Behaviourist Approach

• Assumptions of Behavourism?

  • mind is not observable, only study what is directly observable (external behaviour)
  • We are born as blank slates and every behaviour is learned from our environment
  • Humans and animals are similar so animals can be experimented on and results generalised to humans
• How does behaviourism say we learn things?

  We learn things directly through either:

  • classical conditioning - learning through Association
  • operant conditioning - learning through Reinforcement
• who theorised classical conditioning?

  pavlov
• explain pavlov's dog experiment (classical conditioning)

  • before conditioning, unconditioned stimulus (food) caused unconditioned response (salivating)
  • during conditioning, unconditioned stimulus (food) paired with the neutral stimulus (bell) causing the same unconditioned response (Salivating)
  • after conditioning, neutral stimulus (bell) is now the conditioned stimulus, causing a conditioned response (salivating)
• components of classical conditioning?

  • unconditioned stimulus - something that naturally causes a response
  • unconditioned response - a behaviour which occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned response
  • Neutral stimulus - something which doesn't cause a response
  • conditioned stimulus - something which causes a response as a result of new learning
  • conditioned response - a behaviour which is exhibited to a conditioned stimulus as a result of new learning
• operant conditioning - what is positive reinforcement

  good behaviour rewarded with something the person wants, making them more likely to repeat the behaviour
• operant conditioning - what is negative reinforcement?

  something unpleasant is taken away when the person displays a desirable behaviour meaning they are more likely to repeat the behaviour inorder to avoid the negative stimulus
• operant conditioning - what is punishment?

  • something unpleasant is given or something pleasant is taken away when an individual displays an undesirable behaviour, meaning they are less likely to repeat this behaviour
• How did Skinner investigate operant conditioning?

  he created skinners box which let him have a controlled environment where he could explore how type and rate of reinforcement affected learning
• operant conditioning - Skinner's Experiment (positive reinforcement)

  • He placed a rat in skinner's box (a controlled environment)
  • on 1 wall there was a lever that would deliver food pellets when pressed
  • initially the rat wondered around aimlessly until it accidentally pressed the lever
  • Skinner used the frequency of how much the lever was pressed to indicate the strength of the conditioning
  • this is an example of operant conditioning through positive reinforcement
• operant conditioning - skinner's experiment (negative reinforcement)

  • the rat would receive electrical shocks unless the lever was pressed, making them more likely to press the lever
• operant conditioning - skinner's experiment (punishment)

  • if the rat's heat was turned off everytime it pressed the lever, it would learn to avoid the lever
• classical conditioning case study - little albert


  • at first had an unconditioned response of crying to the unconditioned stimulus, the clang of a metal rod
  • unconditioned stimulus paired with the neutral stimulus, the fluffy animals and objects
• classical conditioning case study - little albert

  • at first had an unconditioned response of crying to the unconditioned stimulus, the clang of a metal rod
  • unconditioned stimulus paired with the neutral stimulus, the fluffy animals and objects
  • neutral stimulus then became the conditioned stimulus due to association, causing the conditioned response of crying
• Behaviourism Evaluation

  Well Controlled Research

  • based on scientific research of measuring observable behaviour, meaning it is objective and empirical

  Counterpoint

  • isn't scientific as it is ignoring mental processes which also influence behaviour, only focusing on observable behaviour

  Real World Application

  • principles of operant conditioning applied to real world situations like token economy systems in prisons
  • principles of classical conditioning applied to real world situations like treating phobias by associating them with more pleasant things
• Behaviourism Evaluation

  Environmental Determinism

  • behaviourism says all of our behaviour is based on conditioning experiences from our environment
  • This is an extreme view that ignores the influence of free will and conscious decision making on behaviour

  Ethical Issues

  • critics questioned the ethics of using skinner's box in experiments
  • the animals used were put under alot of stress which may have affected how they behaved