behaviourist approach

Subdecks (1)

what are the three key assumptions for the behaviourist approach? 
•we should only study behaviour that can be observed
•humans and animals learn in the same ways therefore it’s valid to study animals in experiments
•we are born as a ‘blank state’; all behaviour is learned through association and reinforcement
when did this approach emerge?
1913
what is classical conditioning? 
learning by association
how does classical conditioning work? 
when a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus resulting in a conditioned response
what is generalisation? 
the tendency for a stimulus that is similar to the cs to elicit the same response
what is discrimination? 
having a response to some stimuli but not others (especially if they are dissimilar to the cs)
what is extinction? 
when the cs no longer elicits the cr (due to numerous presentations of the cs without the ucs)
what’s spontaneous recovery? 
the sudden reappearance of the cr after a period of apparent extinction
what is operant conditioning? 
learning by consequences of behaviour
what is positive reinforcement? 
providing so nothing pleasant which results in behaviour strengthening
what is negative reinforcement? 
taking something unpleasant which results in behaviour strengthening
what is positive punishment? 
providing something unpleasant which results in behaviour weakening
what is negative punishment? 
taking away something pleasant which results in behaviour weakening