behaviourism (approaches)

• beliefs

  behaviourists believe that all behaviour is learnt, influenced by the environment via conditioning.

  • only interested in studying observable and measurable behaviour in controlled conditions
• classical conditioning 


  learning through association. demonstrated by pavlov

  • dogs conditioned to salivate to a bell
• pavlov's findings 


  • food (UCS) = salivation (UCR)
  • bell (NS) = no response
  • food (UCS) + bell (NS) = salivation
  • bell (CS) = salivation (CR)

  due to association with bell

  acquisition = first stage gradually strengthened
• neutral stimulus 


  an event that doesn't produce a response
• unconditioned stimulus 


  an even that produces an innate unlearned reflex response
• unconditioned response 


  an innate unlearned reflex behaviour that is produced when exposed to an UCS
• conditioned stimulus 


  an event that produces a learnt response
• conditioned response


  a learned behaviour that is produced when exposed to a conditioned stimulus
• timing


  if a NS can't predict the UCS (if it is produced after or the time between is too big) conditioning won't occur
• stimulus generalisation 


  once conditioned animals will also respond to other stimuli similar ton the CS e.g a buzzer
• extinction


  CR is not permanent: after a few presentations of the CS without the UCS loses the ability to produce the CR
• spontaneous recovery


  after extinction, the the CS and UCS are paired again the link is formed much more quickly
• little Albert by Watson and Rayner


  • NS = white rat
  • UCS = loud noise
  • UCR = fear/crying
  • CS= white rat
  • CR = fear/crying
• Acquisition 


  learning of association between NS (rat) and (UCS) loud noise . associate the rat with fear
• lab experiment 


  controlled and standardised to make it repeatable. extraneous controlled minimise effect on results

  • IV = the rat with the loud noise
  • DV = his response
• operant conditioning 


  learning through reinforcement , behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences
• skinner disagreed with pavlov


  learning is an active process humans and animals operate in the environment
• Skinner box experiment 


  1. a rat is placed in a box
  2. inside the box there us a lever, when pressed it produces food pellets
  3. will keep pressing the lever whenever its hungry
  4. If pressed and no food produced and then pressed again and again and still no food
  5. 5. food stops being produced and rat quickly learns to stop pressing the lever
• types of reinforcement 


  something that makes a behaviour more likely to happen
• positive reinforcement


  something positive happens in response to a behaviour, receiving a reward

  • e.g praise when answering a teacher correctly
• negative reinforcement

  avoids something unpleasant e.g a rat pressing a lever to stop being electrocuted
• continuous schedule of reinforcement 


  • every behaviour positively reinforced (reward every time)
  • slow response
  • fast extinction
• fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement


  • reinforcement after every nth response
  • fast response
  • medium extinction
• fixed interval schedule of reinforcement


  • reinforcement at fixed time intervals
  • medium response
  • medium extinction
• variable ratio schedule of reinforcement


  • reinforced after an unpredictable number of times
  • fast response
  • slow extinction
• variable interval schedule of reinforcement


  • reinforcement after an unpredictable amount of time
  • fast response
  • slow extinction
• real-life setting? PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT schedule of reinforcement


  • every 3rd time
  • reinforced only part of the time
  • behaviour acquired more slowly more resistant to extinction

  e.g SLOT MACHINES if you don't know when the next time you're going to win money you continue to put money in as they think the next will be a winning one
• skinner pre determined schedule of reinforcement


  • Different response pattern emerged
  • lever ration 1:5
  • every 5th lever press
• unpredictable reinforcement 


  • more successful in conditioning
  • reduce risk of rat becoming satiated (satisfying yourself)
  • may stop performing if reinforced is no longer required
• positive punishment 


  something unpleasant as a response, adding an undesirable stimulus to discourage repeating a behaviour e.g electric shock
• negative punishment 


  removing something pleasant to decrease a behaviour

  e.g teenager being grounded for staying out too late
• evaluation: real-life application

  • An increased understanding of classical and operant conditioning has led to the development of treatments and therapies for serious mental disorders.
  • For example, token economies have been used as a way of dealing with offending behaviour: inmates who carry out socially-desirable behaviour (such as tidying their cell and avoiding conflicts) receive tokens (secondary reinforcers) which can be traded for privileges (primary reinforcers), such as extra TV-time.
  • Therefore, behaviourist principles have had positive impacts on the lives of many.
• evaluation: scientific credibility

  • objectively and systematically collect reliable data, makes use of highly scientific research methods, particularly the laboratory experiment.
  • Strictly-controlled conditions reduce and control for the effects of confounding and extraneous variables, increasing the reliability and internal validity of the findings (as these are more likely to be replicated when research is conducted under the same conditions).
  • By focusing on behaviour which is observable and can be measured, the behaviourist approach increases the scientific credibility of psychology.
• evaluation: environmental reductionism

  • behaviourists assume that a behaviour can be reduced to the simple building blocks of stimulus- response associations and that complex behaviours are a series of these chains
  • this may oversimplify behaviour because it doesn't allow for interaction of other factors such as emotions
  • therefore it is a limited view may be more appropriate to explain animal behaviour rather than human
• systematic desensitisation

  • as well as systematic desensitisation therapy, exposure based to eliminate learned anxious response associated with fear and replace with relaxation so the person is no longer anxious in the presence of the feared object