Behaviourist Approach

• How did behaviourism emerge?

  Around 1920s.

  Behaviourists rejected the concept of introspection (looking inwards) and instead focused on observable events (caused by stimulus and response) and the conditions under which learning would occur.
• What is classical conditioning?

  Happens when a person makes an association between a stimulus and a response.
• What is the equation for classical conditioning?

  .

  A) Before conditioning

  B) During conditioning

  C) After conditioning

  D) Unconditioned stimuli

  E) Unconditioned response

  F) Neutral stimulus

  G) Conditioned stimuli

  H) Conditioned response

  
• What was Pavlov's Research?

  Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist was researching the salivary reflex in dogs. He discovered the dogs not only salivated when the food was placed in their mouth but also in reaction to a stimulus (ie food bowl). He started to research how this behaviour was occurring.
• How does timing effect classical conditioning?

  If the NS occurs too late, or too far away from the UCS conditioning does not take place.
• How does extinction effect classical conditioning?

  Pavlov discovered that the CR is not a permanent response, after a time if the CS is not presented with the UCS it will lose its ability to produce the CR.
• How does spontaneous recovery effect classical conditioning?

  Following extinction if the CS and UCS are pared together once again the link between them is established much more quickly than the previous conditioning.
• How does stimulus generalisation effect classical conditioning?

  Once an animal has been conditioned they will also show a CR to other stimuli similar to the CS.
• What is Skinner's theory of Operant Conditioning?

  Based on the idea that people and animals spontaneously produce different behaviours and these behaviours have a consequence for that person/animal.
• What was Skinner's box?

  A special cage designed to test operant conditioning in rats. When the rat accidentally presses the lever (the action) a food pellet will drop from the cage (The reinforcer). If the rat presses the lever several times and no food appears, after a time the rat abandons the behaviour (extinction).

  
• What is reinforcement?

  Is something in the environment that strengthens a particular behaviour and makes it more likely to reoccur.
• What is positive reinforcement?

  This type of reinforcement occurs when behaviour produces a consequence which is pleasant or satisfying. For example the food pellet given to the rat in Skinner's box. This should make it more likely to carry out the same action again (Pressing the lever).
• What is negative reinforcement?

  This type of reinforcement occurs when behaviour produces a consequence which removes something which is unpleasant. For example, in Skinner's box the bottom of the cage was electrically charged so that the rat can stop getting an electrical shock when pressing the lever. This removes the unpleasant feeling and therefore reinforces the action.
• What are schedules of reinforcement?

  Skinner found that giving the rat the food pellet every third time that the lever was pressed was more effective at maintaining the behaviour. This was referred to as a partial reinforcement schedule and was best at maintaining the behaviour that has already been established.