classical + operant

• behaviourist approach- believes that we are born as a blank slates (tabula rasa) and all behaviour is learnt from the environment

  e.g. we are a product of nurture rather than nature
• 2 types of learning:

  • classical conditioning- Pavlov
  • operant conditioning- skinner
• classical: learnt through association we pair two stimuli together to create a response.
• pavlov's 1901 study:

  • unconditioned stimulus (food) -> unconditioned response (salivating)
  • unconditioned stimulus (food) + neutral stimulus (bell) -> unconditioned response (salivating)
  • conditioned stimulus (bell) -> conditioned response (salivation)
• operant conditioning- the likelihood of repeating a behaviour depends on its consequences, learning from reinforcement
• positive reinforcement- producing a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant

  e.g. food or praise
• negative reinforcement- removing something unpleasant to make the desired behaviour occur

  e.g. putting on seatbelt to stop the alarm
• punishment- decreasing the likelihood of a behaviour occurring by it being followed by an undesirable consequence

  e.g. detention
• continuous reinforcement- reinforcing a behaviour every time
• partial reinforcement- only reinforcing a behaviour every few times
• skinners rats

  • rat presses lever-> light goes on which signals food
  • inside a 'skinners box'
  • acts as a reward, so rat repeats behaviour
  • acts as positive reinforcement, therefore rat is conditioned to press the lever

  (also did one where rat was getting electric shocks and had to press lever to stop it- negative reinforcement)
• evaluation of behaviourist approach A03-

  strengths-

  used experimental methods

  has real world applications

  weaknesses-

  unethical as done with animals

  cant generalise findings on humans

  ignores biological approach