behaviourist approach

• when did the behaviourist approach emerge 


  1913
• what are the key assumptions about the behaviourist approach 


  all behaviour is learned

  our behaviour needs to be measured / observed scientifically

  behaviourists like to have control and scientific value in their research so mainly use lab experiments believe all species learn in the same way
• what is classical conditioning 


  when the original stimulus is associated with another stimulus, the same response is produced by that other stimulus so the response is said to be classically conditioned
• what did Ivan Pavlov notice in his research 


  he noted that dogs will salivate not just hee presented e it h good but also will salivate in response to other events that co incided with the presentation of food

  he then tested this by introducing a new stimulus
• what does a neutral stimulus produce 


  no response
• what does an unconditional stimulus produce 


  unconditioned response
• what did a neutral stimulus + an unconditioned stimulus produce 


  an unconditioned response
• what does a conditioned stimulus produce 


  a conditioned response
• what is operant conditioning 


  a learning process that uses rewards and punishments to modify behaviour
• what are the features of operant conditioning 


  positive reinforcement

  negative reinforcement

  positive punishment

  negative punishment
• who developed the theory of operant conditioning 


  B. F. Skinner
• who conducted the classical conditioning experiments

  Ivan Pavlov as well was Watson and Rayner
• what did Skinner design 


  a cage called a Skinner box to investigate the process in rats
• what was the example of positive reinforcement in skinners research 


  food was delivered to the cage is the rat pressed the lever
• what was the example of negative punishment in skinners research 


  the rat would have an electric shock in the cage and would need to press the lever to remove it
• what have the principles of classical conditioning and association lead to 


  the development of a therapy called systematic desensitisation to treat phobias
• what happens in systematic desensitisation 


  creating a fear hierarchy whereby the phobic lists experience their phobia from least to most frightening

  they learn relaxation techniques such as controlling their breathing so that tbh why re relaxed in the presence of a phobic stimulus
• what have the principles of operant conditions been used in 


  behaviour modification programmes
• what is a token economy 


  a system used in prisons or with people of eating disorders that rewards the desirable behaviours
• why is the behavioural approach regarded as a scientific approach

  relies heavily on the use of experimental method and demonstrated many scientific features e. g. skinners box has high levels of control
• who provided research evidence that supports key assumptions of the behaviourist approach 


  watson and rayner in 1920
• what did watson and rayner provide evidence of 


  how fears could be learned through classical conditioning and association
• what did watson and say we find out in their study 


  they could condition a phobia of white rats in an infant by pairing a rat with a loud noise where the infant learned to fear the rats
• what are the issues with the principles of operant and classical conditioning 


  based on studies with animals e. g. rats

  critics argue that we cannot generalise these findings to human behaviour as we have free will therefore our behaviour is not entirely determined by reinforcement or associations
• why does the behaviourist approach take the position of environmental determinism 


  it assumes that all of our behaviour is shaped by external forces over which we have no control
• what does this generally mean?

  behavioural approach rejects the concept of free will which most in society accept