The Learning Approach: Behaviourism Flashcards
The behaviourist approach is only concerned with studying behaviour that can be
Observed and measured
The behaviourist approach is not concerned with
Mental processes of the mind
Introspection was
Rejected by behaviourists as its concepts were vague and difficult to measure
Behaviourists tried to maintain more
Control and objectivity within their research and relied on lab studies to achieve this
Behaviourists suggest the processes that govern learning are
Same in all species so animals can replace humans as experimental subjects
Who came up with classical conditioning
Pavlov
Classical conditioning is learning through
Association
UCS
Food
UCR
Salvation
NS
Bell
What did Pavlov do to dogs?
Conditioned dogs to salvage when a bell rings
UCS = UCR = NS
Before conditioning
No response to NS (bell)
NS + UCS
During conditioning.
Bell and food occur at the same time.
CS = CR
After conditioning.
CS = bell
CR = salvation
Pavlov showed how a natural stimulus (bell) can come to elicit
A new learning response (conditioned response) through association
Who came up with Operant conditioning?
Skinner
Operant conditioning says that learning is an
Active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment
Operant conditioning says that behaviour is shaped and maintained by its
Consequences
Skinners research AO1
Rats were placed into specially designed boxes.
They had to pull leavers to receive a treat.
If they pushed a leaver then they got an electric shock.
Skinner findings
The animals figured out what they had to do to get a treat so they repeated the behaviour
There are three types of consequences of behaviour
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
Positive reinforcement
Receiving a reward when behaviour is performed to likelihood of the behaviour being performed again is increased.
Negative reinforcement
When an animal or human produces behaviour that avoids something unpleasant, increases the likelihood of that behaviour.
Punishment
An unpleasant consequences of behaviour, which decreases the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated.
Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that
Behaviour will be repeated
Punishment decreases the likelihood that behaviour will be
Repeated
The approach focuses on the careful measurement of
Observable behaviour within controlled lab settings
Behaviourists emphasised the importance of
Scientific processes such as objectivity and replication
Scientific credibility AO3
Because behaviourists found scientific processes to be so important, this brought the language and methods of the natural sciences into psychology, giving the subject greater credibility and status
Real-life application AO3
The principles of conditioning have been applied to a broad range of-world behaviours and problems, e.g. token economies in prisons and psychiatric wards (operant conditioning).
Token economy is a good treatment for patients who
Lack ‘insight’ into their condition and are not capable of talking about their problems
Theory might not apply well to humans AO3
Animals and humans are seen as passive and machine-like responders to the environment, with little conscious insight into their behaviour, other approaches, such as social learning theory and the cognitive approach have placed more emphasis on mental events that occur during learning, suggesting humans play more active role in learning, so theory might not apply well to humans.
Deterministic AO3
The approach sees all behaviour as determined by past experiences that have been conditioned and ignore any influence that free will may have on behaviour. Skinner argued free will was an illusion and past conditioning determines outcome of decisions - this is extreme position that ignores influence of conscious decisioning making on behaviour. (hard environmental determinism).
Ethical issues with Skinner AO3
Although experimental procedures such as the skinners box allowed behaviourists to a high degree of control over their research subjects, criteria have drawn attention to the ethical issues involved
Issue with validity as… (AO3)
The animals were exposed to stressful and aversive conditions and this may have affected his they reacted to the experimental situation. The animal stress means the validity of the findings from these might be questioned because the observed behaviour was not ‘normal’.
