Behaviourism - classical conditioning

• What is Black Box Psychology?


  Behaviourism is also known as Black Box Psychology as it involves only measuring behaviour that can be observed - the human mind is like a closed box where internal thoughts and feelings cannot be observed.
• What is hard determinism?


  Hard determinism ignores the role of free will and would propose that we have no conscious control.
• What is environmental determinism?


  The belief that behaviour is caused by features of our environment that we cannot control.
• What are the 5 assumptions of the behaviourist approach?


  .Behaviourists believe that all behaviour is learned.

  .They only study behaviour that is observable and measurable.

  .Most of the research is conducted in controlled scientific lab studies.

  .Research conducted on animals is valid as they share the same principles of learning.

  .We are born blank slates - there is no genetic influence on behaviour.
• What is the definition of classical conditioning?


  Learning that happens by an association made between a previously neutral stimulus and a reflex response.
• Practice writing out the sequence of classical conditioning. For example...


  Pavlov paired a neutral stimulus (a bell ringing) with an unconditioned stimulus (food) which already triggered an unconditioned response (the dogs salivating). An association was then made between the previously neutral stimulus and the reflex response - this turned the neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus which triggered a conditioned response similar to the original unconditioned response.
• Define stimulus generalisation.


  When a response that has been associated with one stimulus occurs for another stimulus that's similar.
• Define stimulus discrimination.


  The ability to distinguish between one stimulus and similar stimuli. (When an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar).
• Define spontaneous recovery.


  The re-emergence of a conditioned response after it has been extinguished.
• Define extinction.


  The gradual weakening of a learned behaviour that results in it decreasing or disappearing.
• What is a positive criticism of classical conditioning? (Real-world application).


  A strength of classical conditioning is the development of therapies to reduce anxiety associated with phobias. Systematic desensitisation is based upon replacing one conditioned response (anxiety) with another (relaxation) in response to a phobia. This approach has been found to be 75% effective for a range of phobias. Therefore, Pavlov has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour with his research into classical conditioning.
• What is a negative criticism of classical conditioning? (Different species).


  A limitation of this approach is that different species have different capabilities to learn through classical conditioning. Seligman (1970) proposed the concept of biological preparedness to explain this. Animals are prepared to learn associations that are significant to them in terms of their survival needs. Therefore, one could argue that Pavlov has taught us little about human behaviour as humans are biologically and cognitively different to dogs.
• What is a combatting statement to the 'different species' negative criticism?


  However, there have been many laboratory demonstrations of human participants acquiring behaviour through classical conditioning - it is relatively easy to condition and extinguish responses such as the eye-blink and galvanic skin responses.
• What is a positive criticism of classical conditioning? (evidence which supports it).


  Watson and Rayners Little Albert study is a good example of evidence which supports classical conditioning. They were able to condition a previously fearless baby into becoming scared of certain stimuli (including various furry animals) by showing pictures of them paired with loud noises. This shows classical conditioning can be used to create a phobia. Moreover, after the study, Albert developed phobias of objects that shared characteristics with the furry animals (e.g. a fur coat), proving generalisation, and 10 days after conditioning, his fear of the rat was much less marked, proving extinction. This experimental evidence supports classical conditioning and Pavlov's other ideas surrounding it.
• What is a positive criticism of classical conditioning? (What does it help explain)?


  Another strength of classical conditioning is that it helps explain some reflexive or involuntary behaviours like phobias, emotional reactions, and physiological responses. The model shows how these could be gained through experience - it can also account for aspects of certain other mental disorders. For example, in PTSD, sufferers tend to show classically conditioned responses to stimuli present at the time of the traumatising act. Therefore, classical conditioning has helped us understand parts of ourselves that would otherwise go unexplained, which could help pave the way for future research into emotions that would have otherwise been inaccessible.
• What is a negative criticism of classical conditioning (a drawback of what it helps explain).


  One drawback of this explanation however, is that since not everyone exposed to the traumatic event develops PTSD, other factors must be involved, such as individual differences in peoples appraisal of events such as stressors, and the recovery environment - for example friends and family, or support groups. This highlights that classical conditioning does not give us a complete and full outlook on human physiological responses.
• What is a positive criticism of classical conditioning? (scientific).


  Another strength is that the theory of classical conditioning is scientific - this is because it is based on empirical evidence carried out by controlled experiments. Supporters of a reductionist approach would agree with this, as breaking down complex behaviours into small parts means they can be scientifically tested - however, some would argue this view lacks validity, as it can lead to incomplete explanations.