Behaviourism

• Operant conditioning 


  Learning through consequences where behaviours are either reinforced or punished.
• Reinforcement strengthens behaviour
• positive reinforcement


  a behaviour is more likely to reoccur because of positive / pleasant consequences (being praised)
• negative reinforcement 


  a behaviour is more likely to reoccur to avoid negative / unpleasant consequences ( avoiding disapproval )
• punishment

  a behaviour is less likely to reoccur because of negative consequences.
• Assumptions of behaviourism

  Behaviour is learned from experience, born as a ‘blank slate’ , only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically, it is valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning.
• classical conditioning

  learning through association, assumes learning is passive and is based on reflex behaviours that all humans and animals have.
• Neutral stimulus (NS)

  Something in the environment which does not initially cause a response
• unconditional stimulus (UCS)


  anything that naturally has the power to produce a response in a human or animal
• unconditioned response (UCR)

  a natural reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus
• conditioned stimulus (CS)


  the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus when it acquires the ability to produce a specific response in the human or animal (after conditioning)
• conditioned response (CR)

  a learnt response to something that doesn’t naturally have the power to produce a response in a human or animal.
• stimulus generalisation

  When stimuli similar to the CS produce the CR
• stimulus discrimination

  the CR is only produced in response to the CS and not to similar stimuli
• extinction


  when the CR declines and disappears because the CS is repeatedly presented in the absence of the UCS
• What are the schedules of reinforcement 


  Continuous reinforcement, fixed interval, variable interval, fixed ratio, variable ration
• What is Continuous reinforcement 


  Every single response is reinforced
• fixed interval


  reinforcement is given every fixed time period if the response has occurred at least once.
• variable reinforcement


  reinforcement is given e.g on average every 30 s but it varies so the interval is unpredictable
• fixed ratio


  reinforcement is given for a fixed number of responses (not time related)
• variable ratio


  reinforcement is given on average e.g every 10 responses but the number varies
• Strengths

  Scientific credibility, real life application
• weaknesses

  mechanistic view of behaviour, use of animals