tell us little on human behaviour
- Claim humans have free will rather than having their behaviour determined by positive or negative reinforcement
Skinner argues free will is an illusion. What we humans believe to be free will are actually determined by external influences that guide our behaviours daily
